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YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

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Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#302
I was turned down after an interview last batch. I think I probably won't apply again. YC's standards now seem so high that, by the time I expect to meet them, there won't be much point in YC anymore. If I have 2,000 users, which is pretty tiny, that's $40K a month at $20 per person. If I get 50 signups a week, that's a 10% per month growth rate. If I have $40K in high-margin monthly revenue with a 10% per month growth rate, why sell stock at a $1.7M valuation, in the hope of getting some connections to sell more stock at a $5M valuation? It just doesn't make business sense. All you'd have to do is wait a few years, and you'd have more profits in the bank, in cash, than the "valuation" you'd get from California VCs.

Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#303

I was turned down after an interview last batch. I think I probably won't apply again. YC's standards now seem so high that, by the time I expect to meet them, there won't be much point in YC anymore. If I have 2,000 users, which is pretty tiny, that's $40K a month at $20 per person. If I get 50 signups a week, that's a 10% per month growth rate. If I have $40K in high-margin monthly revenue with a 10% per month grow…

I agree with this....and I think it is a reflection of the diminishing value that accelerators bring to the table for software startups. Teams great enough to get into YC are great enough to build a product, take it to market, generate revenue and grow just fine without an accelerator.

Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#304

I was turned down after an interview last batch. I think I probably won't apply again. YC's standards now seem so high that, by the time I expect to meet them, there won't be much point in YC anymore. If I have 2,000 users, which is pretty tiny, that's $40K a month at $20 per person. If I get 50 signups a week, that's a 10% per month growth rate. If I have $40K in high-margin monthly revenue with a 10% per month grow…

Are those your actual numbers?

Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#305
post #303

I was turned down after an interview last batch. I think I probably won't apply again. YC's standards now seem so high that, by the time I expect to meet them, there won't be much point in YC anymore. If I have 2,000 users, which is pretty tiny, that's $40K a month at $20 per person. If I get 50 signups a week, that's a 10% per month growth rate. If I have $40K in high-margin monthly revenue with a 10% per month grow…

I agree with this....and I think it is a reflection of the diminishing value that accelerators bring to the table for software startups. Teams great enough to get into YC are great enough to build a product, take it to market, generate revenue and grow just fine without an accelerator.

There's a good article on SaaStr...that the only value fundraising and accelerators bring is to speed up the growth a bit, but good SaaS co's are good without outside help. Accelerators and outside capital are neither sufficient nor necessary. The YC model has been in place for awhile, eventually even it will be disrupted...

Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#307

I was turned down after an interview last batch. I think I probably won't apply again. YC's standards now seem so high that, by the time I expect to meet them, there won't be much point in YC anymore. If I have 2,000 users, which is pretty tiny, that's $40K a month at $20 per person. If I get 50 signups a week, that's a 10% per month growth rate. If I have $40K in high-margin monthly revenue with a 10% per month grow…

I had a similar make-myself-feel-better-reaction the first time I was rejected. Like justifying why actually it wasn't what I wanted and not what I should be aiming for and it actually brings little value. But I think now that was more about making myself feel better than reflecting some kind of Truth. But even if it is true it is probably also a way to cope with getting the rejection. After that first rejection I ended up applying again and again. Because I think it would be useful to get in and I would get something out of it. Particular the connection with other Founders part of the same batch and the alum. I've been rejected 5 times now, including this time and I expected to do a lot better this time. After so many rejections it really gets a lot easier.

Re: YC Summer 2017 Invites/Rejections

#310

Just got the glorious rejection email :) https://mail.mixmax.com/m/kWxSBXQlxWO9sN6AC We interviewed in-person for W17 in October and got rejected because we didn't articulate a good plan for growth. - we grew 4,000% since October - launched huge features for both sides of our marketplace - received acquisition interest in It's a bummer for sure but not the end of the world. To anyone who got an interview, Figure out…

Can you provide any tips on how you reached out to other alum in preparation (you said you prepared with AlphaFlow and Snapdocs for example).

Also, are you allowed to share any of the questions you had that you found surprising?

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