29 ms·

Updated Request for Startups

249 points by craigcannon 9y ago

_e 9y ago
Would an applicant come off as unfocused if their bootstrapped startup actually hit a few of the items on the RFS list?
yonilevy 9y ago
Out of curiosity- why is detection of fake videos a hard problem? It sounds like a classification problem that a simple NN with enough data would be able to solve(?)
- apendleton 9y ago
  A lot of the scariest work in fake video lately has involved generative adversarial networks (GANs) whose whole optimization strategy as I understand it is to try to produce videos that can fool classifier/discriminator NNs, which are trained in parallel.
  - yonilevy 9y ago
    Right, and great point, but aren't the adversaries targeting a specific model? Are they agnostic to setups differences?
    - webmaven 9y ago
      Some approaches target multiple models to come up with more general attacks. It's also worth noting that manipulations that will fool humans are starting to pop up as well.
MentallyRetired 9y ago
Hmm. Just started something in the creator space over Christmas vacation, and its already profitable with over 180 brands signed on... the standard deal fits my budget and needs... but SF is a problem for my cofounder.
tptacek 9y ago
Try to remember that this is probably just a marketing document for YC. It's aspirationally what they'd like people to think about YC startups. There's not much point in debating it. If you have a good idea in almost any field, they're going to consider it. With 25 categories, their cost to saying "we'd like YC to help end global warming" is zero. As the world's leading early-stage investment vehicle, the cost to them leaving out, say, adtech is also zero: the same people will apply either way.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- rayalez 9y ago
  Baseless cynicism is not helpful. Technically you aren't false, this could be just a PR thing, but why would you assume that? "YC requests these startups because they want these startups" is a much simpler explanation than "YC requests these startups as a marketing ploy". I don't see a good reason to be so skeptical, so I will go ahead and take this post at face value. Obviously everyone should think for themselves, and if your startup doesn't fit these categories you should apply anyway (as the article says). I'm just saying that assuming they're being honest here is valuable to me, as a guideline for thinking about startup ideas and YC's vision for the future. Dismissing this stuff (without a good, specific argument) would hurt more than it helps.
  - philwelch 9y ago
    I see tptacek's comment as anti-cynical rather than cynical. Cynicism would be saying, "pff, a YC startup couldn't actually do anything about global warming". Maybe they could, maybe they couldn't; if you can figure out how, maybe you should apply to YC. But either way, the question is irrelevant because YC has good reasons to include it in their RFS anyway, so now we can stop wasting our time arguing about it on HN.
  - grzm 9y ago
    It's always interesting to see how different people read the same text. The sentences I focussed on were: > "There's not much point in debating it. If you have a good idea in almost any field, they're going to consider it." And I read them as basically saying (a) if you're working on something cool that's not on this list, don't let that prevent you from applying as it's likely not a list of criteria; and (b) while it might be a jumping off point for conversation, it's likely missing the intent if you spend much time criticizing what's omitted and included.
buf 9y ago
I've bootstrapped the last 3 years. I'm in the "supporting creators" category. 100k happy users so far. I'm really hesitant to join YC because I feel like the personal touch of having a dozen companies per cohort is lost. Can anyone speak to that?
- tptacek 9y ago
  If you want to raise in the future, go. The stories you read about people effortlessly raising 1-3MM in syndicated convertible note rounds? A significant coefficient of how easy that turns out to be is "got accepted into YC".
  - buf 9y ago
    Did you go through yc? I've gone through techstars and I worry the new yc format will be more if the same.
    - tptacek 9y ago
      Nope. We were invited for a previous startup but had no plans to raise. But I have close friends who have gone through YC, one of whom actually did something pretty close to a natural before/after experiment re: fundraising. (Ironically: we have no plans to ever raise for Latacora, but because the YC alumni network is basically our entire customer base, we'd probably do it this time.)
namanyayg 9y ago
Self-taught non-US teenager here, created this with a co-founder & friend: https://financi.io/ https://financi.io/ -- we're an open, anonymous, and inclusive marketplace for creators to collect payments for their premium content through cryptocurrencies. It is currently being used by adult entertainers, which didn't bring in as much money as we expected, so we plan to pivot and add nsfw filtering options (a la Safe Search) amongst other features before applying to YC. Any other tips to improve our application? P.s. I wrote all the code for financi and will be happy to answer any questions in comments or `mail@${username}.com`.
jaxn 9y ago
Where is the actual updated RFS with descriptions of the new categories?
- gameguy43 9y ago
  Bump. The links are broken.
bufferoverflow 9y ago
If I have a really good idea, why would I need YC? Starting an ICO will likely give you 10-1000x more money.
- alonmower 9y ago
  You don't even need a good idea! You can just find a bunch of people trying to get rich quickly and sell them a bunch of tokens that will end up worthless!!
DrNuke 9y ago
Universal basic income, without knowing how YC Research experiment is going locally but assuming it is simply not feasible globally from a financial point of view. How make it work then? Good old collectivism works well with scientism. Not with giving cash in hand then but with crediting day-to-day points onto your ID card to be converted into the bare minimum food & drink to survive, think of a k-ration, from your local supermarket or automatic dispensing machines.
gustaf 9y ago
I'm very excited about this. Happy to answer any questions about Carbon Removal Technologies or Cellular Agriculture and Clean Meat
- durkie 9y ago
  Oh man I would love to be involved in this. Have you had people apply to YC already with ideas in these areas? I'm not familiar with any in the YC portfolio, so they must not have made it. Can you speak to any technical shortcomings of ideas you've already seen (aside from the general cost/scale issues mentioned on the site)? I'm surprised that people keep trying to direct-air-capture. I was under the impression that the carbon content (as carbonates) in seawater was much higher than in the atmosphere. I believe the navy has had some initial success in transforming marine carbonates in to petroleum products, which they will probably use as fuel, but I can't wait for the day when we have reverse oil wells pumping carbon back in to the ground..
