Applications open for the summer 2014 YC batch

http://ycombinator.com/apply.html?s2014

by pg • 12 years ago

172 85 12 years ago

SandersAK4• 12 years ago

There's a longer blog post about this coming, but @zmitri and I applied to YC a total of six times before we got in.

Along the way we learned a lot about why YC is important, what it does for you (and what it doesn't) and why the application process is one of the best ways to think through creating your startup.

We've been really lucky to have great alumni help advise us and give us feedback on our applications (yes, all of six of them, thanks Jason Freedman!).

So hit me up if you want me to look over anything, it's the least I can do: hello@sandersak.com

EDIT - I may be slow on the reply until after demo day ;)

ggreenbe3• 12 years ago

Nice! That reminds me of... "Tis a lesson you should heed, If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again;" - W. E. Hickson

zmitri3• 12 years ago

Our 14% acceptance rate makes the most appropriate title "How not to get into Y Combinator."

But yeah, if you get an interview (you're already doing pretty well!), the 42Floors founders practice interview is the best training you can get for it.

jaf12duke2• 12 years ago

Good! We'll be doing it again. To anyone that gets an interview invitation, contact me at @jasonfreedman and we'll be happy to do a mock-interview. Several alumni did mocks for us when we were applying and we found it massively helpful.

jw2013• 12 years ago

Sanders, that is quite an inspiring story. I wonder if all your six tries are for the same startup, or do you actually changed your ideas during these six times.

SandersAK4• 12 years ago

3 Good Karma - democratizing corporate philanthropy

2 Backspac.es - mobile photo storytelling

1 Beacon - fund a writer, read everything on the platform

tonyrice• 12 years ago

Sometimes the best thing you can do is inspire people to do great things and with people like this in our community it's hard not to be inspired.

Although I haven't made it into YC yet I would definitely love to help anyone out even if it just means sharing my thoughts about your idea/startup :)

Shoot me an email @ tony@tonyrice.me or tony@automate.ly

derwiki• 12 years ago

I reached out to Adrian right after he posted and he's already helped me with CameraLends.com. I'd recommend the rest of you reach out to him!

pearjuice• 12 years ago

Six times? Really? At some point it becomes pathetic, you know. Though portrayed as, yc isn't some sort of holy grail you have to touch before death. But six times, man, that must have been three years at least? Props for not giving up. Still pathetic though.

SandersAK4• 12 years ago

Hah, I guess it could be construed as pathetic. But we never looked at YC as the gatekeeper to whether we worked on our projects.

The best thing about startups is you don't need YC to make it happen. You need to work on something you and others find valuable that you're willing to work your ass off for.

Maybe others get in on their first try, and are clearly more able, capable, or validated than me, but that's not really how I gauge why I do things. Neither is getting rejected.

I'm the first to admit that I'm not nearly the smartest person to ever apply to YC. Hell I'm probably one of the dumbest. But there's no reason not to apply. The only downside is getting the rejection letter (and the free mixpanel credits). The upside, at least so far in my experience, has been well worth it.

zmitri3• 12 years ago

Pathetic is the perfect way to describe me.

Especially when you factor in that as an immigrant I had to leave America 3 times, once because I was diagnosed with cancer, and haven't legally been able to take salary from my own company in 2 years.

sskates2• 12 years ago

Wil Chung holds the record at 7 last I checked. I actually have a huge amount of respect for him for being so persistent. If I were an investor that'd be the thing I look for first.

wellboy• 12 years ago

Wtf is pathetic about that.

Try out 1000 of things, do a pivot, pitch investors here and there, apply YC every now and then. Nothing pathetic about that.

namenotrequired3• 12 years ago

You are making the assumption that simply because they applied 6 times means they must've been obsessed with getting into YC. That doesn't have to be the case - it's not hard to imagine someone trying various startups deciding that it's worth a shot each time.

mattront• 12 years ago

zmitri's reply is the only reason I'm not down-voting this.

tptacek• 12 years ago

You're getting downvoted for slagging someone, but the real reason your comment should be invisible grey is that very few people with your attitude succeed in business. Every company operator I know has a story to tell about handling months or even years of rejection.

beambot• 12 years ago

We (Lollipuff, W13) released our entire application along with the short video [1]. I personally think that looking at a few sample applications is/was super helpful.

