Yc App

I get asked a lot about YC and how to prepare for the application. The feedback I've most commonly given, listed below:

On the Application

go through the official yc notes on the topic - its succinct and actually does list out exactly what the partners are looking for in a YC founder
YC cares less about the idea and more about the people - the understanding is that seed stage startups have a high failure rate and that no one, including YC, really knows which idea is going to make it. But what they've observed is that a good team, that is willing to iterate and "make something that people want", has the greatest chance of success and these are also the sorts of teams that YC funds
If you know an existing YC founder, ask them to recommend you. YC has an internal referral program and it is something that partners take into consideration when looking at applicants
If at first you don't succeed, try again. A large percentage of YC companies made it in after several attempts (including yours truly - I applied 3 times). Multiple attempts is not a bad thing and shows that doing a startup is more than just a passing fancy

Prepare a list of the three most important points you want to make to the partners with and try to get to them as soon as possible. The interview is only a few minutes and its easy to get side tracked
Make sure you understand your problem space. Don't try to bs answers and admit if you don't know something
If you can, practice the interview format with a friend or someone that has gone through the process before

Created 2024-04-05T00:07:59.483000, updated 2024-04-12T20:09:16.868000 · History · Edit