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Rejected from YC last night... got anchor client this morning

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Rejected from YC last night... got anchor client this morning

#1

Post by chinup »

Like others, we were down about our YC rejection last night.

This morning, we got a commitment from an anchor client (we target small/medium businesses). It took 15 minutes to convince the owner of this multi-million dollar business to say: "I love it."

We built a demo for our customers and decided to send it to YC as well. In the past 3 weeks, the only one who has turned us down is YC. 6 for 6 (knock on wood!!) We have even turned down a business that is not a good fit for us. These are all paying customers, btw.

We may not be headed to YC but we are still building stuff people/companies want. Hope this inspires others to forge ahead.

Re: Rejected from YC last night... got anchor client this morning

#7

Post by bigthboy »

satyajit wrote: post #3

Congrats! In the time of Sequoia presentation, recession and YC rejection, we need to hear other success stories like yours to keep ourselves focused! PG/YC are Good, not God!

Recession and YC Rejection.... sounds like part of some hit new rap single for Wall Street.

It's been said a lot lately as a reminder, not only by people of this community but also by pg himself in the letters and in HN comments. Don't stop doing what you love because pg and co didn't have space for it out of the estimated (no official numbers) 700 applicants that applied at the same time. PG will tell you that they aren't exactly the best at necessarily "picking the winners" and neither are most other investors.

The important thing is to move forward. As the OP shows, you don't NEED YC to be a successful and thriving business, even in troubled times. YC is a stepping stone and sure shot at opening doors that most of us have to pry open ourselves. YC != Success... YC is the beginning, but it should not be the end.

Re: Rejected from YC last night... got anchor client this morning

#9

Post by sctb »

transburgh wrote: post #2

Just because you got rejected doesn't mean you have a bad idea. PG/YC might have even liked your idea but did not think it was a good fit at this time. Congrats on the new accounts btw!!

It's of course possible that YC thought it was a promising idea; with the number of applications they received it sounds like many solid ideas had to be turned down.

Re: Rejected from YC last night... got anchor client this morning

#10

Post by ericb »

PG et all are only human. There are tons of businesses that don't fit their mold or that they won't be able to divine the greatness of, in advance. Not to mention that the sheer size of the applicants pool guarantees they will turn down good ideas and good teams.

Looking over their past companies, it seems revenue-focused businesses are less favored in their mix than one might expect, so perhaps there is less of a leaning toward that criteria than one might expect in their evaluation. One question you don't see in their application is "do you have revenue or paying customers?"

I am sad for applicants who are able to, but don't, start something because they didn't get "validation" by way of a PG nod, but those are the people who, if I were PG, I would least want to fund.

So I guess what I'm saying is, don't take the lack of acceptance personally, like I did. :-)

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