How to Apply And Succeed at Y Combinator | Startup School

[@ycombinator]

Who is interviewing for S23 right now?

[@alhadae]

Haha I'm eagerly waiting for that golden interview ticket to arrive

[@amirnathoo4600]

Still waiting for my application review

[@padeosarran]

Waiting

[@mohamadchaaban9646]

Time from now until the 25th of may feels so F slow 😂

[@SushilSharma-vp8cx]

not me

[@CuttingEdgeSchool]

I have 11 days left to apply. Been working on our prototype since 2 months, spoke to potential customers and it's time we apply to YC. I am confident about me and my co-founder but I also know that our idea will evolve. Today's Wednesday and I'm going to sit and design my final Wireframes (post feedback from potential customers) and record our videos on Saturday. Really excited to apply. Doesn't matter if I get in or not because just the experience alone has given me a lot of clarity of what we want to build and who are we selling it to.

[@dronepong]

I just submitted and there is a glaring typo in one of my responses...😅I hate that I can't go back without submitting an update. I wish you the best! You are right about the process forcing clarity into the vision of the company.

[@Saurav-xx]

achha bhaiya, Idea kya tha?

[@amineguerfi6123]

Any feedback after 5 months?

[@rudyferraz]

Today (4/22/24) is the 8th time I've applied, I'm not discouraged if we don't get in, I'll apply again, again, again, eventually we'll get in and build a company that will change how folks get around for free. Remember the only person stopping you is yourself.

[@enriquegr86]

hi, did you apply for S24? How did it go?

[@themargaritaparra]

Congrats on the tenacity

[@Kutlutr]

Congrats but you do not need YC to build it:)

[@genethemachine]

When my cofounder and I applied, we had an idea. Fast forward 30 days, and we now have an interactive prototype, growing website traffic, distribution channels, and an infinite amount of determination. It's happening fast and with Y Combinator it will happen at light speed.

[@issarukayat5992]

Hello, does this mean one can apply with just an idea without a prototype or an MVP?

[@cruucruu5584]

Me and my friends are brewing a new work platform. thanks to your videos, we were able to start creating our business plan, determine the business model, and plan ahead on how we tackle the future problems. 😌

[@Sir_A_tony]

Cool, how?

[@dg1h1t]

Side note: it’s okay, and even better to apply multiple times. I must admit all my life, I was of different mindset, and the failure only discouraged me from doing something I thought will not work out. And when I did do it and confirmed my suspicions, it discouraged even more and felt like waist of time. Getting used to do things that probably will not work.

[@none0n]

Very good video. During my Market research, I realize that there are big shots in the market, especially one who has raised $670k, that crushed me, I became scared because I bare have $5k savings for my startup. I have been have lots of anxiety about how to build the best product and stand out. I realised that the more I think of this, the more I loss my drive and fall into depression. Now I am going back to my roots, and just trying to go take it slow and be myself and solve the problems for our potential customers, and not worry so much about the competitors. This video also made me understand that it's not war, we just need to be ourselves and do the best we can for our customers.

[@nopelindoputraperkasa5869]

How to Register and Succeed at Y Combinator... the best video, greetings from traditional Indonesian gold miners

[@chapterme]

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Intro 00:17 - Why It's Worth Applying to YC 01:11 - Creating Luck 02:16 - 7 Weird Reasons Not to Apply to YC 02:27 - I Am Too Early 03:36 - Being a YC founder is different than watching YC KZbin videos 04:42 - How to Stop Being Discouraged From Applying to YC 06:21 - Other Reasons Why People Don't Apply to YC 07:16 - Don't Overthink 09:05 - YC's Application Tips 10:37 - YC Application Reviewing: The Basics 15:59 - What Are Your Odds of Getting an Interview at YC? 18:12 - How to Prepare for Your YC Interview 22:22 - What Makes a Successful Interview at YC? 23:38 - Post Interview Feedback 24:38 - Outro

[@reejuvideo456]

Thank you

[@kwhandy]

Despite you're not applying to YC(can't or even anymore), you already understand about any possible basic questions to ask to yourself as business owner whatever sector you're in. Business owner should realize that they are not running orphanage, even Orphanage-as-a-Service

[@nishantahvan]

I am applying from last 10 years, at least 12 times and got rejected . Again apply week ago. I have improved lots and my startup. Hope this time I selected. Fingers crossed.

[@dreamsachiever212]

I wish you success

[@nishantahvan]

@@dreamsachiever212 No brother rejected again.

[@amirnathoo4600]

These are all great tips for applying, but in my opinion the biggest barrier for even thinking about applying is the continuous assumption in every single YC videos that a startup will have multiple founders. So for me as a solo founder by choice, applying at YC is really like playing the lottery. Reason I applied though is because I have that under my control and applying is easy. As said in the video, you have to create your own luck. You have 100% control on that.

