_mof5

“They were true believers in something, and I don’t know what it was.”

I nearly died.

Geez man, you almost make me want to apply again..

"The truth is you're applying to YC just to be in YC, part of the club."

This line resonates with me. I come from a place where there are not many people to relate to on a technical level and sometimes it's lonely here. I love this city and will not move away because I value the friendships and family that I have here. It seems kind of silly now, but I wanted to bring some of that SF money here. I wanted to make a place for me to belong here. I wanted to bring some of that overflowing wealth into my border city. I'm still trying, just in a different way now.

"You need to have a great idea and show you can execute and make a return for investors who believed in you and took your bet."

This is probably where I have failed. I have built a few "prototypes" on github and deployed a few instances for local companies but besides a modest return, I haven't been able to convince anyone to "bet" on me. At this point, I've pretty much given up. I work full time to support my family and find little time to dream these dreams anymore.

This was precisely my motivation for writing this. I used to write fabricated articles and posts trying to get attention and recognition. It ended up being more of the same boring, endless drivel. I'm motivated to move away from that and into pieces that truly represent me, regardless of how that is perceived.

Why do you all assume I'm not successful now? I do not need YC, I just wanted to get in to work with and be around smart people.

So true that it's upsetting.

Yes.

I have no shortage of money now. I wanted to get in so I could work with and be around smart people but now I realized they are gaming us all.

It was not my intent to blame others; just to point out that this type of model is unsustainable.

"perhaps you should view this as an 8 year education in philosophy/business"

That's awesome. I love this