yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Closing Remarks at Startup School NY 2014


2m read
·Nov 3, 2024

Wow, it is a good thing we closed the show with Chase and Watsi. I am so proud that Y Combinator started accepting non-profit applications, and we could not have had a better inaugural non-profit than Watsi. If any of you are starting a non-profit, or have friends who are, you all are just as welcome to apply to YC, as you are—would be with your for-profit start-ups.

Well, this is it, it's all over. It's not totally over; we got some mingling and some pizza afterwards, uhm, but before we get there I have a couple announcements. One, Cameroon has lost 4-0. Yeah, it was not close. Uh, unfortunately, Croatia were the victors.

Now, in other news, uh, this whole event, this was a first-time effort here in New York, and I could not be happier, but I want all of you to let us know—everyone who was on stage, please tweet at them with questions. You can tweet @YCombinator, we are reading those. You can tweet at me @AlexisOhanian. We want the feedback cause we want to keep doing this, we want to keep improving.

And uh, an event like this doesn't happen without the work of a lot of amazing people. So first I want to thank all the speakers who came up here. I want to thank the start-ups, cause those start-ups—please—[applause]. Yes, I will, I will clap through this. The start-ups who came up here and presented, they were just randomly chosen from the audience, okay? So on top of all that pressure, they were just attendees just like all of you. I'm clapping for them yes.

And finally, all the people here behind the scenes who made this work. All the people at the Best Buy Theatre rock, and the cameras, the sound, and then everyone at Y Combinator, and in particular, Tara, Arina, and Kat, for putting on this amazing event. So please, thank you to all of you. Really made this, made this wonderful, and uh, and of course to you all. You all made this great, and I hope this is like I said...

We'll clap, we should clap for you guys too. Let's, yes, thank you. Like I said please keep the feedback coming, please keep the conversations coming, and remember this isn't the last time. This isn't gonna be the last start-up school; in fact, we're doing one in London next month, if you guys fancy a trip across the pond. There will be another one in the valley a few months from now.

And we're actually having the first-ever Y Combinator Hackathon, which you can still apply to. Uh, August 2nd and 3rd, please go online and apply if you want to come out to the valley. The pizza's not as good, but the Hackathon should be a lot of fun, it's our first-ever effort, and so finally, guys again thank you so much for coming out, please keep the feedback coming, please keep the conversations coming, and yes, there is pizza.

And the best way to get it is through either one of these side exits. You will not be left behind. I guarantee you there'll be a slice of pizza waiting for you. Thank you again, thank you so much. Have a wonderful night.

More Articles

View All
What Is Intelligence? Where Does it Begin?
Humans are proud of a lot of things, from particle accelerators to poetry to Pokemon. All of them made possible because of something humans value extremely highly: Intelligence. We think of intelligence as a trait like height or strength, but when we try …
What Does God Look Like to You? | Brain Games
For many people, God is the strongest belief they have. But how does your brain conceive of the very idea of God? What happens when you actually try to draw the Divine? Dr. Andrew Newberg from Jefferson University Hospital has been trying to figure that o…
The Closer We Get, The More We Hurt | The Hedgehog’s Dilemma
Once upon a time, a group of hedgehogs faced the cold winter. As they were feeling cold, they decided to move closer to each other and share bodily warmth. Unfortunately, as soon as they crawled together, they hurt each other with their sharp spines. And …
Marian Devotion | Explorer
For some, visions of Mary can become all-encompassing. Terry Cola Francesco was working as a landscaper in Birmingham, Alabama, but he wanted something more in life. In 1986, on a trip to Međugorje, he found it. The visionaries’ messages struck him as the…
It Started: Japan Just Broke The US Stock Market
Is America heading towards the recession? The Dow’s down more than 1,000 points as that global selloff intensifies overnight. Japan’s Nikkei plunged 12%; that is its worst day since 1987. Seems like a recession cannot be ruled out just yet. What’s up, yo…
TIL: Bees Could Help Save Elephants—By Scaring Them | Today I Learned
[Music] African bees are renowned to be very vicious, and, uh, elephants are terrified because they literally don’t want to have a bee of their trunk stinging them. Elephants tend to rest under very big trees, and if there is a natural beehive, the eleph…