The newest San Francisco startup tradition drama occurred on Monday evening. And it centered round “probably the most legendary occasion that by no means occurred,” Cluely founder and CEO Roy Lee tells TechCrunch.
Cluely had hoped to throw an after-party for a Y Combinator occasion occurring on Monday and Tuesday known as AI Startup School. The occasion drew crowds because of scheduled audio system like Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, and Elon Musk.
Cluely is an AI startup born of controversy and rage-bait comedy marketing. True to type, Lee posted a satirical video on X promoting his after-party. It exhibits him camped out by the famed Y Combinator signal — the one all of the YC founders take selfies with. (Cluely just isn’t 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 surely grew to become the occasion, and other people shared the small print. When it was set to start, so many people were standing outside the venue that the traces wrapped round blocks. “It simply blew up approach out of proportion,” Lee says. What regarded like 2,000 folks confirmed up, he added.
A celebration that large may need gotten uncontrolled, but it surely didn’t get the prospect. The traces had been blocking site 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 will have been probably the most legendary occasion in tech historical past. And I’d argue that the fame of this story would possibly simply make it probably 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 College after he and his co-founder developed an AI instrument to cheat on job interviews for software program engineers.
They turned that instrument right into a startup that provides a hidden in-browser window that may’t be considered by an interviewer or proctor. The startup additionally went viral for its advertising that promised to assist folks “cheat on every part.” In April, Cluely raised a $5.3 million seed spherical, and its advertising is now rather less in-your-face: “The whole lot you want. Earlier than you ask.”
The occasion and its demise by legislation enforcement naturally grew to become the topic of jokes, memes, and ingenious rumors. Lee’s clarification of the crowds outdoors is maybe extra uninteresting than what some folks imagined. After the cops confirmed, “We did some cleanup, however the drinks are all there ready for the subsequent occasion,” he guarantees.