I also share SandersAK's opinion: just writing a YC application will force you to think about the "right things" for your business. It's a worthy exercise in its own right.

[1] https://www.lollipuff.com/blog/102/lollipuffs-ycombinator-ex...

EDIT: Awww! I just saw our old MVP screenshots on that blog post. Lollipuff has come a long way since then...

jaf12duke2• 12 years ago

So stoked for you guys. I watched you guys apply and get rejected each time. And then emerge more determined. It felt obvious to me not only that you would get in, but that you would be one of the startups most likely to succeed.

And now you're proving me right. Which rocks.

SandersAK4• 12 years ago

Thanks Jason, seriously we owe you so many beers. "when" not "if" is how we operate ;)

adamzerner• 12 years ago

Thanks man, that's generous of you!

Bootvis• 12 years ago

Excited to almost apply again!

benatkin• 12 years ago

Is this the "next batch" that sama will be presiding over? Or is the batch after this one? http://blog.ycombinator.com/sam-altman-for-president

ggreenbe3• 12 years ago

I would guess this batch (Summer 2014). They said next batch and it was announced prior to the opening of the summer batch.

"become president of Y Combinator starting next batch"

pg15• 12 years ago

Yes.

TheMakeA• 12 years ago

pg, it seems like switching from non-profit to for-profit doesn't work.

enduser• 12 years ago

Just like the real world

pg15• 12 years ago

Fixed, thanks.

jzig• 12 years ago

Is YC still doing 'no idea' applications?

pg15• 12 years ago

No, we stopped taking those several batches ago.

gregpilling• 12 years ago

Does this mean that the concept proved unsuccessful?

sanswork• 12 years ago

This will be my first time applying. Both very excited and very nervous.

namenotrequired3• 12 years ago

Good luck!

pshin45• 12 years ago

Is it just me, or is the "Request for Startups"[1] page in serious need of updating?

For example, are "Things Built on Twitter"[2] and "iPad Applications"[3] still a valid way to build a $XX billion company in today's world?

[1] http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html

[2] http://ycombinator.com/rfs3.html

[3] http://ycombinator.com/rfs6.html

sskates2• 12 years ago

iPad Applications definitely are. In the non-gaming world, Plangrid, drchrono, and Paper by Fiftythree have all been really successful, and that's just off the top of my head.

pg15• 12 years ago

We should probably retire RFS 3.

netcan• 12 years ago

Have the Requests for Startups produced many good applications/startups? Any insights on identifying problems for startups to work on?

tommydiaz• 12 years ago

I'm applying to the summer batch, and I just noticed my company may fit into an RFS. Anybody have experience applying with RFS? Would it be better to just apply without it, and let YC make the connection?

toeknee123• 12 years ago

Just a few tips: http://blog.perfectaudience.com/2013/04/26/want-to-ace-your-...

OoTheNigerian• 12 years ago

Have any African countries ever applied or been accepted to YC?

Will people that plan to move back home or have home (non American) markets as their primary markets be considered?

It would be interesting to see how Sama's batch differs from PG's

namenotrequired3• 12 years ago

Will people that plan to move back home or have home (non American) markets as their primary markets be considered?

Many have done this, whether planned or not I don't know in all cases, but I know that Glio has Brazil as their primary market.

pg15• 12 years ago

No African countries have applied or been accepted, but we've accepted several people from them. IIRC none were making things for specifically African markets though.

We're certainly willing to fund companies building stuff for their home country and that will return to it after YC. GoCardless is probably the most prominent.

jey• 12 years ago

This raises an interesting question: should a country applying to YC use the regular application form or the nonprofit one?

guynamedloren• 12 years ago

Here's my application for the last batch:

https://www.penflip.com/loren/yc-application

Wasn't accepted, but it might help anyway.

