We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#1

Post by sabbakeynejad » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:24 PM UTC

We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected
veed.io

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#2

Post by paulsutter » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:34 PM UTC

They should put this much hustle into the business for the sake of the business, every week. Not just one weekend for YC.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#3

Post by jvagner » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:34 PM UTC

"venerable" should be "vulnerable", and Mountain View is mis-capitalized in a few places... :-)

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#4

Post by jvagner » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:34 PM UTC

paulsutter wrote: post #2

They should put this much hustle into the business for the sake of the business, every week. Not just one weekend for YC.

Maybe they do. This narrative doesn't indicate they don't.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#5

Post by hartator » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:36 PM UTC

> kinda forgot about it

At least you didn’t ended loosing one of your dragons because of it.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#6

Post by samfisher83 » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:40 PM UTC

I thought YC main thing was growth not revenue. Why did they get rejected for revenue? Also making someone fly overseas for a 10 minute interview to get rejected really sucks.

I hate the all day interview, but if you are coming from overseas then maybe give them more than 10 mins.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#7

Post by prickledpear » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:40 PM UTC

It's great that YC provides feedback on why they don't accept (some) companies. However, it's a bit disappointing to see that not having MRR is a reason to reject a company. It seems like a lot of the successful YC companies were accepted way before they were anywhere to close to revenue -- and some were even working on a completely different product when accepted.

My hope is that MRR is sufficient, but not necessary for acceptance!

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#8

Post by plehoux » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:40 PM UTC

missiveapp.com and conferenceBadge.com, my two startups, have both been rejected at the interview phase. Our yearly revenue for both now stands in the 7 digits. We are still just a team of 3 + 1 employee, 100% bootstrapped. Life is good. My advice, keep pushing!

https://missiveapp.com/ https://www.conferencebadge.com

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#9

Post by dannykwells » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:41 PM UTC

I kinda wonder, if you believe what's missing in your platform is a single feature that can be implemented in 2 days, do you really think YC wouldnt realize that too?

So this is likely not the reason for the rejection.

I would have even more worries about these founders after this stunt because it shows a lack of self awareness and strategic insight.

I'm in no way affiliated but Id guess YC is looking for foundational advantages and paradigm changing ideas in their companies. You can't pivot to those in 2 days.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#10

Post by rococode » Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:42 PM UTC

prickledpear wrote: post #7

It's great that YC provides feedback on why they don't accept (some) companies. However, it's a bit disappointing to see that not having MRR is a reason to reject a company. It seems like a lot of the successful YC companies were accepted way before they were anywhere to close to revenue -- and some were even working on a completely different product when accepted. My hope is that MRR is sufficient, but not necessary…

I think they do continue to accept companies without MRR. I suspect they simply value it more in cases where they are unsure if the product is something that can eventually be monetized (i.e. they don't know if people are willing to pay for it).