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Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

ycombinator.com

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Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#11

Post by dmix »

throwaway1979 wrote: post #5

Now that YC has gotten bigger (=more competitive), does an application without a prototype still have a shot? I'm incredibly paranoid about getting exposed to IP-related problems (working for a large corp and not in California). I suspect a few other people are in the same situation. The sad thing is that when I think about it, I wouldn't fund someone without a prototype (if the roles were reversed). It is only when…

PG might be more concerned that you still work for a large corporation than not having a prototype.

There will be a ton of startups applying where the founders left their jobs/schooling ahead of time.

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#12

Post by kerryusry »

There are lots of people with great ideas and products out there who are not able to just up and quit jobs and move somewhere for months on end. It would be nice to see an option for people like this. Not everyone is single college student, what about established tech professionals with houses and mortgages, or even a family.

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#13

Post by spxdcz »

pg wrote: post #9
throwaway1979 wrote: post #5

Now that YC has gotten bigger (=more competitive), does an application without a prototype still have a shot? I'm incredibly paranoid about getting exposed to IP-related problems (working for a large corp and not in California). I suspect a few other people are in the same situation. The sad thing is that when I think about it, I wouldn't fund someone without a prototype (if the roles were reversed). It is only when…

Yes, of course. We care more about the founders (both individually and their relationship) than the idea. Incidentally, YC hasn't gotten as much more competitive as you might think, because we've grown as the number of applications has. We consistently end up funding about 3% of applications. Not as a conscious strategy; it just always works out to about that. Applying to YC has grown somewhat more competitive though…

Related to that, I have a question that's been bugging me:

If the application is assessed primarily on the founders, is it really worth failed applicants applying again? Speaking as someone who has applied (and failed, with cause!) twice relatively recently, and as an experienced 14 year 'veteran' of web technology, I can't say that my experience, skills or business-savvy have drastically changed since the application from 6 months ago.

As there's (understandably) no feedback for previous rejections (e.g. "Your idea sucks" vs "Your founders suck"), it's difficult to tell whether it's a waste of time to apply again. (Having said all that, we will of course be applying again anyway!)

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#14

Post by ohashi »

abstractbill wrote: post #4

If you want a little honest feedback on your application before you submit it, feel free to contact me. I was the first engineering hire at justin.tv, I'm the cto of ZeroCater now, and I love talking about startup ideas.

That's a kind offer. Do you have a preferred method of contact?

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#15

Post by alexhaefner »

I'm curious to know the financial situations of those who apply to YC. You don't have to give specifics, but has anyone gone through YC with a lot of school debt? (>$20k, >$40k?) How did you manage this?

For those who haven't gone through YC but do have a lot of school debt or otherwise, how do you think you'll manage?

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#16

Post by pg »

spxdcz wrote: post #13
pg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, of course. We care more about the founders (both individually and their relationship) than the idea. Incidentally, YC hasn't gotten as much more competitive as you might think, because we've grown as the number of applications has. We consistently end up funding about 3% of applications. Not as a conscious strategy; it just always works out to about that. Applying to YC has grown somewhat more competitive though…

Related to that, I have a question that's been bugging me: If the application is assessed primarily on the founders, is it really worth failed applicants applying again? Speaking as someone who has applied (and failed, with cause!) twice relatively recently, and as an experienced 14 year 'veteran' of web technology, I can't say that my experience, skills or business-savvy have drastically changed since the applicatio…

Yes, we often fund groups' later applications. Dropbox was Drew Houston's second application. I believe PagerDuty was those guys' fourth.

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#17

Post by kprotocol »

Animus7 wrote: post #3
jasonshen wrote: post #2

Going through YC was an incredible experience and even just going through the application process really forced our team to answer a lot of important questions for our business. If you want to do a startup and are in a position to give it your all - it could only help your chances of success to apply.

As a YC reject, I can only say the same. I'm convinced that just going in for interviews to was the best thing that happened to us. Our original idea wasn't going to work and making the trip to California opened our eyes. So if you're wondering whether you should apply, the answer is yes. Even (especially?) if you get rejected.

I cannot agree more on this; btw, do they tell you why you are rejected or its just that, "We found the 30 companies we were looking for. So better luck next time".

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#18

Post by pg_bot »

kprotocol wrote: post #17
Animus7 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a YC reject, I can only say the same. I'm convinced that just going in for interviews to was the best thing that happened to us. Our original idea wasn't going to work and making the trip to California opened our eyes. So if you're wondering whether you should apply, the answer is yes. Even (especially?) if you get rejected.

I cannot agree more on this; btw, do they tell you why you are rejected or its just that, "We found the 30 companies we were looking for. So better luck next time".

They write an extremely nice rejection letter, stating that even they make mistakes, they turn away a lot of promising people, and that they are trying to get better at this every funding cycle. (been rejected twice) However if you are creating a startup just to get into ycombinator you should not be doing a startup.

Re: Applications open for Y Combinator's summer 2012 funding cycle

#20

Post by amirmc »

"How do we choose who to fund? ... We look for brains, motivation, and a sense of design. ..."

I'm aware little things change each time this is posted but it's the first time I've seen design mentioned. Just curious, when was it added (or was it always there and I just missed it?).

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