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Inside Startup School

Inside a new program designed to tell entrepreneurs what they really need to know to make their great idea a great company.

Many say that success in business and life often is a matter of timing. In the case of Y Combinator and its recently completed Startup School, I would have to concur completely. As Michael Mandel, Chief Economist for BusinessWeek, shared during his presentation at Startup School, most economies can be defined by four words: "Boom, Bust, Boom, Bust". He also said that he believes the Internet is entering a new Boom cycle.

Y Combinator is a new kind of venture firm specializing in funding early stage startups. The company funds startups in batches instead of taking the usual approach of funding startups individually. Startup School is Y Combinator’s initiative to help more potential entrepreneurs understand the process of moving from an idea to a company.

Recently, Y Combinator finished work with its first batch of startups from the Summer Founders Program. A group of eight companies started this program back in May 2005. Paul Graham, the founder of ViaWeb, which sold to Yahoo in 1998, author of Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age and a partner in Y Combinator, said, "if I had to guess now, I’d predict three or four of the eight startups we funded will make it".

According to the final report of the Working Group on Venture Capital, a joint effort between the Department of Commerce and the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, there is a fundamental failure in the provision of early-stage financing for startups in both the US and the EU. So it would seem that Y Combinator and the Startup School are timed well to fill a clear need. As many of the speakers at Startup School would agree, filling a clear need is key to the success of any startup.

As a participant in Startup School, it was amazing to witness approximately 500 aspiring entrepreneurs gathered for this program. Demand to participate was even more impressive. I heard from Jessica Livingston, a partner with Y Combinator, that over 700 people applied. The school was held on the campus of Harvard University in Hall B of the Science Center.

By Kevin Shockey

Full Story: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8617

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