  - gustaf 9y ago
    >Have you had people apply to YC already with ideas in these areas? Yes but we would love to see a lot more. We know there are lots of researchers working on this but not enough of them are starting companies. >Can you speak to any technical shortcomings of ideas you've already seen (aside from the general cost/scale issues mentioned on the site)? Here is a great overview of current technologies: http://www.centerforcarbonremoval.org/what-is-carbon-removal/ http://www.centerforcarbonremoval.org/what-is-carbon-removal...
  - titojankowski 9y ago
    This may be useful to figuring out how to get involved -- here's an index we made of all the existing carbon removal startups and companies: http://airminers.org http://airminers.org
- Gravityloss 9y ago
  I'm surprised you think carbon removal from the atmosphere is relevant. Just from a physics perspective, a dollar invested into substituting coal burning is likely to be many orders of magnitude more effective than first burning the coal to CO2, diluting it to 400 parts per million in the atmosphere, concentrating that CO2 back to some high percentage, maybe turn it CO2 to some higher density form of carbon again etc. Every step requires a lot of effort, capital and energy. The best way to store carbon is coal. And it's already there, in the ground.
rubidium 9y ago
This list always strikes me as a remarkable assembly of the cultural norms important to the "ycombinator" demographic. To me it reads as an eclectic mix of academic, governmental, business and technology opinions in the guise of startup ideas. Not that there's anything wrong with that... ycombinator is free to invest in the areas it cares about. But it is very isolated from my own cultural experience of what matters and makes a real difference in the world.
- trevyn 9y ago
  >my own cultural experience of what matters and makes a real difference in the world. Could you elaborate?
  - rubidium 9y ago
    Sure, I'll try... but will probably ramble as I try to put a finger on it. People matter. Community matters. Relationships matter. Family matters. Helping people who ask for help matters. Small businesses that provide a livelihood in the context of relationships matters. My neighbors, my street condition, my local stores matter. Work and paychecks matter. I guess one way to say it may be things that don't scale matter. Suffering is normal. Health problems stink. I love when medicine can help people. Most health problems seem to be difficult and medicine sometimes can help, but sometimes can't. Putting people on the moon matters. Putting a tesla in space doesn't matter. Fortune 500 companies don't matter. The stock market doesn't matter. Fake videos don't matter. More concretely on the list, taking "Education" as an example: "Scalable solutions in these areas should now be doable thanks to advances in brain science and technologies such as smart home devices, wearables, and mobile." My immediate thought: No way tech helps more than 3%. Education is "solved", just _very_ difficult to do. Quality families with quality teachers and a good professional support structure (esp for disabilities etc...). Overall as I looked at ycombinators list, Job's quote comes to mind: "The problem is I’m older now, I’m 40 years old, and this stuff doesn’t change the world. It really doesn’t. That’s going to break people’s hearts. I’m sorry, it’s true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We’re born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much – if at all."
zach 9y ago
Wow, surprised to see “One Million Jobs” still here, from back when Uber was widely praised, and even so it encountered rampant skepticism[1]. Especially curious to see it on the same list as the “Future of Work” which implicitly contradicts its premise. But hey, maybe there have been some compelling pitches for it. Does anyone have an idea for a One Million Jobs startup that isn’t another transportation company? [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7978163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7978163
- kawera 9y ago
  Education and caregiving maybe?
- Siecje 9y ago
  How many people make a living from YouTube? What about Twitch? It is not only the people on the screen but people behind the scenes and managers and more.
  - ac29 9y ago
    >How many people make a living from YouTube? Not many: "96.5% of all of those trying to become YouTubers won't make enough money off of advertising to crack the U.S. poverty line" http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-youtube-stardom-20180228-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-youtube-stardom-201802...
    - dasmoth 9y ago
      3.5% end up with a meaningful income? That’s probably an order of magnitude more than I’d have guessed! Interesting...
    - bpicolo 9y ago
      There's a whole ecosystem around it though - advertising agencies, video production equipment, etc. Then there's things like GoPro exist largely as a side-effect of social media networks like YouTube. The real effects of YouTube on the global economy are pretty big!
cryptoz 9y ago
Was RFS Water removed from the list? I tried to apply for RFS Water last year, and while it was on this list, it wasn't in the application page dropdown when you actually apply. I emailed YC and asked about it, and was told it would be added shortly. Looking now, I can't find any trace it ever existed. Was RFS Water deleted? The URL used to be http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#water http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#water. Thanks!
- katm 9y ago
  If you're working on a water startup, and you'd like to apply to YC, you should still do it. You can apply to YC with any type of company -- it doesn't have to line up with an RFS. Our blog post for water startups is still out there -- it's just not a current RFS. As I mentioned in a comment above, this isn't an exhaustive list of the ideas we'd like to fund.
  - cryptoz 9y ago
    Well, I think there's a lot of promise in weather modification for the purposes of transporting fresh water long distances. I'm probably not ready to apply right now for that idea, but if someone is out there working on that, good job and we should chat.
    - anubisresources 9y ago
      Looking at shooting silver iodide pellets up in the sky or painting deserts black? Lots of issues with weather modification. Virtual water is the most cost effective way to transport water, by far, unless you have some crazy new product
tayyabmh 9y ago
