AMA with YC Partner Aaron Harris on Applying to YC – S17 Deadline Is Tonight
YC applications for the Summer 2017 batch are due tonight. Here's the link to apply - http://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
Is there a rating system? A binary yes/no that needs to be seconded by enough reviewers?
The ones with enough passing votes then get reviewed by partners. We then vote on every application between 2-5 times, and stack rank the results. We invite the top ~450 to interviews.
The "right stage" is more a question of how long you've been working than an absolute state. The more you can get done in a given amount of time, the better.
Time meaning calendar days or person hours? E.g. if you're comparing a two cofounder startup with a three cofounder startup, where they've each been working full time for a year, do you care more about absolute progress after a year or about progress normalized to the number of person hours?
Obviously after you invest the main metric that matters is progress per calendar day, since that's what affects your IRR. But if a startup hasn't taken external funding then there is a more interesting discussion to be had about the relative meaningfulness of each, how their importance might be shifting over time, etc.
Obviously it's different for full time vs. part time and many vs. few. However, if an idea has been sitting around in halfway space for years, I'm going to want to know why.
At what stage would a company like Dropbox (or any other successful YC graduate) benefit the most from going through the YC program?
(And I realize this varies depending on the industry or the founders' backgrounds)
If you cannot state a number can you at least qualitatively tell us whether having a referral is a huge boost or a slight advantage?
Is a video interview a new thing? I thought it was just 1) Apply (with a pre-recorded video explaining your startup) 2) In-person at the YC office. Is there a step 1.5 now too?
People have a tendency to overestimate ideas. They are remarkable easy to come up with. I have been in brainstorming session, where we would come up with at least 10-12 really good ideas within an hour. Usually it is execution that matters at the end, as you don't know what it works or what it doesn't.
Tested ideas that move the needle a lot on the other hand are valuable: Eg. We tried to get sign ups doing X, but we failed, but then when we did Y and Z and added these two features we saw a huge increase in signups and retention. -- That's direct learnings from the field, and it is both expensive and somewhat valuable.
But what's questionable is whether YC acts in favour of the new applicants that share their insights honestly, or whether they are more prone to protect their investment in the already funded startup (by providing them with details/intel).
There is always a chance, though, that an alum who is reviewing applications might see a competing company. While we try to prevent this from happening, we can't be 100% sure. We're pretty careful with which alums are included in the review process, though, and we trust those alums to skip applications that might be competitive rather than trying to gain from reading it.
Which I am doing now haha. although i think it does change the link to an unregistered video so you may have to edit your application.
I introduced this model at my own coworking space and it's a huge success. The idea to make this model available on a worldwide mobile marketplace is only 2 weeks old and I started working with 3 of my members on it. As they are all freelancers, they can't just start with something full-time without funding. So I created a prototype/milestone deal with them, paying a little out of my pocket now and more when I raise money + possibility to become co-founders. No shares etc. have been discussed yet. How would you put this in the application? And one more question: We don't have a demo yet, shall I include a possible link for it or is there a way of updating you guys. I'm confident we can show progress in the next days. Thanks!
I think that was a brilliant podcast and it offered a lot of valuable insight to others embarking down that path.
While we think we can definitely grow upwards of 1 Billion which is what VC firms usually look up too. After 1 Billion is gonna depend a lot on being able to lower the cost of the product enough to increase volume
How hard is this rule? What if the company cannot reach that 10 Billions in Revenue in the future is that a weighted heavily on the application?
When I read an application, I force myself to imagine a world in which this idea + team could create a really big company. If that's true, than I'm interested. If not, I'm less likely to want to go further.
I imagine YC is more like going from 0.5 to 1--focusing on one or two things such as product or marketing--rather than the 0 to 1 where everything is covered like was done in Sam's How to Start a Startup course at Stanford?
Did I dream it? Is that still the case that if people like my HN posts, I may get special attention to my application?
Thanks
Is it the core values? Is it the networks, what would you say makes YC unique?
[1] confusing, not very good
Thank you!
Also, would you be open to funding a nonprofit in a similar space to one you've already funded that's doing things in a different way?
Can I include multiple "hacks"?
Something that a lot of applications get wrong and kills their chances early on.
It would be particularly impressive for a team of ~2-3 people to:
- build a product
- handle legal/HR paperwork to set up a company + recruit + hire
- launch
- iterate based on feedback
- Get solid traction by demo day
in just 3 months (the duration of YC).
It seems to me that in the early days of YC, most companies would finish the YC program while still in the idea phase or barely past it, whereas most recent YC companies already have solid traction by demo day.
Does it look bad if we have 4 founders ?
Thank you, Channa