Thanks for the interesting info, Matt. adf471587879rzq

Haha, that's very interesting. What else are you doing with that query string?

Might I suggest Google for finding out?

Hence the word "else."

You're welcome. asjh123832wld

I recommend www.podiobooks.com if you are interested in hearing some non-geeky stories. I have really enjoyed listening to some of their content over the last few years. adf471587879rzq

Very informative interview. It definitely shows PGs enthusiam for YC and does a nice job of explaining the rationale behind the company.

Question, for a YC funded company that gets picked up after demo day, what would the average salary of the co-founders be in comparision to someone with comparable experience working in industry (i.e. "in a cubicle)? adf471587879rzq

As founders you want your salaries to be as low as possible. You've raised x amount of money by selling some of your stock. Every dollar of that that you pay yourself in salary is a dollar that doesn't go toward making the company succeed. And the big payoff for you as a founder is in the company succeeding. People don't start startups to make money from salary.

Investors are usually fine with you making, say, 70% of what you'd make on the open market. But it's in your interest to take less if you can. At Viaweb I made less than half what the COO did.

What was the most cash intensive portion of Viaweb? It seems like you guys could have run in YC mode (cash wise) after buying the PCs.

People. It is for nearly all tech companies.

iamelgringo .... check out the FAQ here: http://www.ycombinator.com/faq.html ... specifically the section "Will you sign an NDA? How do I know you won't steal my idea? "

Thanks, but I wasn't wondering if YC leadership would sign an NDA. I was wondering if all the founders had to sign an NDA for the dinner conversations, since they were "off the record".

I'm sure I'm being too nosy. It really isn't any of my business. I was just curious.

No, no one signs anything. The startup world is small enough that gentlemen's agreements work for most things.

While the article makes some good points, I can't say I agree with it 100%. When considering the first sentence, "As our knowledge and expertise increase, our creativity and ability to innovate tend to taper off.", I think this is very inaccurate when it comes to "new-growth" areas like the internet of today. In fact, to me the opposite is true, the more I learn, the more creative I feel because it's still very possible to do something on the 'Net that hasn't been done before. adf471587879rzq