[@jmoney4695]

I think the founder matching program would work really well for solo entrepreneurs. Definitely something to think about in a potential interview.

[@amirnathoo4600]

@@jmoney4695 well I’ve tried that and most I have met are nowhere near the level of commitment I would expect. Was even ghosted once. I found my own networking to be the best. If not for finding a co-founder, at least to get the support I need for specific tasks. And so far I have been able to get traction on my own.

[@majesticmewtwo7386]

i completely agree wuth you. Being a 18 year old solo founder im sure that my odds of getting is non existent, even if i have some working experience.

[@chriswilfrid]

@@amirnathoo4600 What are you into Sir? I'm curious

[@BrandonShi]

Dalton! This is amazing. Thanks for being so transparent. Great info, as I start to apply for YC with my startup PlatePost!

[@David94305]

hey Brandon, do you have a website about your company?

[@formfakd]

"Hello people we are here to tell you about drama drama..!!!!" This is hilarious;)))). How refreshing it is to just listen to the super smart and normal people from YC. Listening to this logical, relaxed and just real line of thinking is like a "holiday for my ears" literally.

[@spegeleisen]

Applied for S24 but I feel like I kinda missed out on the strengths of my technical co-founder I'm the non-technical guy but have been *heavily* enthusiastic about tech Heck, I'll even be coding in the very early days, albeit with some handholding from my technical genius frendo While my application is currently under review, if I don't make it in, I do want to learn from this application and make a solid leap forward in strengthening my application - and by proxy, my startup itself ahahaha - when I apply again for W25, WITH my technical co-founder this time around :) This video has been so sweet & inspiring, I really want to thank YC for sharing this and putting this out there. Even as I sit here working on my current startup (albeit in a non-technical business vertical) at 1 AM, this has significantly impacted me and the work that I'm currently doing to make this world a better place :) I do look forward to talking with YC folks soon :D Also, Parag, if you're seeing this - nice

[@aaronaBio]

How nice. It’s going to be fine.

[@Dorian_Barber]

I thought the deadline passed. Can I still sign up? I’m going to sign up today.

[@rowanaldean]

Video on solo founders by choice is needed. Thoughts on founding team vs co-founders etc.

[@galbutler]

same boat

[@bes9542]

How is it that in every YC clip, we hear that applicants can apply from anywhere, but when you actually want to apply, there are a list of like 10 countries with 1 billion population not allowed to?!

[@donbernie9346]

great insights, I just wish I could see more black people and minorities at YC leadership.

[@boriszhilinskiy8187]

Thanks Dalton! Such a clear idea of YC application process!

[@1msirius]

thanks I'm applying to YC W2025 batch!

[@godwithagun]

Having a technical co-founder shouldn't be a prerequisite for accelerators - it's like saying you shouldn't own a house if you can't build your own house. A strong vision, passion and working prototype should be enough at this stage to get in. Plenty of startups that are well funded with heavy technical teams fail longterm, not from pure execution but from lack of creative vision.

[@nilwnah]

But isn't the more correct analogy that "you shouldn't build and sell houses if you can't build your own house"? Being an owner/consumer of a product is different than being a builder/seller of a product. Being a technical co-founder just means that you are a builder.

[@astrarai-thesobercoder]

Helpful and insightful. Thank you, Dalton.

[@TheFinalsTV]

Are there any protections for founders submitting their early companies/ideas to YC? Since a majority of companies are rejected doesn't that mean YC can pass on tons of competitor information to their existing investments?

[@gidd]

Ideas ain't anything implementation is everything

[@TheFinalsTV]

@@gidd My point is if you're already executing, already doing revenue, are getting traction and trying to grow. If YC is already invested in a competitor of yours, what's to stop them from rejecting you and sharing your innovations with their startup? YC sounds like a massive brain drain without any guarantees against conflicts of interest

[@gidd]

@@TheFinalsTV A massive brain drain? Kindly explain more about that

[@fintech1378]

You think too highly of yourself and the cost of an idea

[@pablojp3498]

Ideas are usually worthless. Execution is the true value of 99.99% ideas

[@sanangojayev]

I will be among those who apply for 2024 and I am very hopeful. I wish success to everyone.

[@xilluminati]

How did it go?

[@ggff2269]

Not gonna apply to YC but my prototype ensures we stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We also offer startups program that provides perks worth $200k from our partners like AWS, Monday and many more 😊😊😊

[@AINovelGenerator]

Thanks for another great video Dalton. We applied after the deadline, YC are still doing reviews until May 26 as 'Last Invites Sent by 9pm PT'. but my question is, will we get told if we are reviewed and don't get accepted? Or do we just wait for the deadline with our fingers crossed? thanks again!

