Applications for YC Winter 2016 are now open | Hacker News Reader

Applications for YC Winter 2016 are now open

ycombinator.com

169 pointskevin62 comments

In case anyone is looking for an example of an application and a video, here is my company's successful application and video from the S14 batch.

http://www.withkash.com/blog/2015/08/27/applying-to-yc-part-...

Love the direction you're going in with Kash btw! It feels extremely familiar ;)

(note: I'm being serious I actually love it)

Thanks!

My wife's name is Kashley, she often goes by Kash. Any chance you guys have t-shirts?

Sure! Send us an email through the site. I'll look for it.

When I see the applications of the types of people that made it through YC, it really makes me feel small. Either way, thanks for making this and good luck with Kash!

Perhaps you are being sarcastic, but if you aren't I honestly honestly hope you do not do this in other areas of your life and discount yourself.

I think you're misinterpreting the comment. That's just a nice way of giving a compliment, essentially saying he's humbled by the quality of people applying; not necessarily that he doesn't think much of himself.

You may be right. I wasn't sure.

I read it in the same way as schrodinger.

Indeed, many times how you understand a comment says more about you than the writer.

We provide a sample application here: http://www.ycombinator.com/howtoapply/#example

And sample videos here: http://www.ycombinator.com/video/

Here is my teams unsuccessful application, though we did get an interview:

http://synaptitude.me/blog/our-ycombinator-s15-application/

And we are applying again! Truly, we were encouraged by our rejection email.

We wanted to post our unsuccessful application (and hopefully eventual successful application) to show that it's okay to try, fail.

I recommend reading: http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html

Did you guys ever return to Ontario, or did the SF nab you like all the rest?

We ended up splitting the team. We have an office in KW and an office in SF.

Damn, that first line is so obvious why it's needed. I feel like the rest of the app doesn't matter at that point, so I dunno how to factor it in :P.

Good job anyways. :)

Here is how I gave up on YC https://medium.com/@danilka/how-i-gave-up-on-yc-d0935da5cf44

P.S. YC is great and everyone should apply. Even the application itself will help you.

Sample of a successful application, video, and tips (Lollipuff, W13): https://www.lollipuff.com/blog/102/lollipuffs-ycombinator-ex...

This may be especially useful for teams who wonder, "How much traction do we need," as we had some evidence of an unmet need and a MVP implementation when we applied.

Is it a flag if I truly do not have a Facebook or Twitter? (noticed the application asks for your handles). I'm still sociable, and still in my 20s, it's just they are too distracting, I don't like broadcasting my personal life, and I prefer lightweight messaging apps... I just hope if YC sees that they don't think "Uh oh, somethings wrong here..."

and if you're not in your 20s, you're suddenly less of a fit?

I meant the reason I don't use Facebook isn't because I'm older than the average applicant, since it's more understandable to shun Facebook the older you are (it wasn't pushed on you in every direction growing up). A facebook-less 20-something might be more a flag to them.

Well, then fuck them.

Facebook is dead anyways. Most of my friends don't have online personas. Facebook's new thing of only showing what your friends liked and commented on is extremely annoying and makes the site pointless. Lots of have realized this.

It's ok if you don't have Facebook or Twitter.

Hello,

How early stage can the applications be?

Do we have a chance with no users, or no significant growth?

You don't even need anything built yet - it can just be an idea! Of course, having users or growth makes you a stronger applicant, but you can apply with literally anything or nothing.

I think YC wants you to apply to their fellowship batch if you have "Just an idea, no prototype"

You definitely need to have talked to potential users and learned from them. If it's something you can build an MVP of in a couple months, we'd expect you to have put that in front of users. Some things take longer to build, and that's OK too.

Do work through the application and learn what sort of questions you should be asking.

Do you have insights? Things you know about the world or have learned from customers?

How do you know what you're working on is worth your time?

If you have answers for those questions, even with no growth or product out yet, still apply!

Found it interesting that even before people apply they need to mention "Only founders can come to interviews if invited or attend batch events if accepted." I can imagine YC has had a ton of problems with everyone wanting to see their speakers. Or maybe Quora decided to bring their whole company to every YC event.

When will the next fellowship applications be released?

Just guessing... First they will check if it was worth to try it again once the first batch finishes. I'm sure it will be soon after the normal winter batch if the move on with the new Fellowship program.

I suggest this time around YC picks a handful of apps and sends them feedback. It'll be like the next best thing to getting an interview. i don't see how unfair it is. they're already selecting a handful for interviews.

I am in the interesting situation that I am currently exploring two different ideas with two different groups of people. Both ideas are in completely different spaces and I am not sure yet which one I think is more promising. Due to the very different nature of the ideas it's currently easy for me as the potential, technical co-founder to divide my attention between those. Would there be any issue if I applied independently with both separate teams? Obviously I wouldn't be able to follow through on both if they got both accepted, but that scenario seems extremely unlikely to me.

In reality, you won't be able to focus on both. I know people say you can do it, and Elon Musk is a great example of a successful entrepreneur with two awesome companies, but one startup is hard enough on you and the people around you.

