Feedback vs. Feedback

[jonathan]

Hi everyone. For obvious reasons, YC does not give any feedback after rejection; this is completely understandable considering the large number of applicants. But I think there is a difference between feedback (what lacks in your application) and feedback (you concept is cool but not a viable business and there is nothing you can do about it). These are 2 different things and I think people should know about the latest so that they don't waste their time pursuing it and focus on another idea. The adventure continues...

[brk]

Only you can decide if your concept is worth pursuing. At the end of the day YC is only a tiny group of people that know about a few things (relative to the world, or even the VC world at large). Their opinion of your idea or application is by no means the end of the road.

Many many founders who have gone through a more traditional funding cycle will tell you about 1 VC that completely degraded their pitch, and another that ate it up and delivered money in wheelbarrows.

It might also be simply that your idea is highly viable, but just not AS VIABLE as some of the other applicants. Common Angels, for example, might see your pitch and want to buy in.

Look at some of the opportunities Guy Kawasaki has passed on (Yahoo, Google), and what those companies have become.

If you believe in your idea, keep at it. If you're only validated by someone else's opinion, seek traditional employment.

[jonathan]

I couldn't agree more, but:

1) You can't just ignore YC's decision regarding your project, especially when you believe that your webapp will revolutionize the Web in some ways. These people are highly experienced profesionals:if you haven't caught their attention, get back to work because something key is missing.

2) YC is not like any other funding cycles... we are talking about mentorship here as opposed to financial back-up. Of course there are plenty of ways to raise money, but very few to get strong expertise.

[german]

I believe it's not just about mentorship, the best experience is knowing people like you and sharing knowledge and ideas.

[gscott]

I believe feedback is a never ending loop. I give you some feedback, you make changes and present them to me, I give you more feedback, you make more changes, come back to me. It never ends. Since Y Combinator has so few spots they can afford to go with the ideas that are best formed and they like best.

[brlewis]

It would have to work like this:

(1) You send a $100.00 deposit in advance of your application.

(2) YC ticks off boxes next to a stock set of sentences that describe their impressions based on your application.

(3) If 3 months go by and you haven't contacted them to argue about it, you get your deposit back.

Otherwise they would have no way of dealing with the torrent of two-way conversations that would ensue. They're evaluating hundreds of applications; they can't deliberate over each one like a jury.