Yay! We're in (for the interview at least!)
Congrats! One of the first to post as far as I can tell.
Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
51–60 of 111 posts
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#52We received our rejection as well. As much as you try to tell yourself say it is not a big deal, it still hurts. You question much of what you are doing. I have been grinding on many unsuccessful projects for a while now, and it's hard to stay positive. The funny thing is, we had no intention to apply to YC originally, but once we did, you start to dream about how it could change your life. How that might be the defi…
Find a startup! I'm sure there are plenty of lessons to learn :)
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#53Hmm. I just realized that my email address in the profile wasn't completely filled in (dangoldin@gmail vs @gmail.com). Wonder what I should do now...
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#54You won't hear from the applicants that got interviews. PG manually deletes their "we got an interview" posts to prevent pre-interview poaching by other investors/companies.
97% of applicants get rejected. 3% of applicants get an interview. You can read all about it, along with about 30 blog posts of interview experiences, at:
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#55I'm currently judging applications for the next round of Start-Up Chile. It's given me a very good understanding of why it's almost impossible to give a reason for why an application is rejected, especially with the borderline ones.
What we are doing is trying to give a sentence or two of feedback suggesting how an application could be made stronger and/or advice on how we think they should proceed.
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#56Nonapplicant: are the accepted not allowed to say that they've been accepted, or all they all too busy celebrating to post here?
citizenkeys says no - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3850693 - although I've never seen it written anywhere.
No one's been accepted yet ;)
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#57Rejected. 4 video views. Brush your shoulders off :) We're building a site that tells you what to buy: the best model of anything, accurately, by crunching owner ratings. We'd love any feedback: http://daring.is Congrats to YC S12.
Awesome idea. My guess is the business part is the weak spot, because from a consumer perspective it seems like an easy sell to me.
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#58Rejected as well, anyways three weeks before I didn't know about the accelerator, but had an 'idea', gonna keep working on it. Didn't have my expectations high but still, it is a blow,may be got a reality check
----------> need to work hard and I supposedly will.
anyways long way to go,afterall I am just 17.
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#59Rejected also. I would like the weak point of the application, so that i could at least improve the application. Really, a oneliner would be enough.
I think it would be manageable if they had a few generic templates. When they reject the app, have some check boxes for "Don't see the profit model", "Single founder", "Already exists", "Seems like too much of a 'startup idea'", etc. Those could generate a paragraph in the email.
Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out
#60Rejected. Not overly surprising given our team's lack of wow factor and demo. We had only heard of and decided to shoot for YC a few weeks before the deadline, and it took on the same mystical meaning for us as some others have mentioned. It wasn't until a week or so that I really came to grips with how slim the odds are. It was disheartening, not because it meant there was going to be more work to do before something like YC could really be possible, but because it meant we wouldn't be quitting our jobs and making it happen right now. Part of the reason is the obvious financial obstacle; student loans are expensive and the Bay is the most expensive place to live in the country. The other part is a kind of vindication. We believe in our idea, but there's a difference between believing in it yourselves and having the kind of validation that YC provides. It's far easier to go all in when the house tells you you have a winning hand. The greatest disappointment for us is that it will take many months for us to get going instead of a summer.
The end result for us is that we continue to build, but at a slower pace. We're positive and determined, and probably more focused for having gone through the YC application. We'll be hacking on it nights and weekends, we'll see where we can go on our own or with a different angel, and if we think it's right, we hope to be in the running with the rest of you for YC W13. So until then, ladies and gents, good night and good luck.