[@estebanfelipe3980]

Great video. It really gives hope on the project you are working on even if you're not planning to aply to YC

[@mnnnw]

Hi, Brian Ebel here Breaking Biochar with Kevin Watters. FYI I just did the Microsoft AI Engineer exam, now I'm thinking how AI applies to Biochar lol. Hope your summer is going good!

[@andrewparker8636]

Great video. I think it would be helpful to link to the Paul Graham essay you mention. It's not linked here. If you go to the "How to apply successfully" link on the YC application then that just links to another video (which also doesn't link to the essay). I appreciate that you think it's bad if people don't read this before applying, but it would be helpful if you made it easy to read 🙏

[@rilwanj]

I may apply, but for some reason I want to reach PMF bootstrapping and without an accelerator program, so when I do fund raise I’ll have leverage

[@oypixx]

great video, really makes one feel comfortable, thanks Dalton

[@Marco-wz8xw]

Yep. It’s time to apply.

[@nzzzzz-pt1ie]

I dont know whats come first, applying for a technical co-founder, or waitinf for yr application to be accepted?

[@y.v.8803]

Fine, I applied - hope we get an interview

[@joselopezmx]

Did you get it?

[@Tenenx69]

+1

[@DrringHealth]

This is very informative, thanks for sharing!

[@jp_skywalker]

I m a product designer and don't have a CTO yet. I m wondering whether, I should wait to get another co-founder before applying for the application? Will it help? Though, I m currently working on a demo/prototype and getting users.

[@GawBil]

Do you ever expect to have YC meets in NYC?

[@radicalgames9256]

Hey! If I'm a single founder, should I still try to apply?

[@wedontexist369]

Yes but less likely, they prefer partnerships/ teams

[@kennethcassel]

Yes, many solo yc founders out there. They even have a video saying they accept solo founders

[@wedontexist369]

@@kennethcassel yes but it’s less likely right ?

[@chan90s]

Don't.. Solo founders are frowned upon for good reasons..You should be Samurai 2x to be accepted as solo founder. If you are not able to find a co-founder, a lot of VCs say that you're not yet fit to run the company

[@kennethcassel]

@@chan90s I wouldn't discourage someone from applying just because they are a solo founder. I got in the YC S21 batch as a solo founder and know many others who are quite successful. Is it harder? Probably

[@Jpilot93]

Why his chuckles are so addictive 😅

[@mreese8764]

What happened to hard tech investments at YC? It seems gone.

[@webpro607]

Is it ok to apply from aboard (outside of USA)? do i need a specific Visa in such case?

[@MrElio74]

quality video. finally. Last time I saw something good was from Kevin Hale

[@idiotstrippinidiots5652]

This video says that you don't prefer startups apart from technology or bio technology type of backgrounds to be applying. I'm curious to know the reason behind it.

[@ycombinator]

watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emmUqmChnZZkpassi=QVom0keHlazcTPP1&t=51

[@rahul__kryadav]

And what's the stake that you people take from the company in return of the investment ?

[@ycombinator]

www.ycombinator.com/deal

[@HabibUllah-ly8vx]

Hi, how much maximum investment does YC provide for startups? Do you invest more than $500,000?

[@Femilist]

Applying for S24

[@jcrash42]

Me too! Good luck!

[@chriswilfrid]

Am I still late to apply this year? for S23?

[@robertoart5053]

Do you get 500k upfront, when you apply and get accepted.

[@VincentRuggieri]

I love this guy

[@Umarbit]

You did not addressed my myth related to applying to yc that "YC will take too much equity of my startup". I want to know how much equity will y combinator take

[@ycombinator]

Its on our website in very clear detail: www.ycombinator.com/deal

[@Umarbit]

@@ycombinator Thanks

[@chan90s]

I'm an ex applicant.. I'd love to work with YC startups here in US. Reached out to founders on LinkedIn and applied on YC - Work at Startup. No response. Any advice on this ? What are the cases in which founders generally don't respond or keep postponing your interview

[@PauloLessa01]

We are getting error 500 while trying to apply, what we can do about that ?

[@bareedee2560]

Same. I don't think they have a technical founder on their team to fix the error in the application ;)

[@bareedee2560]

Or, its the weekend now so won't be fixed until Monday.....

[@CoolestFPS]

How do you protect your IP when presenting Yc?

[@nimabayat5820]

how do you do that when applying to any VC ?

[@patrioticgrind]

I’m not quite intern level. But is bootcamp graduate technical enough to be a quality applicant?

[@xilluminati]

If you have proven that you can execute with that technical ability

[@soyaleye]

Does YC fund $500K upfront upon acceptance?

