Why is Y Combinator giving away its trade secrets for free in a YouTube class?
News out of Silicon Valley top tier accelerator Y Combinator was a little confusing today. President Sam Altman decided to give away the organization’s secrets…for free. Altman is teaching a “How to start a startup” class at Stanford and releasing the 20 lecture videos on YouTube for the masses.
At first glance, that doesn’t entirely make sense. YC is a prestigious program, with a three percent acceptance rate. Doesn’t it diminish the wow factor if the same lessons YC grads get are available for everyone? Not really, Altman told me.
“There’s so much we do at YC that’s one-to-one individual advice,” Altman said. “That’s important.” Not to mention the benefits of the YC network, which not only involves top-tier investors, but also includes a huge family of alumni portfolio companies that attend private, exclusive events like Alumni Demo Night. “If we give away a little more knowledge, that’s okay for me because more people would see it and say, ‘Wow, YC is really cool,'” Altman explained.
He came up with the idea for the Stanford class six weeks ago, after trying to figure out a way to spread startup gospel. Since he had attended Stanford (and dropped out) as an undergrad, it was an obvious choice. Stanford was one of the first universities to offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for the public, so it was a logical next decision to film Altman’s classes and put them online. “We want to get the knowledge out to anyone who wants it,” Altman said.
Some of the best and brightest of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial and investor pool will be presenting. Altman told me he designed the curriculum by brainstorming the key topics he wanted to cover, and then deciding which people were the leading experts in those areas. As a result, the syllabus reads like a who’s who of Silicon Valley: Marc Andreessen, Marissa Mayer, Peter Thiel, and Aaron Levie are among those signed up to speak, teaching classes ranging from “Business Strategy and Monopoly Theory” to “Sales and Marketing.” Was it difficult to get the big names, with their busy lives, to agree? “Not really,” Altman said. “A lot of people want to give back and show what they’ve learned.”
It’s not the first time that a startup class has been available for the masses — see Chuck Eesley’s fabled Technology Entrepreneurship class — but the caliber of presenters, Altman’s role, and the YC approval stamp are notable. It’s inner-circle knowledge, democratized for everyone. If the lessons are good, this will become the gold standard course for wannabe entrepreneurs.
Of course, the one thing that’s not offered is perhaps the part that matters most — the one-to-one networking opportunities. YC still holds the power there, and acts as the gatekeeper to determine which companies deserve entry.
Image copyright Paul Miller/Flickr.
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