Ask HN-Y Combinator more prestigious than McKinsey in 10 years? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN-Y Combinator more prestigious than McKinsey in 10 years?

3 pointsnrao1238 comments

I run an internet startup but used to be an ex-Mgmt consultant from a top firm and came from a b-school background. The peer pressure was quite a bit to join one of the top consulting firms or IB firms regardless of what you actually enjoyed doing. People would spend hours on Vault to get advise on applications, interviews etc. I was surprised to see a similar thread about YC here- http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=518656

This got me thinking, if, in another 10-15 years, “getting” into a top "branded" program like YCombinator, TechStars etc... be more socially prestigious than joining a brand name firm?

Or am I a dinosaur and has it already happened?

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Is this really how people are thinking about YCombinator funding? That it's a social stepping stone like getting a Harvard MBA? Ugh. I thought I escaped from those people when I left Boston. I'm applying mainly because I could use the money!

Excellent! I'm sure sentiments like this will compel YC to invest in my idea - a prep-school to improve the chances for prospective YC applicants.

edit: Here's an example of the coursework the prep-school provides - http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv335/comatose_kid/yc_dum...

I am not sure if our case is different from most but here it is: We are working on a webapp which we are really excited about. We talked with friends and potential users with great feedback. We will continue to build it on the side while working day jobs and see if we can get traction from the users. We are applying for YC Summer 09. Getting accepted would validate that we are not the lunatic fringe. (The end users might still disagree) It would allow us to jump into it full time and the application process would help us reflect on the business side of things seriously, which we hackers get easily blind sided about.

However, looking at some other applicants experiences and expectations (as written on blogs), yes, it does feel like applying for an Ivy League MBA. Looking for validation is something common between these 2 endeavors (and that includes us).

However, In my opinion, HN is what makes YC special. It's a model that's hard to replicate.

These days, reality is breaking left and right. Notions like prestige will be left in the dust until society someday reorders itself. Right now it's a continuous chorus of "What! You can actually DO that?" coming from the people who play those games.

10-15 years? There will be something better and more cutting edge in the marketplace. These things move too fast to become venerable and established and it seems unlikely that's what the founders intended anyway. But that said, your idea poses an interesting idea about the future of business, credentials and how we view experience versus a piece of paper.

I think getting in is not prestigious in and of itself. Creating a successful startup is prestigious. But getting into YC and then failing wouldn't look especially great on your resume ( at least to most observers ).

I don't think failing would look bad per se. There are a lot of learnings that can be taken from failure. Better to have tried and learnt, than to never try!

It would depend upon why you failed.

Failure because you just gave up, not so good.

Failure because Google bought you, and then deadpooled you: eh, not so bad.

Failure because after 6 months of living in an EDAR [1] you still weren't ramen profitable: a bit too stubborn for corporate existence, better try another startup.

[1] http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0225/building_2-1.html

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