Ask HN: Why Don't YC Alumni Pay It Forward? (My Personal Plea)

4 points

15 years ago

There's well over 200 Y Combinator companies these days. All of these companies receive investment to run their own business. All of these founders subscribe to the belief that "You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss" ( http://www.paulgraham.com/boss.html ).

Yet to the best of my personal knowledge, none of these companies pay it forward ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward ). Many of these companies have platforms for developers to build on. Yet I can tell you having personally asked a few YC founders about investing in other companies that no YC company pays it foward. The response I've gotten from these founders is "I have no idea how that would work." I call B.S.

These same founders, however, seem to want people working for them. Yes, more people need jobs than need to start companies. But I don't understand how founders can subscribe to the belief of being one's own boss and then turn around and ask everyone else to work for them. It's as if to say "What's good enough for me is to be my own boss. What's good enough for you is to kiss my ass and beg for a job."

So why don't YC alumni pay it forward? Why don't those of you that are founders with funding make a conscious effort to invest in other companies yourselves? At the very least, for those of you that have platforms and API's, why don't you invest in companies to build on your platforms and API's?

BE THE CHANGE.

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