We added two new questions this year: Why did you pick this project to work on? and How will you get users? In retrospect it's surprising we didn't already ask these. (When reading applications we found we were trying to reconstruct answers to them from the answers people gave to other questions.)
We also stopped describing the video as optional. In practice it wasn't.
For startups that rely on 'going viral': The benefit that users get from telling their friends is...
For businesses that need to get 2+ separate-facing user bases: The game theory aligns and makes it rational for both X and Y to participate because...
For startups doing B2B sales: The reason the X will look like a hero to his boss for making this purchase is...
If I were the one reading these I would also add "What's the one thing that needs to happen for this business to become a huge success?" Not only is this (IMHO) necessary to ballpark how likely the business is to succeed, but it's also extremely good at spotlighting both good and sloppy thinking.
i think "how will you get users?" is a great question for whittling the field. any startup entrepreneur with experience knows that "viral effect" is not the answer, and a strategy is involved...especially if you don't have the valley resources at your disposal.
i'm assuming "why did you pick this project..." is all about the passion...
Yes, of course. (And I believe YC already asks a question about that.) Employers regularly claim intellectual property rights to the inventions of their employees. But issues coming up does not equal issues being unsurmountable.
First of all, many jurisdictions make it hard for employers to try to control things you invent on your own time without using their facilities -- which doesn't keep employers from trying.
Secondly, even if your employer arguably does control the IP you need, that doesn't mean they won't give it up. Woz famously realized that HP had a claim to the Apple I and offered to let them have it; HP thought of it as more of a hobby than a business and the rest is history.
Universities and other research institutes routinely let employees spin off companies, usually in exchange for some share (although, anecdotally, it seems that universities that are new to the game often ask for more than universities that already have strong spin-off cultures).
Random question: what would you guys like to hear/know about applying (or YC in general) that's not already out there? I've been considering writing a blog post about GazeHawk's YC experience, but there are so many good ones already, and I don't want to just add redundancy. Anything unanswered from a startup perspective you'd like to know?
This is not so much for me, but if you have anything you didn't like about it, I think a lot of people would really like to hear about it. The most negative blog post I've seen on HN was something to the effect of "it wasn't the right fit for me", and it's really hard to judge something critically without getting both positive and negative opinions. From what I've seen of you guys it looks like it was a very positive experience for you though, so I'm not sure this is really applicable.
For myself, I'd say write it if you can think of any related tidbits/stories to tell. Those are always interesting.
The fact that negative experiences are hard to find is probably a good sign.
I can't think of much negative that pg didn't cover in his reply, though I think the size of the batches has grown too large, and is a less effective process because of it. I was surprised to find at the last dinner I attended that there were still groups at the very end of the 3 month period that didn't know each other personally. That blew my mind, as I was on a first-name basis with everyone in our batch by the third or fourth dinner, and the interaction with the other founders was the most valuable part of the YC experience for me.
Does YC usually only accept new (i.e. early stage startup) companies? We've been online for almost 8 years now, and we have a new product we're really excited about. We already have demo code for the new product, not to mention an existing product that we've been selling since we started. So for us, the mentoring and feedback from other founders and YC would be invaluable, much more so then any investment (we're already self funded).
Just curious if there is anyone that has gone through YC with an established company, and how that worked out for you.
I hear you - at this point, 6 percent wouldn't be a whole lot though. We've been operating (mostly) profitably for a long time, but nothing to brag about. I'm just curious if anyone has done it before, and how it worked out.
Eight years seems like a bit much, but if they're shifting focus or going through a new phase, I think they could benefit more than just with "a bit of advice."
Yes - we're developing a new product in a related area (that we can target to our existing customers), but it's really an entirely new direction for us, and really could easily be the start of a "new" company.
Eight years without going anywhere worth speaking of is time to call it quits, if what you want is a startup. Don't let old mistakes hold you back. I shutdown a seven year old business after its most profitable year in existence in order to start Virtualmin, because I made a rational assessment of where things were going and could see very clearly that the previous business would never be the business I wanted it to be, and because it had such a long, slow-climb, history, raising money for it or bringing in new partners would have been a challenge that new startups don't face. Unproven is better than "proven to grow slowly" for investors and entrepreneurs.
even if you're not interested in YC, i recommend going through the questions yourself.
they are a great way to methodically think about your team and ideas (like "What do you understand about your business that other companies in it just don't get?")
My co-founder and I are looking to apply but it looks like I might have a baby due during the 3-months-in-SV stage and hence need to be close to base (Australia). Looks like I'll be hanging out for the following round. Good luck to everyone applying!
Can international candidates apply? if the answer is yes (and if we are selected) will YCombinator help us with obtaining J1 (or any other applicable)? or at least provide a document as an employer?
thanks
There's an answer to this question somewhere in YC's FAQ, and the answer is yes and no. They do accept international candidates, but you'll have to figure out all the visa issues by yourself. They are not employers and won't provide any documents. But since what they require is that you stay in SV for the 3 months cycle, this shouldn't be a problem with a regular tourist visa. (Things can get complicated afterwards, though, if you want to stay longer)
That's really tricky. I've been in exactly that situation; several years ago we started our first startup whilst cofounder was still doing his finals. So having experienced that plus currently experiencing YC, I think your hesitation is justified, lol. :D
This got me all thinking about how far we (the team) have come since we applied in Winter (and got rejected).
Does that count? How far you have progressed in mindset and development of the product? I wish there was a field for that in the application. I'd be interesting to see that progress, IMO.
We often fund people on their second or third try. Dropbox was Drew Houston's second try. I believe PagerDuty holds the record; that company was their fourth.
The group actually changed a bit from one application to the next. The ideas were completely different for the first and second applications. Applications three and lucky number four were for PagerDuty.
Sounds like between the second and third applications you found the right idea. What changed between the third and fourth, both of which had the same idea but one of which worked?
Not that anything necessarily had to change; YC has said before that because of where they have to draw the line, they almost certainly reject some good startups.
Consider updating the "Do we have to be US citizens?" question in FAQ to include that teams would have to fly up for the interview in addition to the three months (if that is still the decision).
I do not agree with you. My question is relevant to that topic, here on HN, personally I simply delete letters from strangers would not have to waste time. A PG address is, but I just do not write for people who do not expect a letter from me.
A much better policy would be not to write people that don't want the letter from you, and pg would definitely want to hear from any billion dollar company that wants him as an investor
Anyway, I've now ingested my USDA daily recommended amount of trolling, so I won't be responding any deeper in this thread
We also stopped describing the video as optional. In practice it wasn't.