The latest San Francisco startup culture drama happened on Monday night. And it centered around “the most legendary party that never happened,” Cluely founder and CEO Roy Lee tells TechCrunch.
Cluely had hoped to throw an after-party for a Y Combinator event occurring on Monday and Tuesday called AI Startup School. The event drew crowds thanks to scheduled speakers like Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, and Elon Musk.
Cluely is an AI startup born of controversy and rage-bait comedy marketing. True to form, Lee posted a satirical video on X advertising his after-party. It shows him camped out by the famed Y Combinator sign — the one all the YC founders take selfies with. (Cluely is not a YC startup.)
The tweet advertised the party to his more than 100,000 followers and said to DM for an invite. Lee tells TechCrunch that he didn’t actually send invites out to the hordes. “We only invited friends and friends of friends,” he said.
But it became the party, and people shared the details. When it was set to begin, so many people were standing outside the venue that the lines wrapped around blocks. “It just blew up way out of proportion,” Lee says. What looked like 2,000 people showed up, he added.
A party that big might have gotten out of control, but it didn’t get the chance. The lines were blocking traffic, so the cops showed up and shut it down. “Cluely’s aura is just too strong!” Lee was heard shouting outside as the cops busted it up.
“It would have been the most legendary party in tech history. And I would argue that the reputation of this story might just make it the most legendary party that never happened,” Lee tells TechCrunch, simultaneously proud and bummed.
Lee became known 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 tool to cheat on job interviews for software engineers.
They turned that tool into a startup that offers a hidden in-browser window that can’t be viewed by an interviewer or proctor. The startup also went viral for its marketing that promised to help people “cheat on everything.” In April, Cluely raised a $5.3 million seed round, and its marketing is now a little less in-your-face: “Everything you need. Before you ask.”
The party and its demise by law enforcement naturally became the subject of jokes, memes, and inventive rumors. Lee’s explanation of the crowds outside is perhaps more dull than what some people imagined. After the cops showed, “We did some cleanup, but the drinks are all there waiting for the next party,” he promises.