[vitalus]

"Each week, I either flew or drove to Mountain View. Burning the candles at both ends, this commuting & scheduling hell allowed me to maintain a stable life for my young daughters and make the most of YC.

I do not recommend this approach and in fact, it’s 100% against YC. You are required to move and you should. It’s exhausting and it takes your focus off of the most important things: talking to users, shipping code, and exercising. Nowhere in that list is commuting."

If you had to do it all again, would you move and leave your children behind? That seems like an impossible choice to make, and the tone of your story makes it sound like it all worked out well for you. Would you really not recommend the approach you took to someone in a similar situation?

[mrkurt]

I did the opposite: moved for the summer, leaving my wife + 4 kids in Chicago. It wasn't easy. Others I knew moved their whole families for ~4 months. That also wasn't easy.

If I did it again, and budget permitting, I probably would split time — weekends in Chicago, Monday through Thurs or Friday in Mountain View.

What was interesting was how shocked family members and friends were that we'd work something out like this. If it had been a military deployment, though, no one would have batted an eye.

[randall]

I totally valued the experience of being home on the weekends... I was commuting from Utah, but it was really really draining to travel that much. If possible, I think I'd opt to bring the family out. (My wife was pregnant, so that wasn't a real option for us.)

[ryanSrich]

If you don't mind. Would you be willing to go a bit deeper into how you were able to afford that (flying every weekend/YC in general)?

I assume you had quite a bit of money saved in order to afford your typical living expense, flying to and from YC every weekend, and a place to stay in Mountain View.

If you did in fact save, were you doing that actively in the event that you got into YC or did you essentially just drain your savings once you got in?

[randall]

We already had revenue which was paying for my salary, and had been for the prior 6 months. We were in a position where YC's value and my desire to be with my family meant we could spend the cash to achieve both.

[joshdotsmith]

I was going to say just this. I went through basic training two years ago, and will leave again for Signal BOLC next year. Basic was hard and BOLC will be easier; a deployment would be much harder than YC.

[mlichtenstern]

"If it had been a military deployment, though, no one would have batted an eye." Right!

However, as a man, I think it is deemed more common / acceptable to travel on business. My project manager is former military and now contracts with FEMA, deploying weeks to months at a time, leaving wife and two kids behind.

[mlichtenstern]

I know a self-made millionaire and mother of four who didn't go through YC, but has gone through rigorous travel meeting with retailers, getting press, trade shows, etc. to build her company. She has a nanny, granny-nanny, and supportive husband.

One day a week to seize an opportunity is rational and part of biz dev in this case. There are women who deploy in the military leaving children to be raised by relatives (I know a few). It is not always the preferable option, but certainly something women are capable of if the circumstances require.

Also, with technology, a lot can be done in that commute time ("rolling calls" are typical in LA traffic) - not to mention the value of "think time" and "alone time" for someone who is probably "on" 24-7.

It seems that Susan has a great background for YC. Her work experience (Facebook - hello) and the fact she applied with a cofounder (just heard on #StartupSchool that half of applicants don't have one) signifies "archetype" to me, albeit the female, mom version. Sounds like a perfect cultural fit.

[chiph]

I'm wondering if the time spent on the plane, or in the car, gave her some "think time". Away from the demands of both company and family.