Show HN: YC Review – Get your YC application reviewed by an alum | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: YC Review – Get your YC application reviewed by an alum

ycreview.com

86 pointsaloukissas22 comments

Hmmmmm. "We are entrepreneurs that want to give back to the community, by making it easier to get access to early feedback by experts. You can always reach out for more info."

My read: "we're not YC alum ourselves", since that would obviously be the first thing they'd say to engender trust.

Funny how that changes how I think about this. If they are in the YC family already, definitely more trust. YC alum abide by a certain code. If these guys aren't YC alums -- just some random guys -- then very different implication.

I personally wouldn't use this unless these guys are verifiably YC alums themselves. Otherwise, if you're an applicant - would you really want to trust some random dudes with your plans for world domination? If you're a YC alum - do you really want to pour time into something with unclear motivations and actors?

My $0.02. Probably being too cynical.

Edit: Ooof, the "I’m an investor, can I access your user base? The short answer is maybe." doesn't make me feel any better. Seems pretty counter to the YC spirit for there to be a side-hustle on paying-it-forward / helping each other.

Also I wonder how they authenticate the "alums" who sign up. Who's to say it's not someone posing as a founder from a YC company after setting up a plausible gmail address?

From the website:

How do you verify that reviewers are YC alumni?

At this point, we personally invite them to volunteer as reviewers. We may add more verification steps such as Twitter and/or AngelList account linking in the near future.

Verification is a hard issue, as one can imagine. We're exploring dropping the double-blind review part (making it optional) if both parties consent to that.

Bang on! "I’m an investor, can I access your user base? The short answer is maybe.", sounded very shady. Not sure I can trust them with some very personal information.

Hi there! I've really tried to be very upfront that we'll _never_ share any info (even emails) without prior consent. If this is not clear in the FAQ, this is a failure on my end.

Yeah, I'm surprised there wouldn't be any mention at all of at least one person who is involved.

Also, is it free?

Yes, it's a free, no-hidden-agenda, community effort.

Honestly, if you are applying to YC and want someone to read your application and give you feedback (which is in no way required)... I recommend you reach out to YC alumni directly. You can find a list of YC companies here: http://www.ycombinator.com/companies/

Even more importantly... I would focus on writing code and talking to users.

Hey everyone, this is Alex - the main person behind YC Review.

First of all, the response to this has been amazing! Both from volunteer reviewers and applicants.

Trying to address some common points some of you are raising:

1. This is coming from a real desire to help the community - no agenda really behind the project. So, everything is free (nobody pays or gets paid).

2. Aside from having gone through YC Startup School ('17), I'm not affiliated with YC or an alum. I've tried to be open about this in the FAQ (maybe not quite clear?).

3. Re: verification - to begin with, I've personally invited YC alumni directly. I will probably add Twitter/Angellist/other verification as well.

4. Anonymity - this wasn't really intentional but is now fixed. I've added a link to my LinkedIn on the page, so now there's a face behind the project.

Hope this helps!

My personal opinion: in spite of your efforts, this is too easily mistaken for an official Ycombinator service. The name is a problem - it creates trademark confusion. But the orange header at the top is a problem as well, because it mimics the style of the official YC website.

My recommendation would be to bite the bullet now and change the name. It will allow you to build a brand of your own, and succeed on the strengths of your service instead of on a misunderstanding.

You have a good idea that could succeed with good execution. It deserves an identity of its own.

Thanks, this makes sense. Easiest is to maybe start with color branding change.

Yep, and then the name too

I personally have a network of alums I've created just by being on HN, attending Startup School, being interviewed (and meeting people there), and from friends...

This definitely would have made that process easier to get your app reviewed, but honestly it's often not the app that fails. That network advises me even outside of the review process so I highly recommend trying to build one yourself!

I admire their transparency regarding data sharing, something I suspect happens way more often than the products (users) are made aware.

> I’m an investor, can I access your user base?

> The short answer is maybe. You can drop us a line and we’ll take it from there. We’ll never share anyone’s application without their consent.

This is interesting, but you will probably get better reviews and feedback through your network. It is probably better than sending generic cold emails to YC founders though (which happens and I would discourage).

While I am open to giving back to the community, this should really have a little more information on who's behind it, what a sample review looks like, etc. Also if the reviews are truly double-blind, it seems to take a lot out of the value for the founder. One of the big reasons I help many startups I don't already know is simply to expand my network.

I honestly began with double-blind to remove bias and perhaps to increase trust. Open to revisit that assumption :)

Cool! I wonder how much time alums will be willing to put in (unless you're paying them/charging applicants, of course). I imagine you'll get overwhelmed by applications around the deadlines, and I wonder if the individual desire to give back will wane after reading a bunch of apps. As a past (unsuccessful) applicant, a service like this sounds amazing. I just hope the alums are able to dedicate the time.

YC already relies heavily on alums internally for a first screening of applications. I believe many alums rise to the challenge each time, and invest many hours to review.

I’ve got an application in for W2019 after a failed attempt in S2018.

I submitted for W2019 on Day 1 and keep refining it.

I’ll give YC Review a crack and see if the feedback adds value.

I think applying YC is not like applying Ivy schools.

The only ones you need to impress are your customers.

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