6 ms·

Y Combinator W17 Blank Application

68 points by markocalvocruz 10y ago

markocalvocruz 10y ago
I made this for myself so I could use git to keep track of changes and figured some other people might find it useful. It's view only but anyone can download the document. Note: Any edits made to this document is just for your sanity, this is nothing more than a copy of the questions. Good luck!
lamroger 10y ago
Helpful! Surprised YC doesn't do this too. Maybe you could host it on your github acct and get your name out there too. Also, changes can be submitted as a PR by anyone.
- markocalvocruz 10y ago
  great idea! done. I added a new comment with the link since I don't know if it's appropriate to submit a new link or not (new member here)
BinaryIdiot 10y ago
Since the target community of YC / Hacker News is so incredibly technical I'm actually surprised they don't offer the application in multiple formats some of which could be accepted as a drag and drop, boom application submitted. I worked on a format like 8 years ago I called Live Resume that included a lot of custom fields that could handle this but it was in JSON or XML which would be probably awkward. But it's a similar concept. I'm half tempted to create a browser plugin that pulls / puts the data into the form. But it's so niche not sure if anyone would even want to use it.
t27 10y ago
Hey thanks for this, why not add the founder profile questions too (the questions that each founder has to fill in their personal profile page)?
- markocalvocruz 10y ago
  good idea! done
soneca 10y ago
~60 simultaneous readers while at #13 front page, with 23 points, 2 hours old on a Friday. Just a personal record.
johnwheeler 10y ago
I submitted for the first time this Wednesday for my project https://oldgeekjobs.com https://oldgeekjobs.com. It took 4-5 hours in total. Getting into YC is a long shot (especially for me since I'm a single founder), but I got a lot out of the application itself being forced to criticize my own business model. I don't want to put my application online, but if anyone is curious how I answered any of the questions, I'll do my best to oblige. I'd love to know what others think--the good and especially the bad.
- sp3n 10y ago
  how will https://oldgeekjobs.com https://oldgeekjobs.com become a billion dollar company?
  - johnwheeler 10y ago
    Indonesian sesame seed futures? :-P
  - briandear 10y ago
    Because it scales past tech jobs and becomes the leading job destination for people over 35.
- fuckyeah 10y ago
  I like it. I need this (~35 yo here). Beside, the design is really cool. I would love to know who sponsor visas but maybe that's not relevant to your most immediate customers. Good luck.
  - johnwheeler 10y ago
    Thank you for the well wishes!
- easychris 10y ago
  At least in Germany I'd be careful to use your project because a declined applicant could sue the company for age discrimination [1]. EDIT: I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I just would think about rephrasing the wording on your website e.g that you are looking for "geeks with at least 15 years of experience". IANAL but I guess that could be ok from legal view. [1] http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/AGG/agg_in_englischer_Sprache.html http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Download...
n00b101 10y ago
The application says "We will send an email to each founder to fill out additional information about themselves." Could someone post what those additional questions are? It would be super helpful because we are trying to prepare everything offline first.
- snowmaker 10y ago
  The founder profile - the same questions that you are asked (the ones you are asked here - https://apply.ycombinator.com/bio/edit https://apply.ycombinator.com/bio/edit)
  - n00b101 10y ago
    Hmm I get an error at that URL: "Not found! Sorry about that. We cannot find your Hacker News account, n00b101, listed on any current applications. If you received an email to update your founder profile make sure you followed the precise URL in the email."
- ikeboy 10y ago
  FOUNDER Name* (Required) Email Address* (Required) Age Gender Location* (Required) BACKGROUND Schools, Degrees and Years of Graduation (Use a separate line for each school.) Employers, Position / Titles and Dates (Use a separate line for each job, most recent first.) PRESENCE Personal website Github URL Linkedin URL Facebook URL Twitter URL SKILLS Please tell us about the time you, $username, most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage. Please tell us in one or two sentences about the most impressive thing other than this startup that you have built or achieved. Are you a technical founder? (You are a programmer or engineer who can build the product without outside assistance.) COMMITMENT Do you have at least 10% equity in the startups you're applying with? Will you move and live in the Bay Area January through March 2017, if we fund you? Will you commit to working exclusively on this project for the next year? (No school, no other jobs) Do you have any other commitments between January through March 2017 inclusive? Do you have any commitments in the future and if so what? (e.g. finishing college, going to grad school) CURIOUS Have you been to any YC events? If so, which ones? (e.g. Startup School, University Tour, Office Hours, etc.)
ikeboy 10y ago
I'm considering applying for an unlaunched e-commerce startup. Is it worth applying as a solo (technical) founder, with all of what's been built so far done by a web development firm paid for by me? I doubt I can get a co founder before the deadline. Also, I see more questions than in this doc: "Is this application in response to a YC RFS? Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC? (List as City A, Country A / City B, Country B.) Who are your competitors, and who might become competitors? Who do you fear most?" Any tips on whether I should include a comprehensive list of 15 competitors, or focus on the big ones and the one I'm worried about?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
learntospell123 10y ago
URL should be capitalized
vemv 10y ago
I don't get this? I could attempt to apply to YC and see the same exact questions?
markocalvocruz 10y ago
https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application I decided to add this Application along with the Founder Profile template to my github repository (thanks iamroger and t27 for the suggestion). I also linked to previous successful YC applications in the README for convenience. Hope somebody finds this helpful!

