What order do you look at an application -- is the video last?
Video first, then the questions about the founders, then the idea, then the traction/revenue, then everything else.
I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
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Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#22Do you plan to release more details about common visa/immigration issues and how Y Combinator helps with them?
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#23The application for YC has recently changed. You no longer ask the question about what is a person's greatest achievement, which was previously said to be the most telling question on the app. Where are you now getting that info on the new app?
We do still ask that, and it's still one of the questions I read first. It's on the individual section (each person has to fill it out after the submitter enters their email address).
What do you like to see when reading the answer to that? What are your indicators for success?
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#24You (and by extension YC) always seem to mostly focus on the success stories of the alumni/group. Have you or will you consider talking about the failures? If you can't do it, is there a reason why?
We do try to talk about this but should talk about it more.
It turns out that most people (and certainly most journalists) want to talk about/write about the success cases.
I'll think about how to best do this.
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#25Hi Sam. Can you explain the process for considering a Non-Profit a little bit more? A friend and I naturally think that we have a significant value proposition in the non-profit sector with everything other than the technical part flushed out thus far.
EDIT: Particularly if there is potential synergy with a business component as well?
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#26What do you look for/like to see in a solo founder application? What makes you believe that someone could be successful as a solo founder?
For solo founders, I look for extra evidence that the person is really effective, ideally on this particular startup but if not then previously in their career.
It's harder to be effective as a solo founder, so the burden of proof is higher.
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#27What startup stage would you recommend a company be in when applying?
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#28Thanks for doing this AMA, a quick question...
1. What's the possibility of YC companies doing biz dev with LargeCorp during the 3 month bootcamp? Is this something that YC can help with due to it's large network etc.
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#29What are the chances of a Subsidiary in getting accepted to YC? Have you had any case like this previously?
P.S.: I'm talking about a case where only the subsidiary has applied for YC and that subsidiary is making a different product than what the parent company is making.
Re: I Am Sam Altman, President of YC Group. AMA
#30We happen to match up with your RFS for city-related to startups. Do we need to tie this into your RFS beyond checking the box on the application?