Has YC ever provided the data around how many RFS startups get funded? What they attempted to do (starting biz model)? What they learned? Etc. I feel like this would be really interesting information to study.
ausrname1 9y ago
Surprised to see "Supporting Creators" on here too. I thought Patreon (and others) had made meaningful progress on this front.
- adora 9y ago
  One example that YC has already funded is Substack https://www.substack.com/ https://www.substack.com/ Writers on there are making more than have ever made elsewhere.
- mnx 9y ago
  Patreon works for many kinds of creators, but I think the space could still use innovation.
  - jamesjyu 9y ago
    What particularly do you find Patreon lacking?
    - mnx 9y ago
      A model which works without super-fans willing to pay significant amounts. Something that could work for journalism, and written content of the type that you don't "subscribe" to in any way. I know it's hard, and I know attempts have been made (flattr, brave) in that space. But I think there's still room for more.
- zanny 9y ago
  Patreon is another walled garden that can become much worse than Facebook if left in isolation. For the investors behind it it would be great, but I don't believe Patreon was a YC company? Which means its a huge untapped industry with only one major player that has consistently moved towards pulling creatives into their ecosystem and keeping them there while trying to increase revenues. We need, probably more than in any other use case besides general social media, a federated solution to patronage. We cannot let Facebook et al happen again with crowdfunding and recurrent subscription services like Patreon. The kickstarter space has opened up to several options including the original Kickstarer, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Fig, etc. That is a healthy competitive ecosystem and Kickstarter went public benefit so their general dominance in the market is less dangerous for it. Patreon sits alone, and has been growing exponentially for years. They acquired their only ever major competitor, Subbable, in early 2015. Kofi is about as close to a competitor as they have, but its not the same thing in the slightest because its not automatic which is a fundamental part of what makes Patreon work. The mindshare of creators Patreon has acquired should be terrifying to anyone who can see the writing on the wall about how this will just lead to a hegemony of Patreon controlling all the amateur and hobbyist and even some semi-professional small creative / online business ventures. And unlike most companies their revenue is plastered right in their face - all they need is a breakout moment into popular culture, which they really have not had yet - the number of people actively supporting anyone else on Patreon is still a small percentage of the whole Internet user population - but if they got that consumer breakout moment they would be unstoppable and way more directly dangerous and harmful in how many people are now making careers out of having a Patreon.
pwaivers 9y ago
It seems blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are purposely absent from this list. Can we assume that YC is not interested in funding these types of startups?
- tejasmanohar 9y ago
  Lots of things are absent from the list. The list isn't what YC is willing to fund-- it's what YC wants to encourage people to start thinking about if they don't already have ideas for a not-so-bloated space.
- katm 9y ago
  The RFS isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of the ideas we're interested in funding. It's a list of ideas we'd like even more founders to apply with. We get a lot of blockchain and crypto applications -- and if that's what you're working on, I recommend you apply with it.
- JustAnotherPat 9y ago
  Yes
- almostarockstar 9y ago
  I would say that "blockchain", as a concept, isn't a suitable category, in the same way that "mobile application" or "website" isn't. Blockchain is a tool. The applications are varied. There are potential applications for blockchain technologies in each of the rfs categories.
  - pwaivers 9y ago
    Thank you for this answer. It makes a lot of sense. I suppose I was conflating blockchain technology with actual problems that it could solve. The same probably also applies to cryptocurrency.
hguhghuff 9y ago
The issue of longevity and aging seems to be one that is given significant attention by super rich people, who for obvious reasons would like a wonderful life of privilege to go on for as long as possible.
- adora 9y ago
  It's not just about living to 1000 years old. To me, it's more about solving age-related diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's, etc.
  - aaavl2821 9y ago
    If I may make a suggestion, I think it would help to be more explicit about this. I know several founders of biotech companies treating age related diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, etc who don't apply to YC bc they think YC only wants pills to extend life / parabiosis etc. "longevity" means very different things (and has different connotations) in the "tech" startup world vs the biopharma startup world. I know a lot of tech VCs are wary of the word "biotech" and related terms bc they got burned a decade ago, but bread and butter biotech is a totally different world the last few years and has been one of the most rewarding areas for startups and investors. The tech funds that lean into traditional biopharma are getting into a lot of great deals while those who try to stay at arms length from traditional biopharma are missing the best opportunities
  - hguhghuff 9y ago
    Yes of course to deal with aging you must tackle the many age related illnesses. But I'm pointing out, with of the vast array of health related issues humanity faces, do venture capitalists care in particular about this one enough to put it in their investment hitlist? Why, for example does YC care enough about aging to want to find it in particular, rather than say, well any other major field of human health research? The answer is, "how can we spend our money to get more time on earth because after that it's worth nothing"? Put another way "we'd like to live longer and we have the money if you can use it to work out how". Look there's nothing wrong With this, it's human nature. Of course you use the means at your disposal to try to make life better, longer, healthier for yourself in any way. All I'm noting is that this thing about aging is something that the super rich have a particular focus on and that's why it's in this list. If one of the VC who makes this list had a family member with a particular medical issue we'd likely see that here too as a desired funding area. I suspect people are uncomfortable about this being pointed out because VCs like to project the idea that their work is to better everything and everyone, in Silicon Valley lingo to "make the world a better place", but this one is self serving, whilst being plausibly argued as being for the benefit of all humanity. And heck being self serving is OK too ... heck it's their money they can do with it whatever they want, no need to apologize for spending on yourself every now and then.