If anyone's curious, no, I didn't lose all hope and give up when YC rejected me. Third time being rejected, and it hurts less every time :) Still going strong on this idea, refuse to quit.

danielrhodes• 12 years ago

When I applied for YC, the application itself was very valuable because it asked focused and aspirational questions which forced me to think about what I was trying to create and why it was important to other people. I also went into the process telling myself that while it would be great to get in, it was not the end of the world if it didn't work out.

Remember that the success of your product/company ultimately comes down to you and the market you are in and not necessarily the money that is invested or the often nebulous social status that might come with getting into such programs. What matters is creating something which is of service to and valuable to other people.

fudged712• 12 years ago

When we interviewed for the current cohort, we were asked to show up early for the interview, so I travelled to Mountain View each of the 6 interview days to talk to other startups. As a canuck in the valley for the first time, it was an eye-opening experience.

It's really interesting to hear what everyone is working on, and it's a rare look at the YC investment thesis. Also interesting to see what these companies have gone on to achieve, YC or not. I was most inspired by the stories of everyone who had travelled from foreign countries to pitch.

pg15• 12 years ago

We don't recommend applicants do this. Though we don't say anything when it happens, we do notice, and it makes us slightly less likely to accept such groups.

fudged712• 12 years ago

I appreciate the info, sorry. I asked permission on the first day and tried my best to be polite and respectful to others.

ggreenbe3• 12 years ago

Just wondering, do they assign the time slot or do they let you choose?

ar7hur• 12 years ago

You choose on a first come first served basis.

foobarqux• 12 years ago

What is the policy on applications for businesses that compete with existing YC companies?

Do you accept them? Do you have conflict of interest or confidentiality policies?

Do you ever have conversations with existing YC companies along the lines of "We had an application recently for product X, you should do that."?

pg15• 12 years ago

The YC FAQ answers the first three: http://ycombinator.com/faq.html

As for the fourth, of course not.

jdrobins20002• 12 years ago

Since YC alumni are now doing the preliminary application reviews, is there a process to avoid an unintentional conflict of interest (ie, an alumnus viewing a potential competitor's application)? Perhaps prescreening by YC staff and assignment to specific alumni for review?

Please forgive me if the question seems redundant. I am reluctant to even ask as YC has a reputation of integrity. However, the mantra that "ideas are worthless" causes concern that perhaps precautions might not be taken to avoid such a scenario (because by implication, it would seem this could be viewed as a non-event). My apologies if I have misunderstood the views of YC on the matter.

wildermuthn• 12 years ago

"How far along are you? Do you have a beta yet? If not, when will you? Are you launched? If so, how many users do you have? Do you have revenue? If so, how much? If you're launched, what is your monthly growth rate (in users or revenue or both)?"

The above question popped out at me this year.

I don't know a lot about the groups that YC accepts, except what I read in the occasional press-release or HN post. But I have noticed a pattern: it seems that many (and perhaps most?) of the YC companies I've read about recently had already launched and found success prior to YC, sometimes years prior.

This pattern might only indicate that I'm reading about those kinds of YC startups, and that completely new companies that launched post-YC don't get as much of my attention.

Nonetheless, I've found this pattern to be at odds with what I thought YC was about — pre-launch investment and mentoring of brand new companies.

It makes sense to invest in people and companies that have already found success. Even if such companies pivot to something completely new, they have a track record and a user base to work from.

Has YC made an informal pivot itself, to funding companies that have already launched and found traction rather than in great teams of founders that probably aren't even incorporated yet?

zeckalpha• 12 years ago

Some of this was discussed last week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7253977

akbar5013• 12 years ago

There's a well known and clearly visible trend that more institutional (i.e. not friends and family) investment is moving later stage for "normal" software businesses.

The reasons are well known: the cost of developing software (at least the initial prototype) have dropped far enough that a great many people can afford to build a prototype themselves.

Further, the cost of market validation has also dropped enough such that a great many companies can achieve some market validation without outside capital.

Put together, it's a reasonable expectation that a dedicated entrepreneur will put in both the minimal time and money to both build a prototype and prove that real customers exist who view the solution as valuable.

However, the cost of building a big business is still high. Specifically, ramping up development, hosting, marketing (team and spend), sales, etc. still costs enough money that outside capital helps.