My take on this is that you're delaying a decision on what startup to focus on and relying on YC to make that decision for you. In reality, you should work on the startup that you WANT to work on, the one that solves a problem you care for.

This will also increase your chances to get into YC. Being committed is pretty much a requirement to get into YC (or have a successful company for that matter).

My advice is to choose between one of your projects, commit and do everything you can to make it awesome.

Any benefit to applying early? I know previously it was always said there was, but in Spring I remember sama saying they'd only start looking at them after the deadline.

Maybe you missed it, or it's since been edited, but see item #1: "Groups that submit early have a significant advantage because we have more time to read their applications."

Once upon a time I applied and was deemed unworthy. I kid, of course; it's a difficult road but immensely rewarding -- whether or not you get in.

Good luck to everyone!

Is the Requests for Startups http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/ anything new here? Very interesting, will spread the word.

On that page there is a very sad typo

" Undeserved Communities " should be " Underserved Communities "

ouchy

great catch

Dang, that's embarrassing. Should be fixed now.

Slightly off topic, but are the documents created by YC for YC companies open source? Specifically, the agreements beyond just the Articles of Incorporation?

Here you have what they have open sourced: http://www.ycombinator.com/resources/#documents

This is great for a deadline. If we have a great product and a lot of feedback from our user in the last week, definitely we will send the application.

Can someone comment on whether there is still age preference/discrimination at these YC events?

We have no age preference. We've funded founders who are in their late teens, and founders who are in their late 60s. The average age of the last batch was 29 (and the average age of the previous batch was 30).

Is there a way apply for multiple products? I hate waiting for a season for every idea.

That's like spam. Pick your best idea and apply with that, if that does not get in then you need a better one or a better team. It's up to you to pick your best idea, not up to YC, after all it's not as if you're going to be executing on all of your ideas at once and the YC crew has too little time during the evaluation of all the applications as it is.

If they'd allow someone to monopolize the pipeline it would be grossly unfair to those that do apply with just the one idea that they ideally would be executing on regardless of whether or not YC accepts them.

How does it work for an immigrant worker in the US? do they need to have a green card?

No, although it's better because it one less thing you'll have to worry about later. Once accepted, you can file online for an adjustment of status to B-1 without leaving the US and enjoy that status as soon as you submit -- although it will usually take a few months until your case is processed. You'll usually get 6 months and can reasonably extend for 10 months. Once accepted in YC, one can assume you can reasonably qualify for O-1 or EB-1, but because it takes longer to prepare such application, you best bet is to start with B-1.

Waste of time. We won't be applying this time.

I disagree; just applying forced us to ask ourselves a slew of critical questions about our business (http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/27/be-concise-the-top-question...).

We interviewed and were declined, but the journey was well worth the time and effort. The entire YC process is an excellent crucible for startups, and as usual you get out of it what you put in.

The YC application is what I use whenever I get one of those brilliant ideas. It helps me figure out if it has raw potential or if Im just full of crap. I've managed to only get one idea through the process. The one that has been profitable for a while now. :) Thanks YC

You should be asking yourself the questions anyway. You have practically zero chance of being accepted and the process is opaque. Spend your time working on your business instead.

YC is a for profit company, they're looking for a return on investment with the occasional "non profit" to impress the community and feel good. If they don't feel you have a big enough idea or can generate a big enough return you get rejected. Sometimes you can but other startups got interviewed first. There's only so much space. You shouldn't be that defeated. There's a lot of us that applied over the years and didn't get chosen. Never take it personally. Sometimes there just isn't room.

I love NewsLines.org by the way.

Thank you for the compliment. Actually, it's because I'm treating it as a business decision that I won't do it this time. It takes ages for us to put the application together, and the video is a nightmare. Instead, I'm spending my time on getting better leads.

... this time

That 'this time' is interesting.

Either you've applied before and you think applying again would be a waste of time, or you think it'd be a waste of time to apply for this particular round of YC.

If it's the former then that's a shame, but it's great that you can admit you've done nothing to fix the issues that caused you to be rejected the first time you applied.

If it's the latter, then you must see the situation changing at some point in the future to mean an application wouldn't be a waste of time. As it's unlikely YC will change their exceptionally successful model, that must mean you're working to change your situation so that an application might be successful. That's very positive. Good luck.

;)

I have actually applied three times. Each time the business was at a different stage, but the basics were the same: Highly-experienced team, huge market, great product. Our last application was extremely strong, and we didn't even get an interview.

The reality is that YC is skewed towards certain types of products and people. For example, they don't like media or news very much. IMHO they should be more clear about the types of businesses they want. But that's all fine, it's their system, their rules. I just don't want to play the game any more.

Here's a little comic strip (apologies to Dilbert) that may help you in your quest: http://i.imgur.com/QuyIGgO.jpg

I count 3 "media or news" companies in the Winter 14 YC batch[1], 1 in S13, 2 in W13, and 3 in S12. Interestingly Quora isn't listed - not sure what year they went and did it.

But I don't see any particular bias against media/news plays.

[1] http://yclist.com/

Which ones? As for the list, very few of those co's have the potential to be billion-dollar businesses.

In W14: Vidpresso, Threadable, Beacon. I'm not going back through the others now.

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