I got on the cheapest flight I could find and went to the very first Startup School. And while I did not walk out and change the world, I walked out and changed my life. Streaming or not, my advice is to find your way there by hook or by crook and attend in person.
I attended the first startup school (in Boston). There was a large gathering at YC's office the night before the talks. A few of us were still there when pg was ready to leave. Despite having never met any of us before, he let us stay, asking only that we double-check that the door locked on our way out.
I'd like to think that I would have the same trust in my attendees if I were him. Not a big deal, but a special moment that I'll never forget :)
I was there too. PG is right that the most amazing thing about them is the energy. I can really only think of two or three other times in my life where it felt like there was almost electricity in the air.
I flew in last fall and really enjoyed the experience. The the chance to meet a lot of like-minded people from all over the world (including one guy from Scotland) was worth it alone. The speakers were first-rate, including Mark Zuckerberg and the after-party was great.
If you're interested in startups, this is a great event to attend.
The real problem for me isn't shyness, it's that at Startup School, PG is constantly surrounded by people who want to talk to him, and I don't want to add to that.
(But then I got lucky and ran into him at Opzi the day after Startup School.)
Same, it's not about shyness but avoiding mobbing.
To PG, Kristy, and the rest of the YC team, many thanks for providing Startup School to the community. I emailed Kristy my brief thanks after the event, but would like to explain that I attended my first Startup School last year: it was one of the best events I've ever attended. Hard to nail down the adjectives, but let me simply describe it as inspiring++. Met some great friends and people. Each speaker delivered interesting stories, perspectives, and tips. Couple of the most memorables ones for me are the Airbnb story, and Ron Conway's story of a Christmas Party with Larry and Sergey. I just found out about Startup School, HN, YC last year and am very grateful for it: thanks!
Heh, I did the same thing after Startup School 2005. I was in DC but Startup School got me to apply to Stanford for the master's program in CS. Six years later and I've got my masters and I'm having a great time at a Bay Area startup!
I went to Startup School 2008 during my second year at Stanford. I had never heard of YCombinator, but a friend involved with the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES) had encouraged me to check it out because it was on campus. After hearing inspiring talks from PG, PB, SamA, DHH and the other speakers and meeting lots of founders, I joined BASES, where I met and started working with Ricky. I knew pretty soon that I wanted to start a company with him.
Fast forward a year to Startup school 2009: Ricky and I had been working on a few ideas while in school and met Mark, who had just come back to Stanford after dropping out to work on a startup. I ended up working with Mark on a class project a few months later before the three of us formed a company and were fortunate enough to be part of the amazing Summer 2010 batch of YC.
Attending Startup School last year was surreal - here I was right out of school working on my own company surrounded by an amazing community of entrepreneurs. And the energy at Startup School was STILL overwhelming, even after having gone twice and been through YC. There aren't many other places on the planet where you find several hundred smart, super hard-working, energetic people who firmly believe they can build the next Google packed into a single auditorium.
Same, SuS 2008 was one of the most memorable days of my life, and one of the things that really steeled my resolve to start something. The presentation by DHH that year is probably #1 or 2 on my all-time list.
If you get accepted, it's definitely worth flying in for. It's something I believe everyone should experience, especially if you're thinking about creating or joining a startup. More for the social aspects than the content.
Damn our Canadian transportation system! My friend and I are planning on sleddogging down. Haha, we're actually planning a road trip for this if you don't mind driving with strangers and are in the lower AB/BC province we might be able to drive you--if you don't carry around an axe and stuff that is.
Can get get negative confirmations? Will Quora guy be speaking? That presentation was painful to sit through last year. His advice boiled down to "have rich friends and tag along for the ride."
Reid is another tricky one. He has so much useful information, but his presentation last year was almost incoherent. It looked like he was running late for class and tried to prepare his presentation on-the-fly with no organization.
I was lamenting the lack of preparedness of a minority of speakers. Most people gave world class presentations, but a minority had a perceived lack of preparation.
With people traveling half way around the world, it seems disrespectful to have speakers fumbling on stage.
I liked Adam D'Angelo's talk. Adam was nervous, but that's okay- I would be too. Not everyone is Dhh. And he didn't say "have rich friends". His message was that if you want to start a startup, thing about going to work at an early stage startup for a year or two first. You will learn what it takes, meet potential co-founders, meet vc's, learn the business side of things.
