"One of the biggest misconceptions about us is that you need to have pre-existing connections to get value from the network. Remarkably, you don’t. "
If Sam had said "you need them in Silicon Valley much less than anywhere else" it would be a true statement. But in an article I strongly agree with, this sort of thing... I'm not even sure what to call it, misinformation? Makes the rest ring hollow.
The networks here have vastly lower costs of entry and way fewer secret handshakes. But they still have them, and for many groups of people those costs are much higher than the median. It would have been easy to acknowledge that without diminishing the core point.
But he goes on to describe the Y Combinator insider network as extremely valuable, which seems to contradict the statement you quote:
> Our network works because it has very strong connections. Founders are generally closer to their earliest investors and less close to their later investors. They are closest of all to the peers they were around when struggling to get their start. Therefore, YC founders are typically willing to do anything they can to help another YC founder. ...
> I often ask founders what surprised them most about going through YC, and a common answer is the degree to which YC is a "meta-company". ... the connection is so strong that alumni companies get significant benefits from each other. Most YC founders tell us they get more help from other YC founders than all other friends of the company, advisors and investors put together.
I dunno - he explains his reasoning in the same paragraph: "It’s standard practice to ask people you’ve just met for help – and as long as you aren’t annoying about it, they usually don’t mind."
The problem, I imagine, this creates is thousands of requests for help from innocently ignorant founders to a single valuable connection in SV. Each founder may only make one naive request, but important individuals are bombarded by enough to exhaust them. I admire the patience of those who continue to offer thoughtful advice and feedback, but I imagine it's quite tiring. I think resources like Sama's free startup class at Standford are a great solution.
My impression is that Silicon Valley (like NYC) is a destination. Move to St. Louis and everyone asks where you went to high school. Not here. It doesn't take long to make a name, and there's a tradition of helping "the next one."
I agree that accessing the right networks will help tremendously, but I also believe that Sama's statement is accurate. One doesn't need pre-existing connections. This almost subtle, yet much more important condition was included shortly after the quote you mentioned: "If you build something good, people will help you."
A grand vision alone won't get someone nearly as far as it may have in the late 90s. A prototype that is nearing that vision with each quickly released new iteration seems to be the entry barrier for someone with no pre-existing connections.
I don't think he's saying that there is no network, or that the using the network isn't helpful. It seems like his primary point here is that your relationship to this network doesn't need to be pre-existing. If you know nobody in SV, but build something great, you will quickly get to know people.
You're right that it's partially true. Why the idealistic spin from @sama? Consider the incentives. One of YC's macro strengths is a silicon valley onramp.
"One of the biggest misconceptions about us is that you need to have pre-existing connections to get value from the network. Remarkably, you don’t. "
If Sam had said "you need them in Silicon Valley much less than anywhere else" it would be a true statement. But in an article I strongly agree with, this sort of thing... I'm not even sure what to call it, misinformation? Makes the rest ring hollow.
The networks here have vastly lower costs of entry and way fewer secret handshakes. But they still have them, and for many groups of people those costs are much higher than the median. It would have been easy to acknowledge that without diminishing the core point.