justcheck 9y ago
I am hesitant to ask this as it seems you only hear about young folks being accepted into YC and succeeding. But I also know that YC thinks differently - so here goes: I am a 62 year old solo founder working on my fifth startup - all have been bootstrapped and successful to varying degrees. How much does age factor into YC's acceptance decision - if at all. What is the oldest founder YC has ever accepted? Thanks!
- lemonberry 9y ago
  You're operating at a much higher level than myself but this is very inspirational: I'm 43 and shooting to launch my first app/business/product this summer. Good luck!
- gatsby 9y ago
  Can't answer the age factor into YC's acceptance decision, but as a YC founder, I have met many founders in their 50s and 60s in the last few batches. You should definitely apply to YC regardless of your age, circumstances, etc.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Well, the oldest founder in the 2015 Winter batch (first I could find data on) was 66: https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1364942/Lmk2_Us--C7NsS4g6iJGzQbXU_8/YC-infographic_v4.png https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/...
  - chvid 9y ago
    But most are 20-30 ...
    - blocked_again 9y ago
      And most people who apply are 20-30..
    - singold 9y ago
      I dont have the data but probably most applicants are 20-30 too.
YazIAm 9y ago
Curious, what was the thought process behind removing the 'News' and 'Mass Media' request for startups? Not sure when they were removed exactly, just noticed now.
- floatrock 9y ago
  http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#safeguards http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#safeguards "now I am become death destroyer of worlds" and all that.
Aissen 9y ago
Does this remind anyone else of the FSF High Priority Free Software Projects ? https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
endlessvoid94 9y ago
> The world’s financial systems are increasingly unable to meet the demands of consumers and businesses. I would love to learn more about this. Precisely what needs are the world's financial systems unable to meet?
- antoineMoPa 9y ago
  I just read a blog post showing how costly and/or complicated it is to move money between countries, when doing internships for instance. I guess that's one problem that could be solved. https://medium.com/@emilefugulin/money-tips-for-foreigners-working-in-europe-a94211005c09 https://medium.com/@emilefugulin/money-tips-for-foreigners-w...
  - pitchups 9y ago
    Isn't Ripple trying to do precisely that using the blockchain based XRP token?
    - simlevesque 9y ago
      They are.
- jjeaff 9y ago
  In my opinion, the main issue with many financial services today is heavy regulation. This may be good regulation and necessary, but it makes it very difficult for consumers to do simple things like transferring money and setup accounts. Especially for lower income people who tend to have difficulty getting together all the required identification and documentation. And it seems that any "innovation" in this regard will be companies attempting to skirt these regulations, only to be eventually reined in when they get popular enough to be used for fraud or other nefarious purposes.
  - mstade 9y ago
    A story related to regulation that I like to tell people is my experience trying to open a UK bank account when I first moved there. As an EU citizen, I expected the process to be done in jiffy – just walk in to any ol’ bank and ask to open an account. Except, my EU passport and an employment contract that said I’d certainly not be poor and national insurance number and what not apparently meant nothing. No, I had to have a UK address. The apartment hotel I stayed at while trying to find an apartment wouldn’t do either – I needed utility bills you see. (For some reason, utility bills in the UK are basically as good for identification as a passport or drivers license...) In order to get a utility bill of course I had to have a place to live, an apartment or house or what have you. Of course, I couldn’t sign a lease without also setting up a standing order (that’s monthly payments, for anyone as unfamiliar with the term as I was) and of course I couldn’t set up a standing order because to do so I had to have a – you guessed it! – bank account. A catch-22 which means to this day I keep a UK bank account, just to avoid the hassle of trying to set one up should I ever need it again.
yalogin 9y ago
I don’t see health technology in any of these lists. Is it not common in startups? I don’t mean insurance related companies, more along the lines of hardware companies serving the medical or health care field.
- random42_ 9y ago
  I think they are listed in the full list: http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/ http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/
- ken 9y ago
  "Healthcare" is #14, and it specifically mentions the areas of Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, and Preventative Healthcare. Does that not cover what you're thinking of?
  - Balgair 9y ago
    Are current Start-ups cross referenced to this list anywhere? I'd love to check out more of them in the Med-Device space, specifically, but I imagine a listing would be useful for other areas as well.
runevault 9y ago
I find it interesting on the support creators side it is purely about easing getting money. That is certainly important, but I feel like it ignores exploring more ways to ease the act of creation, giving ways to increase rate of creation or improve ability to prepare etc. We developers create a lot of this sort of stuff to make our own jobs easier, but other types of creatives don't necessarily have the ability to explore the same space for their own work. I think there are opportunities there to be explored, if we can just find the right places to inject possibility. I have one idea I'm working towards now for writers (as that's my secondary interest after dev) but I bet there are ways to help musicians, painters, etc as well we haven't even begun to dream of yet.
- codingdave 9y ago
  The problem in that space has nothing to do with money or reaching fans. It is that to succeed as an artist via online tools, your primary skill must be marketing. All the existing sites bring success not to the best creators, but to the best marketers of their creations. Or, I guess I should say, reaching fans is the problem... but it isn't correlated with the quality of your work.