I made this for myself so I could use git to keep track of changes and figured some other people might find it useful. It's view only but anyone can download the document. Note: Any edits made to this document is just for your sanity, this is nothing more than a copy of the questions. Good luck!

lamroger 10y ago

Helpful! Surprised YC doesn't do this too. Maybe you could host it on your github acct and get your name out there too. Also, changes can be submitted as a PR by anyone.

markocalvocruz 10y ago
great idea! done. I added a new comment with the link since I don't know if it's appropriate to submit a new link or not (new member here)

BinaryIdiot 10y ago

Since the target community of YC / Hacker News is so incredibly technical I'm actually surprised they don't offer the application in multiple formats some of which could be accepted as a drag and drop, boom application submitted. I worked on a format like 8 years ago I called Live Resume that included a lot of custom fields that could handle this but it was in JSON or XML which would be probably awkward. But it's a similar concept. I'm half tempted to create a browser plugin that pulls / puts the data into the form. But it's so niche not sure if anyone would even want to use it.

t27 10y ago

Hey thanks for this, why not add the founder profile questions too (the questions that each founder has to fill in their personal profile page)?

markocalvocruz 10y ago
good idea! done

soneca 10y ago

~60 simultaneous readers while at #13 front page, with 23 points, 2 hours old on a Friday. Just a personal record.

johnwheeler 10y ago

I submitted for the first time this Wednesday for my project https://oldgeekjobs.com https://oldgeekjobs.com. It took 4-5 hours in total. Getting into YC is a long shot (especially for me since I'm a single founder), but I got a lot out of the application itself being forced to criticize my own business model. I don't want to put my application online, but if anyone is curious how I answered any of the questions, I'll do my best to oblige. I'd love to know what others think--the good and especially the bad.

sp3n 10y ago
how will https://oldgeekjobs.com https://oldgeekjobs.com become a billion dollar company?
- johnwheeler 10y ago
  Indonesian sesame seed futures? :-P
- briandear 10y ago
  Because it scales past tech jobs and becomes the leading job destination for people over 35.
fuckyeah 10y ago
I like it. I need this (~35 yo here). Beside, the design is really cool. I would love to know who sponsor visas but maybe that's not relevant to your most immediate customers. Good luck.
- johnwheeler 10y ago
  Thank you for the well wishes!
easychris 10y ago
At least in Germany I'd be careful to use your project because a declined applicant could sue the company for age discrimination [1]. EDIT: I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I just would think about rephrasing the wording on your website e.g that you are looking for "geeks with at least 15 years of experience". IANAL but I guess that could be ok from legal view. [1] http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/AGG/agg_in_englischer_Sprache.html http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Download...

n00b101 10y ago

The application says "We will send an email to each founder to fill out additional information about themselves." Could someone post what those additional questions are? It would be super helpful because we are trying to prepare everything offline first.

snowmaker 10y ago
The founder profile - the same questions that you are asked (the ones you are asked here - https://apply.ycombinator.com/bio/edit https://apply.ycombinator.com/bio/edit)
- n00b101 10y ago
  Hmm I get an error at that URL: "Not found! Sorry about that. We cannot find your Hacker News account, n00b101, listed on any current applications. If you received an email to update your founder profile make sure you followed the precise URL in the email."
ikeboy 10y ago
FOUNDER Name* (Required) Email Address* (Required) Age Gender Location* (Required) BACKGROUND Schools, Degrees and Years of Graduation (Use a separate line for each school.) Employers, Position / Titles and Dates (Use a separate line for each job, most recent first.) PRESENCE Personal website Github URL Linkedin URL Facebook URL Twitter URL SKILLS Please tell us about the time you, $username, most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage. Please tell us in one or two sentences about the most impressive thing other than this startup that you have built or achieved. Are you a technical founder? (You are a programmer or engineer who can build the product without outside assistance.) COMMITMENT Do you have at least 10% equity in the startups you're applying with? Will you move and live in the Bay Area January through March 2017, if we fund you? Will you commit to working exclusively on this project for the next year? (No school, no other jobs) Do you have any other commitments between January through March 2017 inclusive? Do you have any commitments in the future and if so what? (e.g. finishing college, going to grad school) CURIOUS Have you been to any YC events? If so, which ones? (e.g. Startup School, University Tour, Office Hours, etc.)

ikeboy 10y ago

I'm considering applying for an unlaunched e-commerce startup. Is it worth applying as a solo (technical) founder, with all of what's been built so far done by a web development firm paid for by me? I doubt I can get a co founder before the deadline. Also, I see more questions than in this doc: "Is this application in response to a YC RFS? Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC? (List as City A, Country A / City B, Country B.) Who are your competitors, and who might become competitors? Who do you fear most?" Any tips on whether I should include a comprehensive list of 15 competitors, or focus on the big ones and the one I'm worried about?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

learntospell123 10y ago

URL should be capitalized

vemv 10y ago

I don't get this? I could attempt to apply to YC and see the same exact questions?

markocalvocruz 10y ago

https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application I decided to add this Application along with the Founder Profile template to my github repository (thanks iamroger and t27 for the suggestion). I also linked to previous successful YC applications in the README for convenience. Hope somebody finds this helpful!