Applications open Winter 2014 Funding | Hacker News Reader

Applications open Winter 2014 Funding

ycombinator.com

135 pointspg35 comments

One thing to note is that the application deadline is 2 days -after- Startup School.

I went to Startup School last year, and it was an amazing experience.

It can be a great place to meet people, tell them about your startup, and get real, honest, brutal feedback about what you're doing right or wrong.

If you're on the fence about applying to YC, go to Startup School, and you'll be convinced and inspired.

If you're already planning on applying, go to Startup School and meet some other founders- You'll get experience talking to brilliantly smart people who are great at seeing through marketing speak and BS. Practice explaining to as many people as you can - It's a great way to make new friends, and will be good practice for your YC interviews.

I am not sure if I can pitch for a co-founder but here goes:

GitHub for CAD. With 3D printing poised to explode shortly, I am predicting a need for versioning of CAD models (along with FEM analyses). Current solutions (PLM/PDM) are very expensive and usually need to be customized. This is a business that is runs into billions of USD per annum and is ripe for disruption.

If anyone is interested, please get in touch at dj@pgxplorer.com.

There should be a thread for co-founder pitches.

It should include what type of roles you can do as a founder, which roles your future co-founder should fulfill, and your location. Also a general description of your idea, what you've built so far, and your technology stack.

Personally I don't mind working solo on my startup - but if there was a thread like that I'd post to it to see if someone could complement my skills.

BTW, there is a dedicated site which caters to that need - http://founderdating.com/ (I believe they may have a fee for new members now though)

So I've just left a startup that I'd spent far too much time on and am looking to regroup. I'm currently validating a new idea and wanting to take all the shit I've learned and really make something work.

One thing I've learned is that anything that allows focus is good (i.e. YC) so I'm casting my eye towards SF and Startmate in Sydney. The problem is I'm based in New Zealand so it's hard to try and meet anyone involved beforehand and work out more about the program than what people say on here. Has anyone got any tips for reaching out to people involved with YC from a distance? I'm assuming PG's inbox is flooded, but I just want to discuss the program with someone who's got experience with or is involved with it in some way so I can form a better idea of it in my head and work out better prepare myself should I actually fluke and get in. Thanks :)

Look for someone who does something close to what you're doing. Make your email concise and questions pointed. You'd be surprised who you can email and get answers from.

It's worked for me a number of times. YC founders are fairly nice people.

I assume the experiment of considering people applying without a startup idea has not been successful.

What has been your experience with it ?

We didn't accept many no-idea applications, and on average those groups have done worse than regular applications.

YC RFSs look somehow a bit old as of today, especially "build things on twitter". I'm curious what #7 was? See http://ycombinator.com/rfs.html

http://ycombinator.com/rfs7.html

RFS #7's page is still there, just not linked: http://ycombinator.com/rfs7.html

> RFS 7: Applications of Facebook Instant Personalization

> This RFS is no longer active, because we're not sure what Facebook is doing with Instant Personalization

>RFSs #9: Kill Hollywood Reminds me of that foot note somewhere on the ycombinator website about requiring an army of lawyers to tackle music labels and how PG strongly suggests against it. Though the contents of this RFSs have little to do with directly killing the Hollywood industry, mind your step, heh.

If you are applying to YC and need advice, help on the application, or just want to chat online or at Startup school, email me. aj at instantcab dot com. I was rejected from the first YC batch, started up anyway, got to ramen profitability and was accepted for W12. So I can give a perspective from both sides of the fence :)

Did you participate in YC though? I don't see your main page (as well as blog) mentioning YC at all.

Yes we did, we should market it more huh?

http://m.techcrunch.com/2013/03/15/instantcab/

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/InstantCab

http://blog.ycombinator.com/instantcab-yc-w12-launches-in-sa...

We're a startup that just won the global demo day of AngelHack last week, and we're currently searching for a co-founder/CTO. FOSUBO (FOrget the SUggestions BOx), our start-up, allows customers to individually review employees. T-Mobile is already using our service in 7 stores, and we are planning on applying to YC for this round.

If you are interested in connecting with us about this opportunity, please email me at misa [at] fosubo [dot] com. To find out more about us, please visit fosubo.com and to find out more about me (CEO) visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/misachien

If we apply early, should we update the application with feature changes to our prototype until the last date? Or do you guys not care too much about prototype updates at this stage?

We were wondering the same thing.

A YC partner wrote on Quora that it's best to wait until later in the application process rather than describing a half-imagined idea.

I am very intrigued by #1. Especially because I feel like the only one company out there that is redefining Journalism in the way pg talks about is the NYT. This is a space that I would love to get into (love to write, have math/stats skills). Does anyone other companies working on this side of things?

#1 http://ycombinator.com/rfs1.html

There are no details in the FAQ about the $80k YC VC note, when do selected companies get it? Is it automatic?

They get it as soon as they finish the paperwork. It's automatic if companies incorporate in the US. (I believe there may have been some companies that chose to remain Canadian and thus didn't take the YCVC money, but I'm not sure.)

Thanks, good to know.

pg, will accepted non-profits get that, too? (Guessing not.)

No, but we may eventually manage to organize an equivalent thing for nonprofits.

Pg, Our 4-month-old startup is incorporated in California. I've heard that most Y Combinator startups are incorporated in Delaware. Is it necessary to reincorporate in Delaware if selected for the W2014 program? Thanks!

Various VCs have indicated in multiple blogs that the state of incorporation is not significant.

Having an out of state incorporation is a pain in the neck, and expensive, especially for people without much money. Don't bother. If the time arrives where Delaware incorporation becomes important, it is easy enough to merge into a new Delaware corporation at that time.

The main VC advice, and YCombinator advice is that the LLC -- Limited Liability Companies -- are not a suitable vehicle for VC investment.

Understood!

As much as I want the kill hollywood rfs to take off, two startups themes come to mind:

  - aws/opsource for medical research (medical will only get bigger)
  - privacy-as-a-services

Quante sono le probabilita che qualcuno, tra cui PG, inserira questo testo nel traduttore, ricordera il mio nome, e dara lieve maggiore positiva attenzione alla mia application? :)

Minimale.

>The people in your group are what matter most to us. We look for brains, motivation, and a sense of design.

Is that last bit new, pg? And what do you mean by it?

No, that's been there for years, maybe since the beginning. We're looking for people who are not merely good at building things, but who can decide what to build.

Ah, thanks.

Paul, I've read Hackers and Painters, and you can't imagine how HAPPY I am that you've been in Florence, and have been influenced by what you saw there.

I love, love the fact that (at least in words) there is a care for beauty, for design.

I am a geek and a hacker at heart, but I also love when something is crafted beautifully.

500px...

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