249 points by craigcannon 9y ago

_e 9y ago

Would an applicant come off as unfocused if their bootstrapped startup actually hit a few of the items on the RFS list?

Out of curiosity- why is detection of fake videos a hard problem? It sounds like a classification problem that a simple NN with enough data would be able to solve(?)

apendleton 9y ago
A lot of the scariest work in fake video lately has involved generative adversarial networks (GANs) whose whole optimization strategy as I understand it is to try to produce videos that can fool classifier/discriminator NNs, which are trained in parallel.
- yonilevy 9y ago
  Right, and great point, but aren't the adversaries targeting a specific model? Are they agnostic to setups differences?
  - webmaven 9y ago
    Some approaches target multiple models to come up with more general attacks. It's also worth noting that manipulations that will fool humans are starting to pop up as well.

MentallyRetired 9y ago

Hmm. Just started something in the creator space over Christmas vacation, and its already profitable with over 180 brands signed on... the standard deal fits my budget and needs... but SF is a problem for my cofounder.

tptacek 9y ago

Try to remember that this is probably just a marketing document for YC. It's aspirationally what they'd like people to think about YC startups. There's not much point in debating it. If you have a good idea in almost any field, they're going to consider it. With 25 categories, their cost to saying "we'd like YC to help end global warming" is zero. As the world's leading early-stage investment vehicle, the cost to them leaving out, say, adtech is also zero: the same people will apply either way.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
rayalez 9y ago
Baseless cynicism is not helpful. Technically you aren't false, this could be just a PR thing, but why would you assume that? "YC requests these startups because they want these startups" is a much simpler explanation than "YC requests these startups as a marketing ploy". I don't see a good reason to be so skeptical, so I will go ahead and take this post at face value. Obviously everyone should think for themselves, and if your startup doesn't fit these categories you should apply anyway (as the article says). I'm just saying that assuming they're being honest here is valuable to me, as a guideline for thinking about startup ideas and YC's vision for the future. Dismissing this stuff (without a good, specific argument) would hurt more than it helps.
- philwelch 9y ago
  I see tptacek's comment as anti-cynical rather than cynical. Cynicism would be saying, "pff, a YC startup couldn't actually do anything about global warming". Maybe they could, maybe they couldn't; if you can figure out how, maybe you should apply to YC. But either way, the question is irrelevant because YC has good reasons to include it in their RFS anyway, so now we can stop wasting our time arguing about it on HN.
- grzm 9y ago
  It's always interesting to see how different people read the same text. The sentences I focussed on were: > "There's not much point in debating it. If you have a good idea in almost any field, they're going to consider it." And I read them as basically saying (a) if you're working on something cool that's not on this list, don't let that prevent you from applying as it's likely not a list of criteria; and (b) while it might be a jumping off point for conversation, it's likely missing the intent if you spend much time criticizing what's omitted and included.

buf 9y ago

I've bootstrapped the last 3 years. I'm in the "supporting creators" category. 100k happy users so far. I'm really hesitant to join YC because I feel like the personal touch of having a dozen companies per cohort is lost. Can anyone speak to that?

tptacek 9y ago
If you want to raise in the future, go. The stories you read about people effortlessly raising 1-3MM in syndicated convertible note rounds? A significant coefficient of how easy that turns out to be is "got accepted into YC".
- buf 9y ago
  Did you go through yc? I've gone through techstars and I worry the new yc format will be more if the same.
  - tptacek 9y ago
    Nope. We were invited for a previous startup but had no plans to raise. But I have close friends who have gone through YC, one of whom actually did something pretty close to a natural before/after experiment re: fundraising. (Ironically: we have no plans to ever raise for Latacora, but because the YC alumni network is basically our entire customer base, we'd probably do it this time.)

namanyayg 9y ago

Self-taught non-US teenager here, created this with a co-founder & friend: https://financi.io/ https://financi.io/ -- we're an open, anonymous, and inclusive marketplace for creators to collect payments for their premium content through cryptocurrencies. It is currently being used by adult entertainers, which didn't bring in as much money as we expected, so we plan to pivot and add nsfw filtering options (a la Safe Search) amongst other features before applying to YC. Any other tips to improve our application? P.s. I wrote all the code for financi and will be happy to answer any questions in comments or `mail@${username}.com`.

jaxn 9y ago

Where is the actual updated RFS with descriptions of the new categories?

gameguy43 9y ago
Bump. The links are broken.

bufferoverflow 9y ago

If I have a really good idea, why would I need YC? Starting an ICO will likely give you 10-1000x more money.

alonmower 9y ago
You don't even need a good idea! You can just find a bunch of people trying to get rich quickly and sell them a bunch of tokens that will end up worthless!!

