Applying to YC

#1

Post by hglaser » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 7:42 PM UTC

Applying to YC
blog.samaltman.com

Re: Applying to YC

#2

Post by gault8121 » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:01 PM UTC

That's great to see. How many YC companies apply multiple times and are accepted in a later batch?

Re: Applying to YC

#3

Post by rdlecler1 » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:01 PM UTC

Refreshing.

Re: Applying to YC

#4

Post by Kevin_S » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:06 PM UTC

gault8121 wrote: post #2

That's great to see. How many YC companies apply multiple times and are accepted in a later batch?

I've read before that many YC companies were rejected multiple times before being accepted on their 3rd, 4th, 5th tries. Dropbox is one of those.

Re: Applying to YC

#5

Post by maybeiambatman » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:07 PM UTC

Kevin_S wrote: post #4

gault8121 wrote: post #2

That's great to see. How many YC companies apply multiple times and are accepted in a later batch?

I've read before that many YC companies were rejected multiple times before being accepted on their 3rd, 4th, 5th tries. Dropbox is one of those.

Did they apply with the same idea/product? Or was it Dropbox each time?

Re: Applying to YC

#6

Post by sama » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:10 PM UTC

gault8121 wrote: post #2

That's great to see. How many YC companies apply multiple times and are accepted in a later batch?

a lot--i updated the post to reflect this.

Re: Applying to YC

#7

Post by btrautsc » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:16 PM UTC

- didn't get in first time (check, different company though). - weren't sure if good fit for b2b/ saas company (wrong). - questioned how much value YC could provide us (many times more than expected).

for us going through YC, working with the partners, and joining the YC network were the best things we could have possibly done.

Thinking back to life pre-YC (Dec-13) to now the rate of change (progress/ growth/ knowledge) is unreal.

Re: Applying to YC

#8

Post by wmf » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:18 PM UTC

sama, I'm curious about how it works when YC invests in a company with "millions of dollars raised"; do you still take 7% and if so how do you avoid the appearance of a down round?

Re: Applying to YC

#9

Post by oretoz » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:20 PM UTC

Sam's comments are encouraging but in the notes [1] about the application process they also mention how they look at a user's comments.

I signed up on HN after being a passive reader for a long time and so haven't accumulated a lot of karma.

I suppose lack of comments shouldn't be a deterrent as Sam suggested but may be the messaging needs to change a bit? Just my humble opinion.

[1] https://www.ycombinator.com/howtoapply/

Re: Applying to YC

#10

Post by sama » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 8:24 PM UTC

wmf wrote: post #8

sama, I'm curious about how it works when YC invests in a company with "millions of dollars raised"; do you still take 7% and if so how do you avoid the appearance of a down round?

we do, but we buy common stock, and no one thinks of it as a normal investment, so it's almost never problematic.