Yes. If you can relocate to the Bay area for 3 months, get a visa for the time you'll be there, and also move your startup. It's easier if you 1. try to get your visa as soon as possible (now), 2. haven't incorporated yet, 3. can move most, if not all cofounders to California. EDIT: I'd like to add I'm not formally associated with Y-Combinator. Just trying to help.
You don't need a visa as a Canadian to visit the US for 3 months for business purposes, such as meeting with "prominent investors and advisors" ;)
Yes. If you can relocate to the Bay area for 3 months, get a visa for the time you'll be there, and also move your startup. It's easier if you 1. try to get your visa as soon as possible (now), 2. haven't incorporated yet, 3. can move most, if not all cofounders to California. EDIT: I'd like to add I'm not formally associated with Y-Combinator. Just trying to help.
You don't need a visa as a Canadian to visit the US for 3 months for business purposes, such as meeting with "prominent investors and advisors" ;)
There's a lot of information on the web about this; you could try the search box at the bottom of this site as well. It has evolved over the years, but is still fairly similar. (I have slightly privileged information about YC, and I don't want to go through the effort of figuring out what is public by quoting these sources). It's also the wrong way to look at it. A better way is "what does it cost to apply" -- it's m…
There is probably 10x more value in YC if you launch before or during YC than after demo day. Why?
I would imagine because if you don't have a product completed before Demo Day (even a completed prototype that works, of sorts) there is no value to show potential investors.
Winter 2013 applications weren't 6 months ago. One of the things we realized after starting YC is that January and June are 5 months apart, not 6. So we have 2 more months between batches in the fall. That's why Startup School is in the fall.
Random question: Demo day for summer YC is towards the end of August. I've heard anecdotally that many investors travel during August, and that it is a poor time to fundraise. But I've also heard that many investors come to Demo Day. Is the anecdotal information that I heard incorrect?
Both are true. A lot of investors travel in August, but I've heard a significant number now arrange their trips so as to be in town for Demo Day.
Whatever the cause, there's no observable difference between the amount that gets raised by summer and winter batches.
I have a couple of questions: - How open is Ycom to applications if all you're coming with is an idea, and no proof of concept? - Is it true that there's an age bias?
We're fine with just an idea.
There's an age bias in that our standards get higher as the founders get older. You can't reasonably expect a 19 year old to have achieved as much as a 35 year old. But there's no sudden cutoff.
PG, can Eastern Europe startups apply?And what are the chances?I know everyone is allowed to apply but I have the impression that E.Europe is a last resort for YC.Also, why is the video mandatory for the first step.Wouldn't be easier to go through ideas and ask for everything else afterwards?Maybe some people are just shy or not so good on camera.There are so many options.Thanks.
Of course. There's a startup from Hungary in the current batch.
If Eastern European founders have a weakness, it's that their English is sometimes bad. That's a real problem in a startup, because you often have to talk about subtle distinctions.
We like the video because it's a so much more efficient way of seeing what someone's like than just reading a written application. Not as efficient as meeting them in person; we'd meet everyone in person if we could; but there are just too many applications to do that.
I would like to offer up some advice. Do not apply if you're simply applying because it's good practice, or you're gambling against the odds. You won't get selected. If you've applied 4 times before and did not even get an email response or invitation to interview, then you should probably evaluate why it is that you apply each go-around. The folks at YC have obviously tuned their process finely enough so that it avoids candidates like this. I have a good friend who made it into YC years ago, and for several years after I tried getting into it myself. I found friends to apply with so I'd have a group, and we came up with company ideas that we could apply with. I tried this probably 3 or 4 times. All times, I coded my ass off in hopes that it'd end up with a trip to YC for an interview - so, it wasn't all just empty applications. But, was I really applying because I had a startup in need of that extra push? Was I in a position to make use of YC's advice, had I even gotten in? Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that I felt like I was applying just for the sake of it. Sort of like it was some free contest that I could enter, and if I won it meant instant fame and fortune. Well, let me break it to you softly ... do not do this because it only ends in the same place that it begins.
In the past I've been told by various people that YC explicitly avoids applications that have anything to do with games, regardless of the other aspects of the app, just because the games industry tends to be a money pit. Is this true (or still true, if it once was)?
I would like to offer up some advice. Do not apply if you're simply applying because it's good practice, or you're gambling against the odds. You won't get selected. If you've applied 4 times before and did not even get an email response or invitation to interview, then you should probably evaluate why it is that you apply each go-around. The folks at YC have obviously tuned their process finely enough so that it avo…