DrNuke 9y ago

Universal basic income, without knowing how YC Research experiment is going locally but assuming it is simply not feasible globally from a financial point of view. How make it work then? Good old collectivism works well with scientism. Not with giving cash in hand then but with crediting day-to-day points onto your ID card to be converted into the bare minimum food & drink to survive, think of a k-ration, from your local supermarket or automatic dispensing machines.

gustaf 9y ago

I'm very excited about this. Happy to answer any questions about Carbon Removal Technologies or Cellular Agriculture and Clean Meat

durkie 9y ago
Oh man I would love to be involved in this. Have you had people apply to YC already with ideas in these areas? I'm not familiar with any in the YC portfolio, so they must not have made it. Can you speak to any technical shortcomings of ideas you've already seen (aside from the general cost/scale issues mentioned on the site)? I'm surprised that people keep trying to direct-air-capture. I was under the impression that the carbon content (as carbonates) in seawater was much higher than in the atmosphere. I believe the navy has had some initial success in transforming marine carbonates in to petroleum products, which they will probably use as fuel, but I can't wait for the day when we have reverse oil wells pumping carbon back in to the ground..
- gustaf 9y ago
  >Have you had people apply to YC already with ideas in these areas? Yes but we would love to see a lot more. We know there are lots of researchers working on this but not enough of them are starting companies. >Can you speak to any technical shortcomings of ideas you've already seen (aside from the general cost/scale issues mentioned on the site)? Here is a great overview of current technologies: http://www.centerforcarbonremoval.org/what-is-carbon-removal/ http://www.centerforcarbonremoval.org/what-is-carbon-removal...
- titojankowski 9y ago
  This may be useful to figuring out how to get involved -- here's an index we made of all the existing carbon removal startups and companies: http://airminers.org http://airminers.org
Gravityloss 9y ago
I'm surprised you think carbon removal from the atmosphere is relevant. Just from a physics perspective, a dollar invested into substituting coal burning is likely to be many orders of magnitude more effective than first burning the coal to CO2, diluting it to 400 parts per million in the atmosphere, concentrating that CO2 back to some high percentage, maybe turn it CO2 to some higher density form of carbon again etc. Every step requires a lot of effort, capital and energy. The best way to store carbon is coal. And it's already there, in the ground.

rubidium 9y ago

This list always strikes me as a remarkable assembly of the cultural norms important to the "ycombinator" demographic. To me it reads as an eclectic mix of academic, governmental, business and technology opinions in the guise of startup ideas. Not that there's anything wrong with that... ycombinator is free to invest in the areas it cares about. But it is very isolated from my own cultural experience of what matters and makes a real difference in the world.

trevyn 9y ago
>my own cultural experience of what matters and makes a real difference in the world. Could you elaborate?
- rubidium 9y ago
  Sure, I'll try... but will probably ramble as I try to put a finger on it. People matter. Community matters. Relationships matter. Family matters. Helping people who ask for help matters. Small businesses that provide a livelihood in the context of relationships matters. My neighbors, my street condition, my local stores matter. Work and paychecks matter. I guess one way to say it may be things that don't scale matter. Suffering is normal. Health problems stink. I love when medicine can help people. Most health problems seem to be difficult and medicine sometimes can help, but sometimes can't. Putting people on the moon matters. Putting a tesla in space doesn't matter. Fortune 500 companies don't matter. The stock market doesn't matter. Fake videos don't matter. More concretely on the list, taking "Education" as an example: "Scalable solutions in these areas should now be doable thanks to advances in brain science and technologies such as smart home devices, wearables, and mobile." My immediate thought: No way tech helps more than 3%. Education is "solved", just _very_ difficult to do. Quality families with quality teachers and a good professional support structure (esp for disabilities etc...). Overall as I looked at ycombinators list, Job's quote comes to mind: "The problem is I’m older now, I’m 40 years old, and this stuff doesn’t change the world. It really doesn’t. That’s going to break people’s hearts. I’m sorry, it’s true. Having children really changes your view on these things. We’re born, we live for a brief instant, and we die. It’s been happening for a long time. Technology is not changing it much – if at all."

zach 9y ago

Wow, surprised to see “One Million Jobs” still here, from back when Uber was widely praised, and even so it encountered rampant skepticism[1]. Especially curious to see it on the same list as the “Future of Work” which implicitly contradicts its premise. But hey, maybe there have been some compelling pitches for it. Does anyone have an idea for a One Million Jobs startup that isn’t another transportation company? [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7978163 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7978163

kawera 9y ago
Education and caregiving maybe?
Siecje 9y ago
How many people make a living from YouTube? What about Twitch? It is not only the people on the screen but people behind the scenes and managers and more.
- ac29 9y ago
  >How many people make a living from YouTube? Not many: "96.5% of all of those trying to become YouTubers won't make enough money off of advertising to crack the U.S. poverty line" http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-youtube-stardom-20180228-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-youtube-stardom-201802...
  - dasmoth 9y ago
    3.5% end up with a meaningful income? That’s probably an order of magnitude more than I’d have guessed! Interesting...
  - bpicolo 9y ago
    There's a whole ecosystem around it though - advertising agencies, video production equipment, etc. Then there's things like GoPro exist largely as a side-effect of social media networks like YouTube. The real effects of YouTube on the global economy are pretty big!

cryptoz 9y ago

Was RFS Water removed from the list? I tried to apply for RFS Water last year, and while it was on this list, it wasn't in the application page dropdown when you actually apply. I emailed YC and asked about it, and was told it would be added shortly. Looking now, I can't find any trace it ever existed. Was RFS Water deleted? The URL used to be http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#water http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#water. Thanks!

katm 9y ago
If you're working on a water startup, and you'd like to apply to YC, you should still do it. You can apply to YC with any type of company -- it doesn't have to line up with an RFS. Our blog post for water startups is still out there -- it's just not a current RFS. As I mentioned in a comment above, this isn't an exhaustive list of the ideas we'd like to fund.
- cryptoz 9y ago
  Well, I think there's a lot of promise in weather modification for the purposes of transporting fresh water long distances. I'm probably not ready to apply right now for that idea, but if someone is out there working on that, good job and we should chat.
  - anubisresources 9y ago
    Looking at shooting silver iodide pellets up in the sky or painting deserts black? Lots of issues with weather modification. Virtual water is the most cost effective way to transport water, by far, unless you have some crazy new product

tayyabmh 9y ago

Has YC ever provided the data around how many RFS startups get funded? What they attempted to do (starting biz model)? What they learned? Etc. I feel like this would be really interesting information to study.

