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How to Apply to Y Combinator

ycombinator.com

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Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#91

Post by pg »

andreyf wrote: post #79
pg wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have lots of biases, but I don't think we're much influenced by how memorable usernames are. It's the comments that make a username memorable, not the name.

I don't think we're much influenced by how memorable usernames are Well, by definition, biases aren't intuitively obvious. But I'd love to hear explicit introspection about this in the essay: what are your biases, and how do you eliminate their affecting your decisions?

That's a question we think about a lot, because bias basically equals things we judge wrong. I like energetic founders, for example, but one wouldn't call that a "bias," because energetic founders are good. So what you're really asking is what makes us pick wrong, which is something we're constantly thinking about.

When I pick wrong, it's often because the founders seem really nice. That's probably my biggest weakness. The other YC partners have it too. It's much harder to get funded by YC if you're an asshole. But who knows, maybe this is actually an advantage. It means the atmos within YC is really good. Everyone tends to trust one another. So maybe it's a win overall, even if it decreases returns in individual cases.

It's a complicated problem.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#92

Post by ivankirigin »

kyro wrote: post #10
pg wrote: post #7

If anyone has any questions I didn't answer, please ask them on this thread. I still consider this essay a draft; if anything important comes up here, I'll incorporate it in the next version.

Yeah, I'm not sure if this is completely relevant, but we have a product that we're going to launch soon, and I was wondering whether you would prefer your applicants have products/demos not yet launched as that might be better for PR purposes, etc.

Announcing YC funding is newsworthy, and you'll get a press hit for it any time you want.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#93

Post by [deleted] »

dhouston wrote: post #73
lacker wrote: post #14

It would be great to see previous successful applications, if they don't mind. (Unsuccessful ones would be interesting too but that might be weird for them.)

Hopefully I won't feel stupid posting this, but I wished someone had done the same thing when I applied. (pg -- if you'd rather I not share this, feel free to delete) Original Dropbox YC app: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/2/app.html Had to remove some names and one sensitive thing but otherwise unedited

[deleted]

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#94

Post by pg »

dhouston wrote: post #73
lacker wrote: post #14

It would be great to see previous successful applications, if they don't mind. (Unsuccessful ones would be interesting too but that might be weird for them.)

Hopefully I won't feel stupid posting this, but I wished someone had done the same thing when I applied. (pg -- if you'd rather I not share this, feel free to delete) Original Dropbox YC app: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/2/app.html Had to remove some names and one sensitive thing but otherwise unedited

Wow, that is a great application. This is exactly what I meant about being clear and concise. I linked to it from the essay.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#96

Post by zaidf »

Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.

What if it was potentially criminal? Would you still want to know:)?

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#97

Post by zaidf »

korch wrote: post #55

So let me get this straight--if you make it through the gauntlet of rather arbitrary, hype-driven judgements, you get a whopping $10k and you have to move to the Bay, which has among the highest real estate and cost of living in the country? How is this not a complete waste of time since it's so exploitive of developers? Oh, that's right, being part of the startup-hype bubble machine entitles you to a magic wand that…

reading y-combinator startup competition rules. they pay you a mere 10k to be their slave & you have to move to the bay? f'ing rip off!

Tell that to someone who has been a real slave.

And ask around founders at YC about their time during YC. Vast majority wouldn't trade it for anything.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#98

Post by wheels »

dhouston wrote: post #73
lacker wrote: post #14

It would be great to see previous successful applications, if they don't mind. (Unsuccessful ones would be interesting too but that might be weird for them.)

Hopefully I won't feel stupid posting this, but I wished someone had done the same thing when I applied. (pg -- if you'd rather I not share this, feel free to delete) Original Dropbox YC app: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/2/app.html Had to remove some names and one sensitive thing but otherwise unedited

Here's the real gem:

"Prototype - done in Feb. Version I can charge for: 8 weeks maybe? (ed: hahaha)"

Ah, founders' optimism.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#99

Post by paraschopra »

dhouston wrote: post #73
lacker wrote: post #14

It would be great to see previous successful applications, if they don't mind. (Unsuccessful ones would be interesting too but that might be weird for them.)

Hopefully I won't feel stupid posting this, but I wished someone had done the same thing when I applied. (pg -- if you'd rather I not share this, feel free to delete) Original Dropbox YC app: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/2/app.html Had to remove some names and one sensitive thing but otherwise unedited

The document was very informative. A repository of YC apps would definitely be a tremendously useful collection, not just for future YC applications, but for general startup community as well.

Re: How to Apply to Y Combinator

#100

Post by paraschopra »

jamiequint wrote: post #66
korch wrote: post #55

So let me get this straight--if you make it through the gauntlet of rather arbitrary, hype-driven judgements, you get a whopping $10k and you have to move to the Bay, which has among the highest real estate and cost of living in the country? How is this not a complete waste of time since it's so exploitive of developers? Oh, that's right, being part of the startup-hype bubble machine entitles you to a magic wand that…

YC for us was much more about the connections than the money. It makes getting in the door a lot of places much easier, VCs/Angels are big on referrals and YC is kind of an insta-referral to anyone you want to talk to. The value of YC also depends largely on what kind of company you want to start. If you're looking to start a small shop making $500k-$2M (max) a year in revenue with 2-3 people than YC probably isn't f…

No offense, but I am curious about the number of YC startups who are currently doing (or done in the past) "$500k-$2M (max) a year in revenue with 2-3 people"?
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