Congratulations to the startups participating in the Y Combinator Demo Day. For those keeping score at home, we’ve released our early data and rankings of the 62 companies who have publicly announced they are participating in the program in this batch.
From the Investors
Victoria Song, formerly of Flybridge Capital Partners, invested in herself before she invested in startups and encourages young women everywhere to do the same — “We Can Create Our Own Opportunities”
Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital lists the four things he looks for as an early-stage investor in “Four Things”
Startup Advisor Arielle Jackson explains how to name your company and give perspective to your brand in “Positioning Your Startup is Vital — Here’s How to Nail It”
Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures analyzes spending breakdowns between B2C and B2B companies in “Which Type Of Company Should You Found? A Consumer Or SaaS Startup?“
Alex Iskold of Techstars breaks down the “Top Ten Reasons to Join (and Not to Join) an Accelerator”
Angel Investor Sean Byrnes uses personality types as a productivity advantage in “Speaking, Fast and Slow”
Jeff Carter of West Loop Ventures throws a bone to entrepreneurs hungry for an idea in “Can Someone Automate the Car Dealership Service Process”
From the Operators
Justin Edmond of Pinterest pens a moving reflection on race and America in “Growing Up”
Bill Clerico of WePay offers a few closing thoughts to the YC Summer 2014 batch in “Half a Decade After Demo Day”
Nate Kontny of Highrise looks to the ferocious ’85 Chicago Bears for inspiration after rejection in “Why You Should Keep Going, Even in the Face of Rejection”
Katie Miserany of RelateIQ redefines SMBs as Speed-Maximizing Businesses in “What’s an SMB?”
Steli Efti of Close.io answers this Quora question with a seven-step list — “How Do You Become a Top Sales Representative?”
Paula Long of DataGravity demands that storage be data-aware in “Sometimes the Obvious is Revolutionary”
From the Community
Dan Primack of Term Sheet wonders why billion-dollar companies tighten the golden handcuffs by preventing secondary market sales in “Early ‘Unicorn’ Employees Can’t Always Cash In“
Ben Basche of The Topline Strategy Group gives the upper-hand to apps with the strongest and most user-friendly notification strategy in “Internet of Pings: When Notifications Were Poised to Rule the World“