This last point is key and answers the question of "why would I raise capital if I did all of the work of building a prototype and getting my initial customers?".

Lastly, the ultimate goal is to succeed. There are a number of different paths to success, but one of the worst failures is not outright failure of a company.

If you think about the possible outcomes of a business, there are basically 3:

1. Complete failure...business shuts down

2. Moderate success...$2 million, $5 million up to maybe $25 million

3. Success... $25 million plus with the ultimate goal of doing 9 or 10 figures a year

#1 sucks. Maybe more without venture capital as its your money you lost, but it's good in no way.

#3 is great whether or not you get venture financing. Depending on your financing, you'll walk away with $5 million or more personally.

#2 can either be a wonderful success, or the worst failure (worse than #1). #2 is great if you bootstrapped. If you bootstrapped, you'll walk away with $5 million or more in your pocket. If you grow to $10M+ in revenue, then you're financially free.

However, #2 sucks if you raised significant capital. Most likely, you hate the company because you'll walk away will nothing even though the company has had some success. Investors will hate the company because the investment is sucking up time, focus and will never be a winner.

In this light, waiting to raise capital until a company is a little bit more mature is a boon for entrepreneurs. If you have a #1 then kill it and move onto the next opportunity. If you have a #3, then go raise (or don't).

But, if you have a #2 then you know you can get rich by bootstrapping, which will prevent you from making the mistake of raising capital for a non-venture fundable business.

pg15• 12 years ago

There's a well known and clearly visible trend that more institutional (i.e. not friends and family) investment is moving later stage for "normal" software businesses.

Actually the trend in the venture business is actually the opposite. The biggest change in the last few years has been the increase in pre-series A investments, both by "super-angels" (which are structurally mini VC funds) and existing VC firms.

pg15• 12 years ago

We've had already launched companies applying almost since the beginning of YC. Airbnb, which was in the winter 2009 batch, had been launched for over a year.

We make a conscious effort not to be influenced by early progress though, because there is no correlation between how far along a company is when they apply to YC and how well they end up doing.

devinmontgomery• 12 years ago

We make a conscious effort not to be influenced by early progress though, because there is no correlation between how far along a company is when they apply to YC and how well they end up doing.

Given how many reapplications YC gets, it seems that it should only invest in companies it thinks would do so well in the next 6 months that they won't apply in the next round.

If YC is getting fewer misses on companies that are rejected but go on to do well, how much of that do you ascribe to the selection process and how much do you ascribe to YC's increasing ability to get multiple passes at startups?

nl2• 12 years ago

How many non-profits does YC hope to fund in this cycle? Is Watsi the only public example?

kevin• 12 years ago

Zidisha and Immunity Project have both launched publicly from this current W2014 batch. There are more.

Also, we don't set quotas at YC. If we think your non-profit would be a good fit for YC, we'll accept you.

younata• 12 years ago

Come on, hat trick of rejections!

infoseckid• 12 years ago

On April 15, we'll invite the groups that seem most promising to meet us in Mountain View between April 24 and 28 ----

-- This is too less time for companies based outside of the US to arrange cheap tickets, visas etc.

akshxy• 12 years ago

Will YC consider an application from a team of two founders and the first employee holding stocks? The third guy is a programmer and a good friend.

pg15• 12 years ago

Sure.

k-mcgrady• 12 years ago

How much does it hurt your application if you apply as a sole founder?

danielnordh• 12 years ago

I got an interview as a sole founder in the S13 batch so it's not impossible. Have a working product, or progress, to show you can make stuff happen despite being on your own probably helps.

Mc_Big_G• 12 years ago

http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html

See #1.

fedor91• 12 years ago

Practical question: Are we supposed to submit only one form per group or multiple? Because the introductory explanation talks about a group submission, but on the form itself there are fields that are explicitly personal: e.g. "Please tell us about the time you, fedor91, most successfully hacked..."

Addendum: If there are any noob mistakes you want to point out, I'd very much appreciate it because it's the first time we're applying.

thomson• 12 years ago

Echoing other YC people: More than happy to help with reading over applications and giving feedback! thomson@cantab.net

Applications open for the summer 2014 YC batch

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