Given that we're just starting out and I can't really make any promises about what subjects we'll eventually support beyond the initial math ones, I'd prefer to wait on accepting those applications. As for how you'll find us again -- hopefully by the time we get around to supporting more subjects, Corgi will be a household name, so we'll already be top of mind for you :)
Thanks for the feedback! To be fair, there's at least some precedent for per-minute pricing: TutorMe (https://tutorme.com) used to offer on-demand tutoring at the same $1/minute rate (in addition to a subscription option similar to the one you're describing) and appeared to have some success with that model. That being said, I agree that offering multiple options probably makes the most sense.
Thanks for the comment! I definitely expect the pricing model to change over time as we get feedback, but I was curious to see how users responded to the per minute model to start with. Selling in blocks has tradeoffs as well (e.g. if I sell in 15 minute chunks, but the user only needs a couple of extra minutes after 14:30, I don't want to charge for another 15) but I'm very open to doing it if that's what users prefer.
Re: the $60/hour rate: given that online tutoring prices can vary pretty widely (anywhere from $10/hour to $200+/hr), I actually think it's fairly reasonable for a high-quality product. My hope is that the quality of tutors won't feel too variable in practice even if students end up working with different tutors for every session -- it's very important to me that we keep a high bar for all tutors on the platform, so a lot of work goes into the vetting process.
There's also optics. Flagging the story just feeds the narrative that YC is "hiding" something regardless of the truth.
When you see a PR train coming down the tracks... get out of the way. You can stand there and yell at it all you like but it won't matter. When you get to a certain point in life (high office, large influence, and/or lots of money) there is nowhere to punch but down. That means you have to stop throwing punches or you have to accept the hate. Those are your two options. On the plus side you're still really rich and/or powerful so it isn't exactly a bad deal.
Agreed in general, and we make a careful point of moderating HN less, not more, when an article is critical of YC or YC startups, although 'less' doesn't mean 'zero' (one learns about loopholes the hard way when running a web forum). But it's a moot point in this case; HN users have flagged the story overwhelmingly and the comments make it clear why. Since the community response is so clear, I think it's probably sufficient for us to simply explain that moderators haven't intervened in any way.
If this is something you'd be interested in doing in your spare time, I'd recommend looking up your local crisis/suicide prevention hotline for volunteer opportunities. I've been doing this for about 1.5 years and it's been an incredibly rewarding experience.
