YC is only 3 months. Last I checked they still expect you to come to the bay area, but only for those 3 months. After that you can do as you please.
I know this may be challenging in some situations, but I doubt YC could offer the same value remotely. For starters, many of the talks given off the record would never happen if they were being streamed and could easily be recorded. You also would have less interaction with fellow batchmates, be less involved in group office hours, and a myriad of other small details that come from being present.
For remote to work (at YC or in the workplace) I believe it needs to be fostered and prioritized, and YC as it is now was never built around making remote work. If that is ever going to work I suspect an entire batch would need to be remote and the entire experience redesigned for that batch, and that doesn't appear to be a priority for YC.
I'd be very interested in better understanding what it takes to make something like YC work remotely. Indeed, if I ever left my own job to start a company again, this is the space I'd like to explore most.
It feels to me that there's an incredible untapped potential of talent that simply can not relocate or even come to an office on a regular basis (due to disability, economic reasons, visa status, age, family obligations, etc).
If we can unlock that potential then there is so much more we can do as a society.
If anyone at YC (or anyone else) is interested in talking, please reach out.
I talk to a lot of international founders and one of the biggest obstacles they face is fundraising. In some places, it's easy to raise seed, but hard once you hit Series A territory. In other places, it's even hard raising seed. The Bay Area has a huge population of angels. In the Bay Area, you're also surrounded by a large population of startup founders who can help you. If you're building a startup community internationally, you'd have to build both a community of angels and a community of experienced founders. It's a sacrifice for many founders to come to Silicon Valley for three months, but at this point in history, I believe it still helps most companies immensely.
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Does YC still require founders move to the Bay Area? That is a significant burden for say, older founders with families.
I mention that because the pitch says:
"We know that great founders can come from anywhere — any city, school, country or background"
But the application form says:
"If we invest in you, your group is expected to move to the Bay Area for June–Aug 2017."
There's a bit of a disconnect, and I'm curious how it's reconciled.
YC is only 3 months. Last I checked they still expect you to come to the bay area, but only for those 3 months. After that you can do as you please.
I know this may be challenging in some situations, but I doubt YC could offer the same value remotely. For starters, many of the talks given off the record would never happen if they were being streamed and could easily be recorded. You also would have less interaction with fellow batchmates, be less involved in group office hours, and a myriad of other small details that come from being present.
For remote to work (at YC or in the workplace) I believe it needs to be fostered and prioritized, and YC as it is now was never built around making remote work. If that is ever going to work I suspect an entire batch would need to be remote and the entire experience redesigned for that batch, and that doesn't appear to be a priority for YC.
I'd be very interested in better understanding what it takes to make something like YC work remotely. Indeed, if I ever left my own job to start a company again, this is the space I'd like to explore most.
It feels to me that there's an incredible untapped potential of talent that simply can not relocate or even come to an office on a regular basis (due to disability, economic reasons, visa status, age, family obligations, etc).
If we can unlock that potential then there is so much more we can do as a society.
If anyone at YC (or anyone else) is interested in talking, please reach out.
I talk to a lot of international founders and one of the biggest obstacles they face is fundraising. In some places, it's easy to raise seed, but hard once you hit Series A territory. In other places, it's even hard raising seed. The Bay Area has a huge population of angels. In the Bay Area, you're also surrounded by a large population of startup founders who can help you. If you're building a startup community internationally, you'd have to build both a community of angels and a community of experienced founders. It's a sacrifice for many founders to come to Silicon Valley for three months, but at this point in history, I believe it still helps most companies immensely.
I don't think anyone would argue against the advantage of being there in person.
The question to me is this: can we make it better for people who can't be there? (I.e., raise the foundation, not debate the ceiling.)
Yes, they require all the founders to be in the Bay Area from June-August 2017.
Also appears they have done away with the fellowship, which did not require a fellow to relocate.