ausrname1 9y ago

Surprised to see "Supporting Creators" on here too. I thought Patreon (and others) had made meaningful progress on this front.

adora 9y ago
One example that YC has already funded is Substack https://www.substack.com/ https://www.substack.com/ Writers on there are making more than have ever made elsewhere.
mnx 9y ago
Patreon works for many kinds of creators, but I think the space could still use innovation.
- jamesjyu 9y ago
  What particularly do you find Patreon lacking?
  - mnx 9y ago
    A model which works without super-fans willing to pay significant amounts. Something that could work for journalism, and written content of the type that you don't "subscribe" to in any way. I know it's hard, and I know attempts have been made (flattr, brave) in that space. But I think there's still room for more.
zanny 9y ago
Patreon is another walled garden that can become much worse than Facebook if left in isolation. For the investors behind it it would be great, but I don't believe Patreon was a YC company? Which means its a huge untapped industry with only one major player that has consistently moved towards pulling creatives into their ecosystem and keeping them there while trying to increase revenues. We need, probably more than in any other use case besides general social media, a federated solution to patronage. We cannot let Facebook et al happen again with crowdfunding and recurrent subscription services like Patreon. The kickstarter space has opened up to several options including the original Kickstarer, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Fig, etc. That is a healthy competitive ecosystem and Kickstarter went public benefit so their general dominance in the market is less dangerous for it. Patreon sits alone, and has been growing exponentially for years. They acquired their only ever major competitor, Subbable, in early 2015. Kofi is about as close to a competitor as they have, but its not the same thing in the slightest because its not automatic which is a fundamental part of what makes Patreon work. The mindshare of creators Patreon has acquired should be terrifying to anyone who can see the writing on the wall about how this will just lead to a hegemony of Patreon controlling all the amateur and hobbyist and even some semi-professional small creative / online business ventures. And unlike most companies their revenue is plastered right in their face - all they need is a breakout moment into popular culture, which they really have not had yet - the number of people actively supporting anyone else on Patreon is still a small percentage of the whole Internet user population - but if they got that consumer breakout moment they would be unstoppable and way more directly dangerous and harmful in how many people are now making careers out of having a Patreon.

pwaivers 9y ago

It seems blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are purposely absent from this list. Can we assume that YC is not interested in funding these types of startups?

tejasmanohar 9y ago
Lots of things are absent from the list. The list isn't what YC is willing to fund-- it's what YC wants to encourage people to start thinking about if they don't already have ideas for a not-so-bloated space.
katm 9y ago
The RFS isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of the ideas we're interested in funding. It's a list of ideas we'd like even more founders to apply with. We get a lot of blockchain and crypto applications -- and if that's what you're working on, I recommend you apply with it.
JustAnotherPat 9y ago
Yes
almostarockstar 9y ago
I would say that "blockchain", as a concept, isn't a suitable category, in the same way that "mobile application" or "website" isn't. Blockchain is a tool. The applications are varied. There are potential applications for blockchain technologies in each of the rfs categories.
- pwaivers 9y ago
  Thank you for this answer. It makes a lot of sense. I suppose I was conflating blockchain technology with actual problems that it could solve. The same probably also applies to cryptocurrency.

hguhghuff 9y ago

The issue of longevity and aging seems to be one that is given significant attention by super rich people, who for obvious reasons would like a wonderful life of privilege to go on for as long as possible.

adora 9y ago
It's not just about living to 1000 years old. To me, it's more about solving age-related diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's, etc.
- aaavl2821 9y ago
  If I may make a suggestion, I think it would help to be more explicit about this. I know several founders of biotech companies treating age related diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, etc who don't apply to YC bc they think YC only wants pills to extend life / parabiosis etc. "longevity" means very different things (and has different connotations) in the "tech" startup world vs the biopharma startup world. I know a lot of tech VCs are wary of the word "biotech" and related terms bc they got burned a decade ago, but bread and butter biotech is a totally different world the last few years and has been one of the most rewarding areas for startups and investors. The tech funds that lean into traditional biopharma are getting into a lot of great deals while those who try to stay at arms length from traditional biopharma are missing the best opportunities
- hguhghuff 9y ago
  Yes of course to deal with aging you must tackle the many age related illnesses. But I'm pointing out, with of the vast array of health related issues humanity faces, do venture capitalists care in particular about this one enough to put it in their investment hitlist? Why, for example does YC care enough about aging to want to find it in particular, rather than say, well any other major field of human health research? The answer is, "how can we spend our money to get more time on earth because after that it's worth nothing"? Put another way "we'd like to live longer and we have the money if you can use it to work out how". Look there's nothing wrong With this, it's human nature. Of course you use the means at your disposal to try to make life better, longer, healthier for yourself in any way. All I'm noting is that this thing about aging is something that the super rich have a particular focus on and that's why it's in this list. If one of the VC who makes this list had a family member with a particular medical issue we'd likely see that here too as a desired funding area. I suspect people are uncomfortable about this being pointed out because VCs like to project the idea that their work is to better everything and everyone, in Silicon Valley lingo to "make the world a better place", but this one is self serving, whilst being plausibly argued as being for the benefit of all humanity. And heck being self serving is OK too ... heck it's their money they can do with it whatever they want, no need to apologize for spending on yourself every now and then.

