The newest San Francisco startup tradition drama occurred on Monday night time. And it centered round “essentially the most legendary occasion that by no means occurred,” Cluely founder and CEO Roy Lee tells TechCrunch.
Cluely had hoped to throw an afterparty for a Y Combinator occasion occurring on Monday and Tuesday known as AI Startup School. The occasion drew crowds due to scheduled audio system like Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, and Elon Musk.
Cluely is an AI startup born of controversy and rage-bait comedy advertising and marketing. True to kind, Lee posted a satirical video on X promoting his afterparty. It exhibits him camped out by the famed Y Combinator signal — the one all of the YC founders take selfies with. (Cluely is just not a YC startup.)
The tweet marketed the occasion to his greater than 100,000 followers and stated to DM for an invitation. Lee tells TechCrunch that he didn’t truly ship invitations out to the hordes. “We solely invited associates and associates of associates,” he stated.
But it grew to become the occasion, and folks shared the main points. When it was set to start, so many individuals have been standing outdoors the venue that the strains wrapped round blocks. “It simply blew up method out of proportion,” Lee says. What regarded like 2,000 individuals confirmed up, he added.
A celebration that large might need gotten uncontrolled, nevertheless it didn’t get the possibility. The strains have been blocking visitors, so the cops confirmed up and shut it down. “Cluely’s aura is simply too sturdy!” Lee was heard shouting outdoors because the cops busted it up.
“It would have been essentially the most legendary occasion in tech historical past. And I’d argue that the fame of this story may simply make it essentially the most legendary occasion that by no means occurred,” Lee tells TechCrunch, concurrently proud and bummed.
Lee grew to become recognized in San Francisco when he posted a viral tweet on X saying he was suspended by Columbia University after he and his co-founder developed an AI device to cheat on job interviews for software program engineers.
They turned that device right into a startup that gives a hidden in-browser window that may’t be seen by an interviewer or proctor. The startup additionally went viral for its advertising and marketing that promised to assist individuals “cheat on every part.” In April, Cluely raised a $5.3 million seed spherical, and its advertising and marketing is now rather less in-your-face: “Everything you want. Before you ask.”
The occasion and its law-enforcement demise naturally grew to become the topic of jokes, memes and ingenious rumors. Lee’s clarification of the crowds outdoors is maybe extra boring than what some individuals imagined. After the cops confirmed, “We did some cleanup, however the drinks are all there ready for the subsequent occasion,” he guarantees.