I don't remember what Reid's talk was on, but I do remember it being one of my favorites.
The quality of the speakers last year was mixed, but none of the speakers were a waste of time. Some of the talks I found least interesting (i.e. GitHub) others said were the best of StartupSchool.
Startup Bootcamp is always a great event. Thanks to the guys who put it on, and I highly encourage you to go to Startup Bootcamp if you're on the East Coast and can't make it out to Stanford.
I went to the first startup school in Cambridge with my then girlfriend (now wife!). Flew to NYC for cheap tickets and took the chinatown bus to Boston. I was already working at a cool startup then but it started me along a path of several iterations of trial & error which led to RideCell. Now I am on my third year leading a fast growing, cash flow positive company that makes a real difference.
Had some great discussions with edw519 about pawn shops, with tlb about remote receptionists, with Scoble, some guys from loopt, and one of the Lockitron founders in 2010.
Startup school gives me a boost every time I attend. Hope to do so again this year.
Last time I went to Startup School (2007) Drew Houston was just an attendee hoping to get into YC. I still remember him telling be about this syncing thing ... sounded like it just might work.
I'm moving to the Bay Area tomorrow. I'm attending my first meeting for Rails people in a few days! It's mind-blowing to be in an area where I'm not the only one who likes this stuff.
So obviously I'm very excited by the idea of attending Startup School. Man, years ago now, DHH's talk formed the basis of what I want to do with myself.
I was talking about the Easy Bay group (http://www.meetup.com/EBRuby/), but now that you mention it I should join some SF groups. Come to think of it SF is only 30 minutes away from Berkeley where I'll be.
East Bay Ruby looks much more of a conference than a meetup. SFRuby's basically just talk to people who are good at/learning RoR and code. It's also weekly.
SFRuby is probably better for meeting people who code RoR, and East Bay Ruby sounds like it's better for learning something related to RoR.
All other things being equal, does how early (or late) you fill up the application form have any bearing on whether or not you make the grade? (I hope not)
One of the best events I have been to. I highly recommend attending in person.
The atmosphere that day in the auditorium was amazing and you get to meet people from around the world.
I just moved to the Bay Area and I'm really looking forward to this.
Out of curiosity, what kind of activities are there going to be to promote ice breaking and networking? I ask because all the best events I've been to always make sure to pay as much attention to promoting networking as they do the speakers.
On top of that, would it be possible to make sure the name tags are really big and easy to read casually at a distance. It's always much easier to strike up a conversation when you can glance at someone's name tag and easily read their name, twitter handle or HN handle without having to lean in and stare.
I'm applying! I already have the funds saved for the plane ticket. I'm coming from the East coast. I wanted to apply last year but a.) I didn't have the funds and 2.) I wasn't confident in my coding skills as I am now. I'm super excited, because even if I don't get in I'll still be one step better than where I was last August :)
I'm a little uncertain about housing, but worst case scenario, I'm willing to take a same day flight back.
I just applied and will be flying in from Cape Town, South Africa to attend if I make it. I've never even been to the States, but I've spent the last 5 years of my life dreaming about spending time in the Valley. This seems like the perfect excuse. No idea where I'm gonna stay, how I'm going to get around, or how I'm going to make it work, but I'm going to try anyway. Can't wait!
Getting my team to apply now! Thanks for the heads up!
Edit: Im in LA and if I qet the invite, Ill be driving up but I can fit 2 more people in the car for the ride if any locals want to carpool. I have room to host 2 people at my place here in LA also if anyone is flying in to LAX for any reason lol.
Crossing fingers to get an invite. Im all the way in Nashville, TN but I'll def scrape up a plane ticket to go.. and possibly never come back to TN, lol..
I'm a college student who doesn't have much money and thus may not have the funds to take the trip. Should I not even apply or should I apply regardless?
if you can get the funds for the trip you can crash at my apartment in san francisco. (you can check my hacker news profile to verify that I have been here for a while and am generally not crazy, although, I might try and recruit you.)
If accepted, you can crash at my apartment in the valley for a day. I dont have a big place, but I can easily host 2 people. Will go thru AirBnB I guess.
