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An Alternative Approach to Deep Tech VC - by Eric Gilliam

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Many in Silicon Valley think of Y Combinator (YC) as the sum of its services. The services are, in short: cash, a network, and guidance for early-stage (mostly software) founders. The YC model and its effectiveness have become widely known and understood in Silicon Valley. The organization has become a staple of the software VC community, applying many principles that have made software VC a success to founders and companies at the earliest stages of company formation. Many of YC’s bets are made so early that the org has been known to make bets on attractive founding teams with no workable company idea yet. But Tony Kulesa’s Substack piece provided enough perspective to see the YC model in a different light than it is usually seen in: YC as a sum of its goals. Tony writes the following on what early YC was gearing itself to do: One could summarize YC’s structure: Invest in young, smart, energetic, and determined hackers Give them enough money to pay for living expenses, but not much mo

This post is an accompaniment to Tony Kulesa’s excellent piece on the history of Y Combinator. Many in Silicon Valley think of Y Combinator (YC) as the sum of its services. The services are, in short: cash, a network, and guidance for early-stage (mostly software) founders. The YC model and its effectiveness have become widely known and understood in Silicon Valley. The organization has become a staple of the software VC community, applying many principles that have made software VC a success to founders and companies at the earliest stages of company formation. Many of YC’s bets are made…

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