[@TheAkylB]

What about people who have English as their second language? We are far from students, we have a lot of experience in multinational companies, we know how to build a business from scratch, we are pros in IT and retail business, and have a prototype of our product and all metrics, numbers, BP, etc. but we probably don't speak English that fluently. Could this be a barrier ?

[@gmanfromdibloc2479]

You typed just fine in English so assuming that you're not using a translator I'd like to think that you’ll be just fine.

[@topmemecompilations4126]

Thanks Dalton! Also great laughters

[@mouldibziou998]

Video for non technical founders please!

[@savantofillusions]

One of the ways I’m luckier is I break scientific laws. ❤

[@machapuis]

The wavy fade out made me laugh😂

[@robertgriesmeyer5698]

How to succeed: "Be exceptional"

[@TheRealPhillipJacobs]

Dalton can crack me up at times man 🤣!!

[@will-ye]

thanks for all the helpful advice! my friend followed all the advice and got rejected :)

[@aaronaBio]

Hahaha. everything is going to be fine, better luck next time.

[@kayajones527]

Let's do it!

[@msmpala]

Can people from Africa apply?

[@Dorian_Barber]

I APPLIED.

[@acrosstheweb]

I’m here!

[@AINovelGenerator]

good to see you!

[@sharjilnawed3648]

I live in India. I along with my team are working on an edtech application. We will have the prototype ready in some time. The thing is that we are a bunch of students working on our product and even if we apply and get selected for Y combinator's program we won't be able to afford to fly to the US and attend it in person. So if we apply and get selected, will y combinator support us with the expenses of our trip? (Including food and accommodation)

[@TheAkylB]

In your dream 😂

[@npip99]

You receive $500k before you even start. So, use that.

[@bhavygshah]

Great helpful and informative - Bhavy Shah

[@michal5179]

Next video topic: how do you actually find users to interview?

[@ycombinator]

How to talk to users: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGLMd2SZbdxogsk

[@aurelienonimus7991]

5th application sent, finger crossed. Won't stop until getting there :)

[@divsyntax9720]

Same here! Lol I'm on my 4th!!!

[@journeytothevoid2899]

Does YC only do equity position? Do they do debt liquidity?

[@Miguel-zo1th]

Only equity position ❤.

[@nagyadam2092]

Typo in the thumbnail -> "Suceed" => "Succeed"

[@ycombinator]

Fixed. Thanks!

[@meamsgram3160]

Did anybody receive email for interview?

[@rahul__kryadav]

How much is the cost of YC batch enrollment?

[@ycombinator]

Enrollment is $0. We invest $500k into each company accepted.

[@TheRealPhillipJacobs]

Out of curiosity, what made you think enrolling into YC costs money?

[@rahul__kryadav]

@@TheRealPhillipJacobs I thought it's just like any other edtech startup where they offer some free content on KZbin and have paid courses which they ask us to join for premium content ! I thought maybe at YC they would be charging for one on one interaction with the investors :)

[@Ari_Shukla]

I am a YC fan, We applied on 24th May by the name of Tiluf, sorry for the late Submission - please consider it We launched on 23rd and got the time and confidence on 24th- that we are ready now -- please review it -- I hope you guys like us and support us on what we are doing - Looking forward to changing the world with you'll

[@conanwills4154]

I'll never let the man be a part of my creative process but two words "drug empire"

[@facundomarino10]

pure gold

[@hduque89]

Thanks Dalton!

[@seyedshir183]

wow that was really good

[@uzorthelma9881]

Does YC fund solo founders?

[@divsyntax9720]

Yep.

[@mvelomkhize716]

All my excuses for not applying have been refuted.

[@adamsardo]

Who just applied for S24? 👋

[@divsyntax9720]

MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! 🙋‍♂

[@michae.xxlong]

Succeed*

[@kumareth]

Ayy good one

[@devinrobinsonx4442]

Ummm....kinda scary how many bots are in the comments but thanks for the data.

[@dulzura06]

😆Being a YC founder is different than watching YC KZbin videos - LOL

[@ihmpall]

lol everyone in YC was begging the govt for bailout after SVB went bust

[@abhishekshaw5292]

Im 100% sure we could make exactly same video as this with AI in 3 years

[@marktforce]

👍

[@KlusterShopping]

😆Hilarius!🙏

[@aytekinerdogan1987]

Hey Dalton just saw your similar video 5 years ago… why dont you age 😂

[@amorosogombe9650]

Y'all dont give my idea a chance!😭

[@cuzonGames]

3:52 Nah bro i don't believe you , You not real , you just exist on my phone🤣🤣😂

[@shantanubodke]

18:18

[@BizLytInteractive]