Frequently Asked Questions from YC Applicants
blog.ycombinator.com
blog.ycombinator.com
In particular, is the following still true?
> Q: Can you apply to YC with just an idea?
> Yes. We accept companies at a wide range of stages into the batch. Cruise, for example, had been working on their idea for just two weeks when they applied to YC.
and
> Q: Can you apply if you haven’t launched?
> Yes. Fewer than half of the companies we fund have launched before they apply.
Looking at the list of YC companies in the recent batch, it seems like many of those companies have significant traction by demo day, significantly more so than YC companies in batches from a few years ago. Obviously, there are many factors that may contribute to this:
1) Advances in development tools as well as SaaS for startups: e.g. Stripe, Stripe Atlas, Clerky, etc.
2) YC's brand name / perceived value has gone up + YC's deliberate outreach efforts. This could mean more and better companies are applying to YC so the bar has gone up.
But even controlling for those factors, it seems like many of the current companies are still further along by demo day compared to previous batches. Are there any examples of YC W18 companies that applied pre-traction or at the idea stage?
I guess the more common question than
> Q: Is YC just for early stage companies?
is probably
> Q: Is YC just for companies that have already found product market fit / have shown traction?
One of the things I hear most often from our founders is that they accomplished more in their 3 months at YC than they did in the entire year before. Also, keep in mind that press is selective, and some companies wait years before publically launching as a YC company.
I was very disappointed when my last submission was rejected without them even clicking on the demo link. I remain a believer in the idea but I have to put food on the table so it's on the backburner for now :(
It is one of the most frequently asked questions by founders of India based companies as well as existing investors of India-based companies.
>There are a bunch of reasons why it's valuable for Quora to be a YC company:
>We'll have Sam and all the other partners to help us.
>We get to be part of the YC community / alumni network of founders.
>We get access to all the resources of YC.
>We were raising money anyway, so there was no overhead in letting YC participate - this ends up the same for us as if we had just raised slightly more money from Tiger. And independent of the benefits to Quora, I think it will be fun personally to participate in some of the YC events. I hope my perspective can help some of the other companies.
1) Companies that are in international markets and want to launch in the US. YC can provide a great platform for this.
2) Companies that sell services to startups (i.e., devtools) and can make use of YC's network to get customers faster.
3) Companies that have bootstrapped thus far but now want to raise a larger round from investors and want help doing so.
4) Companies whose business is at a substantial size but not growing quickly, and want to grow faster.
5) Companies that want to make a major business change, and want help with doing that. We've had companies pivoting from hardware to software, from a service company to a product company and more.
- Do I need to document every single expense with invoices similar to vat?
- What kind of expenses I can write off to my business? Apartment, house, car lease?
- What kind of salary to founders pay themselves?
- Do you hire yourself at the company or only pay yourself dividends as a salary? That's a popular method in Poland for founders to lower their income tax
- What's a popular visa used for this? I am looking at L1 but I am not sure how the connection between companies is established
- How demanding are the investors? If growth is slower than expected are there problems?
I would actually be happy to pay someone to get answers. But not sure who. A lawyer seems overkill for some of the basic questions.
Visa wise most people I know travel on an ESTA (visa waiver, 3 months) or get a B1 if needing to stay for longer than 3 months.
Not at all.
- What kind of expenses I can write off to my business? Apartment, house, car lease?
This is determined by US tax law, not YC. Generally part of your rent can be expensed if you are working out of your house or apartment.
- What kind of salary to founders pay themselves?
Usually founders pay themselves initially a salary that is below market for what they could be making at an established company, but enough to live on. Once their company reaches a certain level of success, they raise their salary to a market level.
- Do you hire yourself at the company or only pay yourself dividends as a salary? That's a popular method in Poland for founders to lower their income tax
You hire yourself.
- What's a popular visa used for this? I am looking at L1 but I am not sure how the connection between companies is established
During YC most founders stay on a visitor visa. After YC, most founders choose to get an O1.
- How demanding are the investors? If growth is slower than expected are there problems?
Not from YC or from typical silicon valley seed investors.
IIRC, YC use to take 6% for $100k. The link above says average now is $1m is raised from demo days.
Is that $1m for 6% or some higher equity percentage?