Applications open for Winter 2011 YC Funding, Deadline October 19
ycombinator.com
ycombinator.com
http://ycombinator.com/howtoapply.html
It's odd how many don't seem to.
When do you expect companies to move to the bay area? Further, what time frame do you work in for the interviews etc.?
I should have specified what I meant by the time frame. My co-founder is still in school. So I was wondering if you has something like a block of time you scheduled it in so that if he had any issues at all I knew 100% whether or not he would be able to come.
So, what I wished to ask is if there was some flexibility in the dates just in case someone throws a fit (we are still monetarily dependent).
Do the existing ones still apply?
I don't think it hurts you as much as it can possibly help you. If you have lots of intelligent comments, it's one more reason to put you in the "interview" pile. I think only a few people in our round had notable HN records.
1) Is there any process for investing in a company already incorporated in Canada? Could we apply with the assumption we would move it over to the US if accepted?
2) Would YC consider applications for a team with an existing early-stage product on the market?
Many YC companies already have products on the market.
18 months on we still don't have visas as we haven't found it necessary to be based in the US - or not important enough to subject ourselves to the expense and distraction of the visa application process. We come and go from time to time on VWP. Only now the company's becoming more solid will we look at obtaining visas.
2) yes. there are several companies on the current round who applied when they had both a launched product and were also already generating decent revenue.
Other than I'm not aware of any good options unless you have a company to back you (L1/H1B), serious money (7 figures), family in the US (7+ year queue), or a Nobel prize (not kidding - take a look at the 'alien of extraordinary ability' visa).
if you're working on something completely location agnostic and you're getting a lot of valley investor interest around demo day, it probably makes more sense to stay in the US than return to the UK (that's what we did).
"Running a business" is specifically forbidden for visa waiver or B1/B2 visa visitors; besides, I suspect they won't be too happy if you repeatedly "visit" to the extent that >50% of your time is spent in the US. H1-B seems to be a lottery and infeasible if you own the company and are employed by it. I have no idea if we'd qualify for an EB-1, and E1/E2 seem more geared for owners/employees of bigger companies than recently-formed startups.
There seems to have been a string of originally European YC-funded companies that successfully moved to the US, yet there are examples where founders are "stranded" in Europe (e.g. Dailybooth). I vaguely remember an article written by one British founder of a YC startup some years back who got in via an E2, but I can't seem to find it. It would be extremely interesting to hear about past experiences with this; I realise it's possible that there's a good reason why everyone keeps quiet about it.
I just spammed Ian Hogarth from SongKick on Twitter, asking him to weigh in. I'm curious to hear his thoughts on it.
It's hard not being based in the Valley though and means a lot more travel if you want to close major distribution partnerships. You have to appear like you're based in the Valley to really compete for deals.
I've seen others mention a rejection email (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11495), but I didn't get one last round. Are rejection emails only for those who had interviews and got rejected or should everyone receive an email? I searched for the answer, but didn't find it.
edit: I searched my email and found a rejection from '09, but definitely didn't receive one from Summer '10.
Incidentally, the odds of getting accepted are much lower for applications after the deadline.
Incidentally, the odds of getting accepted are much lower for applications after the deadline.
I was working on something else when the application period opened and wasn't considering applying. A few months later, I was free and started working on the idea when the application period was extended, so I applied knowing the chances were low.
Is there any merit in reapplying a late submission (with some improvements in my case) or would you say those applications have already been vetted? I imagine it's the latter since it seems to be more about the team than the idea.
I think a B2 is good for six months; that's what I was planning to seek if our team was ever accepted, and I haven't had a problem getting them in the past whenever I traveled south on business. Of course, I would still be very interested to hear from any successful YC teams from Canada.
Of course, your mileage may vary, but this is what I've read from other people.
Let me know and thanks.
We can't do tours, unfortunately; we're just not set up for it.
Is it correct to assume "one on one" means that there will be someone from YC that will be helping each start-up with their respective issues on a day-to-day basis? Thanks in advance, pg.
There are other places in the United States that are much cheaper to operate (live), and in a much less aggrivating political climate, than California.
Then again, I think video conferencing, VoIP and presentations, etc., could substitute for this rich man mandating people move to work on the Internet. Why should programmers have to relocate?
Looks like a lot of karma-flaming on my posts. Awesome, guys.