Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out • Hacker News Board

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#71

Post by llaxsll » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:09 AM UTC

monkeygus wrote: post #67

llaxsll wrote: post #20

We got rejected :). We didn't build our startup for YC, though. In fact the YC application was just a super great opportunity for us to have a 'checkpoint' at our startup. So, I think this was great. Good luck to everybody else! Check out http://eatfindr.com/ if you'd like to find out more about what we applied with. ShowHN coming soon. :)

this is a great idea, i had someone the other day ask me to make an app like this. have you thought about expanding it to help people when choosing groceries in the supermarket? i guess that would be a bit of scope creep though. good luck!

Hi monkeygus! Thanks for the comment!

Yes, that has floated around as an idea. Totally not out of the realm of possibilities! We think that eating out is such a big problem for people with dietary needs, that it often affects their social life very negatively in many ways. This is the big challenge we are after.

But we are definitely on the lookout of our users telling us what they want to see in Eatfindr and following their needs. We've been live for a couple of weeks now, so our selection database is still growing, but we have over 15,000 gluten-free restaurants from across the US, as well as over 1,000 humane & organic restaurants.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#72

Post by zandit » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:18 AM UTC

OK so all of you who submitted the application on-time have received your response email. Does anyone know when I should expect a response if I applied late? Will I even get a response?

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#73

Post by taskstrike » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:23 AM UTC

We had around 2000 users, but we were still rejected by YC.

I wish they would give some kind of note on why people are rejected. This would help budding entrepreneurs a lot more

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#74

Post by webwright » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:23 AM UTC

phzbOx wrote: post #35

I haven't applied this year but I really hate that rejection email. I hope one day YC could man up and tell why it was refused rather then giving a "You don't need to get in to create a successful business" bullshit. Even if it's only one sentence. I feel like not doing so is really lacking respect for the teams who put hours filling it up. Add on top of that the fact that some demos are not even tried. As some peopl…

"I hope one day YC could man up and tell why it was refused rather then giving a "You don't need to get in to create a successful business" bullshit".

It's not a matter of manning up or having respect. Do the math on what it'd take to email 3,000 rejected applicants.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#75

Post by rcvassallo » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:32 AM UTC

I applied as a solo founder with no idea, so I knew a rejection letter was inevitable. In all fairness I am not quite ready to build a company but I took the opportunity to apply with no idea anyway.

I currently work as a sysadmin for a 1bn bank, but developing software is my passion and what I really want to do is start my own tech company.

I'm taking small steps. I've completed 2 bonus projects for my bank to build useful web-apps. I work on my own time & maintain IP ownership to my software so you could say I just need to start selling to other businesses.

Applying to YC is another small step to help push myself in the startup direction. My goal for the application was just to get my name in front of someone at YC. If my video was watched then I consider it a smashing success.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#76

Post by WarDekar » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:41 AM UTC

Just a question, did everyone get a rejection letter if you applied and weren't accepted? I applied as a sole-founder and never got one. I know when I tried submitting my application at first the server had issues or something and I had to try again, but I was fairly certain it went through but never received any e-mail one way or the other.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#77

Post by Tzunamitom » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:45 AM UTC

jparkside wrote: post #66

Tzunamitom wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Woke up this morning to a rejection email. The good news is that this means I have successfully achieved my New Year's Resolution of failing more. The bad news is that it doesn't make failing any easier! We didn't even hear about Y-Combinator until the week before, but I'd echo notdarkyet's comments about how you start to dream. Either way, the process has already been a very worthwhile exercise, without which I woul…

Did You apply before or after the deadline?

Two days before...

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#78

Post by Pimp4life » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:47 AM UTC

I didn't have my shit together, so it's perfectly understandable why. No team (just had my 2nd Co-Founder jump ship due to commitment issues, now it's just me again), no prototype.

Now I'm going to ask for financial support from relatives. Pay for hosting, contract work to freelancers.

I need a developer Co-Founder, and a designer Co-Founder. Feel free to contact me if interested. lord_nolan at about.me

And by "Co-Founder", I mean fully-committed for equity. I don't have money, and I do receive some, it won't be very much. Money is for contractors and freelancers. and hosting, legal fees, etc.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#79

Post by Pimp4life » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:49 AM UTC

rcvassallo wrote: post #75

I applied as a solo founder with no idea, so I knew a rejection letter was inevitable. In all fairness I am not quite ready to build a company but I took the opportunity to apply with no idea anyway. I currently work as a sysadmin for a 1bn bank, but developing software is my passion and what I really want to do is start my own tech company. I'm taking small steps. I've completed 2 bonus projects for my bank to build…

I am currently solo with an idea.

lord_nolan at about dot me

Let's talk.

Re: Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out

#80

Post by thebear » Tue, Apr 17, 2012, 4:52 AM UTC

It seems that a lot of applicants didn't have their demo sites looked at. This together with what I've seen on PG's Office Hour videos leads me to believe that YC is somewhat idea-centric: if we like your idea, we'll look at your potential for execution. Else, you're out. Needless to say, there is nothing wrong with that. If that method works for YC in terms of success rate vs. time and effort spent, then that's how they should be doing it. Still, it might be worth considering the following example. Suppose that 25 years ago, someone would have come to you with this idea: I'll start a furniture store chain. But instead of shipping the furniture to people's homes, I'll give them a cardboard box with the pieces, a couple of nuts and bolts, and a wrench inside. There can be little doubt as to how that idea would have been rated: ludicrous. But if you had visited a model store and looked at all the neat furniture, not to mention the fancy bedspreads and tableware and what not, then took home a chair in pieces, assembled it, sat in it... You may not have predicted that there were going to be newspaper headlines like "IKEA will continue to hire off-duty Sheriff's deputies to help with traffic control for several more weeks." But you may well have predicted some measure of success for this offbeat idea.