Y Combinator: Is there an example of a rejected or a not-so-good YC application?
I read and re-read the Y Combinator Application submitted for Dropbox. Personally/honestly it made me nervous and hesitant, more than what it helped. I started considering that application as an ideal one which I can't match in a month's time to submit, and began to confusingly stare at the form and contemplate, if I should spend time building the product rather than expending energy on a mostly-to-be rejected application. With that said, a major part of me still urges and pushes me to give a try, and hence the question.
I'd like to see some examples of rejected applications just to get an idea of how bad is bad, so that I can avoid get going that way (or more so convince myself to just submit it anyway). Thanks!
I'd like to see some examples of rejected applications just to get an idea of how bad is bad, so that I can avoid get going that way (or more so convince myself to just submit it anyway). Thanks!
3 Answers
"began to confusingly stare at the form and contemplate, if I should spend time building the product rather than expending energy on a mostly-to-be rejected application."
The app can be completed in an evening. It doesn't hurt to submit an application, and rejection has no consequence. Don't get intimidated by the Dropbox application.
The easiest to reject applications probably share a few similar traits:
- no product and no traction, just an idea
- solo founder or team with no prior history of building & shipping things
- writes multi-paragraph answers instead of being concise
It would probably be wise to
- get back to working on your product
- spend a few evenings writing & revising the app
- get yc alums in your network to get feedback & recommend you
I don't work at YC nor have I ever met any of their key people however I can think of a few things sure to get one denied:
-not having a product built or at least partially built (have no idea if this stil applies to hardware startups because I don't know much about hardware). However I do know that they accepted certain applicants and made them change their idea and start a new one from scratch. So I guess if you come off as truly exceptional, they may make some exceptions.
- an expansion of my last point would be having a 50 page business plan without even talking to customers. That is a really bad thing to do for software startups.
- no technical background; YC was started by mostly programmers. Paul Graham wrote on his blog that it's easier to teach an engineer business than to tech a business person engineering. This is not to say that you can't have a business background, however they do tend to favor technical people over business people. I think any business oriented founder considering YC should learn the basics of programming and partner up with a great technical cofounder (all business people should learn the fundamentals of programming if they are going in the tech industry).
-No history of being great. Even if you didn't do anything in tech or business before, try and show that you accomplished more than the average person would. A good example would be winning #1 in the state for golf. While that doesn't necessarily show that you have the same exact skill sets needed to be a tech entrepreneur. It does show that you have dedication, motivation, and discipline. All of which are necessarily to start a successful startup. YC doesn't want average people with average accomplishments. They want outliers.
-I say you should just focus on researching your market, talking to customers/user, and making a great product that improves lives. If you just do that, you will probably succeed. If you can show that to YC, they will be much more likely to accept you. Even if they don't, there are a handful of others that offer plenty of value as well (but not all accelerators so be sure to do due diligence on any accelerator your ready to give equity up for it).
Wrote this on iPhone so please excuse any grammatical errors. You should really just check out: paulgraham.com and read his essays. That way you can get the info directly from the source rather than just taking the advice from one of his many fans. I'm a huge paul graham fan for the record.
-not having a product built or at least partially built (have no idea if this stil applies to hardware startups because I don't know much about hardware). However I do know that they accepted certain applicants and made them change their idea and start a new one from scratch. So I guess if you come off as truly exceptional, they may make some exceptions.
- an expansion of my last point would be having a 50 page business plan without even talking to customers. That is a really bad thing to do for software startups.
- no technical background; YC was started by mostly programmers. Paul Graham wrote on his blog that it's easier to teach an engineer business than to tech a business person engineering. This is not to say that you can't have a business background, however they do tend to favor technical people over business people. I think any business oriented founder considering YC should learn the basics of programming and partner up with a great technical cofounder (all business people should learn the fundamentals of programming if they are going in the tech industry).
-No history of being great. Even if you didn't do anything in tech or business before, try and show that you accomplished more than the average person would. A good example would be winning #1 in the state for golf. While that doesn't necessarily show that you have the same exact skill sets needed to be a tech entrepreneur. It does show that you have dedication, motivation, and discipline. All of which are necessarily to start a successful startup. YC doesn't want average people with average accomplishments. They want outliers.
-I say you should just focus on researching your market, talking to customers/user, and making a great product that improves lives. If you just do that, you will probably succeed. If you can show that to YC, they will be much more likely to accept you. Even if they don't, there are a handful of others that offer plenty of value as well (but not all accelerators so be sure to do due diligence on any accelerator your ready to give equity up for it).
Wrote this on iPhone so please excuse any grammatical errors. You should really just check out: paulgraham.com and read his essays. That way you can get the info directly from the source rather than just taking the advice from one of his many fans. I'm a huge paul graham fan for the record.
Views
What is the worst thing that could ever happen?
Receive a rejection letter from YC. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not.
Be prepared to fail along this entrepreneurial journey and learn from your failures. Believe in yourself. It's not YC admission that matters.
I suggest you to apply YC. The questions in the application form will make you certainly think about what matters them the most :)
Receive a rejection letter from YC. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not.
Be prepared to fail along this entrepreneurial journey and learn from your failures. Believe in yourself. It's not YC admission that matters.
I suggest you to apply YC. The questions in the application form will make you certainly think about what matters them the most :)