justcheck 9y ago

I am hesitant to ask this as it seems you only hear about young folks being accepted into YC and succeeding. But I also know that YC thinks differently - so here goes: I am a 62 year old solo founder working on my fifth startup - all have been bootstrapped and successful to varying degrees. How much does age factor into YC's acceptance decision - if at all. What is the oldest founder YC has ever accepted? Thanks!

lemonberry 9y ago
You're operating at a much higher level than myself but this is very inspirational: I'm 43 and shooting to launch my first app/business/product this summer. Good luck!
gatsby 9y ago
Can't answer the age factor into YC's acceptance decision, but as a YC founder, I have met many founders in their 50s and 60s in the last few batches. You should definitely apply to YC regardless of your age, circumstances, etc.
icebraining 9y ago
Well, the oldest founder in the 2015 Winter batch (first I could find data on) was 66: https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1364942/Lmk2_Us--C7NsS4g6iJGzQbXU_8/YC-infographic_v4.png https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/...
- chvid 9y ago
  But most are 20-30 ...
  - blocked_again 9y ago
    And most people who apply are 20-30..
  - singold 9y ago
    I dont have the data but probably most applicants are 20-30 too.

YazIAm 9y ago

Curious, what was the thought process behind removing the 'News' and 'Mass Media' request for startups? Not sure when they were removed exactly, just noticed now.

floatrock 9y ago
http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#safeguards http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/#safeguards "now I am become death destroyer of worlds" and all that.

Aissen 9y ago

Does this remind anyone else of the FSF High Priority Free Software Projects ? https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/ https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/priority-projects/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

endlessvoid94 9y ago

> The world’s financial systems are increasingly unable to meet the demands of consumers and businesses. I would love to learn more about this. Precisely what needs are the world's financial systems unable to meet?

antoineMoPa 9y ago
I just read a blog post showing how costly and/or complicated it is to move money between countries, when doing internships for instance. I guess that's one problem that could be solved. https://medium.com/@emilefugulin/money-tips-for-foreigners-working-in-europe-a94211005c09 https://medium.com/@emilefugulin/money-tips-for-foreigners-w...
- pitchups 9y ago
  Isn't Ripple trying to do precisely that using the blockchain based XRP token?
  - simlevesque 9y ago
    They are.
jjeaff 9y ago
In my opinion, the main issue with many financial services today is heavy regulation. This may be good regulation and necessary, but it makes it very difficult for consumers to do simple things like transferring money and setup accounts. Especially for lower income people who tend to have difficulty getting together all the required identification and documentation. And it seems that any "innovation" in this regard will be companies attempting to skirt these regulations, only to be eventually reined in when they get popular enough to be used for fraud or other nefarious purposes.
- mstade 9y ago
  A story related to regulation that I like to tell people is my experience trying to open a UK bank account when I first moved there. As an EU citizen, I expected the process to be done in jiffy – just walk in to any ol’ bank and ask to open an account. Except, my EU passport and an employment contract that said I’d certainly not be poor and national insurance number and what not apparently meant nothing. No, I had to have a UK address. The apartment hotel I stayed at while trying to find an apartment wouldn’t do either – I needed utility bills you see. (For some reason, utility bills in the UK are basically as good for identification as a passport or drivers license...) In order to get a utility bill of course I had to have a place to live, an apartment or house or what have you. Of course, I couldn’t sign a lease without also setting up a standing order (that’s monthly payments, for anyone as unfamiliar with the term as I was) and of course I couldn’t set up a standing order because to do so I had to have a – you guessed it! – bank account. A catch-22 which means to this day I keep a UK bank account, just to avoid the hassle of trying to set one up should I ever need it again.

yalogin 9y ago

I don’t see health technology in any of these lists. Is it not common in startups? I don’t mean insurance related companies, more along the lines of hardware companies serving the medical or health care field.

random42_ 9y ago
I think they are listed in the full list: http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/ http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/
ken 9y ago
"Healthcare" is #14, and it specifically mentions the areas of Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, and Preventative Healthcare. Does that not cover what you're thinking of?
- Balgair 9y ago
  Are current Start-ups cross referenced to this list anywhere? I'd love to check out more of them in the Med-Device space, specifically, but I imagine a listing would be useful for other areas as well.

runevault 9y ago

I find it interesting on the support creators side it is purely about easing getting money. That is certainly important, but I feel like it ignores exploring more ways to ease the act of creation, giving ways to increase rate of creation or improve ability to prepare etc. We developers create a lot of this sort of stuff to make our own jobs easier, but other types of creatives don't necessarily have the ability to explore the same space for their own work. I think there are opportunities there to be explored, if we can just find the right places to inject possibility. I have one idea I'm working towards now for writers (as that's my secondary interest after dev) but I bet there are ways to help musicians, painters, etc as well we haven't even begun to dream of yet.

codingdave 9y ago
The problem in that space has nothing to do with money or reaching fans. It is that to succeed as an artist via online tools, your primary skill must be marketing. All the existing sites bring success not to the best creators, but to the best marketers of their creations. Or, I guess I should say, reaching fans is the problem... but it isn't correlated with the quality of your work.