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by pilingual 462 days ago
I still can't understand how YC funds competing companies. Where is the efficiency in that? You have your portfolio companies wasting time with (alleged) spies and lawsuits.

They say they just admit smart people. So 3 friends from MIT get in to YC, and at the first office hours said friends tell the YC partners they are working on a startup that starts startups. Awkward.
5 comments
delish 462 days ago
As the complaint says on page 4: https://rippling2.imgix.net/Complaint.pdf

Deel was founded in 2019 and, in Rippling's opinion, began competing with Rippling in 2022.

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Centigonal 462 days ago
Rippling and Deel started by addressing different markets. They converged when they realized that there is a need for comprehensive payroll and people management software that's integrated with services like PEO and international staffing.
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phpnode 462 days ago
It’s rarely a case of winner takes all, and in this specific scenario both companies have grown into billion dollar valuations. Seems like it’s working for them, ignoring all the lawsuits
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pilingual 462 days ago
I've learned that no one at YC saw this coming. My bad.

Also I thought YC was supposed to sniff out jerks, what happened to that?

My point was merely that YC is about startups which are all about growth. There is no requirement for innovation. Maybe there should be more scrutiny on the idea of the founders. Don't let in people just because they are formidable and went to Berkeley. Reddit's original idea, ordering via cell phone, was arguably innovative for the pre-smartphone era.

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borski 462 days ago
> Also I thought YC was supposed to sniff out jerks, what happened to that?

Did you also think YC was perfect?

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pilingual 461 days ago
No, but this is a huge oversight on character judgement.

There's a history of gloating here. So much so they named a podcast "The Social Radars."

Back to the point: they should consider re-evaluating their admission process. Heads down coding, talking with users, selling -- choose two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt9dnFp1M0E

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firefax 462 days ago
>I still can't understand how YC funds competing companies. Where is the efficiency in that?

I thought that's a core tenet of angel investing? Maybe not purposefully funding rivals, but funding many ventures with the knowledge many will fail while a few rise.

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