I'm confused. What part of working for a year and saving up $100k ruins your chances of starting a company? Am I reading too much between the lines, or do I also need long hair and a full beard like Wozniak?
37signals started that way, for what it's worth. Not by living with their parents, of course; by bootstrapping a consultancy.
PlentyOfFish started that way.
Braintree started that way.
Come to think of it, so did Github.
And didn't Mailchimp bootstrap, too?
I think maybe the impedance mismatch here is that you assume I'm saying companies need to raise more than 120k to start. They don't, if they start out profitable. But that's not the normal YC startup strategy: those companies depend on the ability to run for a year, maybe many years, before generating profits. Against that strategy, 120k is not very meaningful. Which is why 'pg and now 'sama are always at pains to point out that people shouldn't apply "for the money".
If you can you should always bootstrap. I have started several companies over the years and everyone of them was bootstrapped. The process might be slower, but the advantages are so much greater retaining control.
37signals started that way, for what it's worth. Not by living with their parents, of course; by bootstrapping a consultancy.
PlentyOfFish started that way.
Braintree started that way.
Come to think of it, so did Github.
And didn't Mailchimp bootstrap, too?
I think maybe the impedance mismatch here is that you assume I'm saying companies need to raise more than 120k to start. They don't, if they start out profitable. But that's not the normal YC startup strategy: those companies depend on the ability to run for a year, maybe many years, before generating profits. Against that strategy, 120k is not very meaningful. Which is why 'pg and now 'sama are always at pains to point out that people shouldn't apply "for the money".