5 ms·

Poll: Have you ever applied for YC funding?

24 points by solipsist 16y ago

I'd assume only a small fraction of the community would have applied before, but who knows?

benologist 16y ago
Twice. Their loss, twice. Edit: You guys below are taking "their loss" too seriously lol. Is it really their loss? Who knows. Do I think it's their loss? Sure.
- solipsist 16y ago
  Did you submit the same application both times? Was it platomic?
  - benologist 16y ago
    Yep, although it was originally called SWFStats. Now I'm tracking 10 billion events a month in real time, and I'm armed with tons of awesome users, some friends and an increasingly solid strategy for capturing a few more markets. :)
    - dotBen 16y ago
      The fact that you've gone on to be successful doesn't mean that they 'failed'/'lost out' because they didn't back you. For a start it could be that the startups they did back have gone on to achieve even more (or they expected to). You're calling it as if it is black and white, and it isn't. Still, I hope you continue to see success in your venture.
      - zachallaun 16y ago
        YC definitely lost out, and I'm sure that pg (and the others) would be the first to admit it. Any good VC or Angel knows they can't always make the right call. In fact, I'm fairly confident that YC has that written down somewhere. Possibly in multiple locations.
        aaronbrethorst 16y ago
        In theory, pg has already 'admitted' it to ben twice, now: We realize this process is fraught with error. It's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=70062 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=70062
        benologist 16y ago
        Of course they can miss stuff for a whole stack of reasons, and it's not even certain they have made a mistake - I just assume they have and everyone who's not accepted should do so too, to think otherwise about your own startup would be retarded heh.
      - wmboy 16y ago
        It doesn't mean YC failed, but he does have some bragging rights all the same. The truth is, a lot of startups have been accepted into YC and have achieved far less...
    - apedley 16y ago
      I agree it doesn't particularly mean they lost out, but well done for getting your startup off the ground without VC support. It can be much better for you in the long run anyway. Although now that you have a business going some VC support might enable you to expand quicker.
- ScottBurson 16y ago
  "It's their loss" is definitely the right attitude to have, whether it's factually true (how could one ever know?) or not. Good for you!
- robryan 16y ago
  Your product looks like a definite winner now, when you applied though I'm guessing there was a lot of work to do and it was a lot less clearly a winner?
  - benologist 16y ago
    Yeah it was a lot smaller just 12 months ago: http://playtomic.com/blog/post/46-looking-back-on-2010 http://playtomic.com/blog/post/46-looking-back-on-2010
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
zemanel 16y ago
i have a lot of ideas and i've applied twice but being from europe and having difficulties finding a good team makes it impossible so i'm bootstrapping myself providing Shopify consulting amongst other things and i'm mid recruiting process for a Google position in Zurich, so maybe in the future a better opportunity comes along
yesimahuman 16y ago
Yes, twice. First time we didn't get an interview, second time we did (same project). We didn't make it past the interview but it was awesome anyways. Eventually went on to dissolve that project, but I will definitely be applying again in the future if it makes sense.
bretthellman 16y ago
Going through the YC application is a great exercise to go through for any founder. Keep your answers short. It will help you find your product's focus and remove the noise.
- MrFlibble 16y ago
  Agreed. Being forced to condense your brain-child into a 60 second pitch really helps you make a better first impression as well as focus you on which aspects are the most crucial.
thewordpainter 16y ago
interesting to see ~66% thus far have not. sounds like there's a great talent pool in the HN community for startups to tap into. i'm assuming most of those that haven't, have a strong passion for startups, but just haven't come across that world changing idea?
- gyardley 16y ago
  I imagine there's as many reasons as there are people. When I last co-founded something, we didn't apply to YC because we weren't at all interested in moving to Silicon Valley, even for a summer, and we could raise money on our own. No plans to apply to YC in the future for pretty much the same reasons.
  - ianl 16y ago
    I would like to apply for YC in the future but not being a citizen of the USA makes it more difficult.
EGreg 16y ago
I applied. Didn't make it to the interview, was kind of disappointed because I heard great things about YC. Anyway it didn't really put a damper on the project :)
patio11 16y ago
Nope. I periodically mull it over, but I didn't have a suitable product or situation prior to quitting and starting AR. AR could be suitable, but I'm not 100% sure that I want to commit to seeking the sort of trajectory which results in a positive outcome for YC. I couldn't in good conscience take their money without committing. If I was prepared to commit, YC would be the first to know.
tbrownaw 16y ago
Why would I? Compared to getting a paycheck, the startup path sounds like it would be significantly higher pressure, extraordinarily higher risk, and only slightly higher expected financial return (certainly not enough to make up for those first two items). The "weekend side project" option sounds much better, and is something I've been gradually moving towards.
MrFlibble 16y ago
Yes. Non-technical single founder (kiss of death) didn't make it in. No worries though, I'm raising seed capital & continuing to design the site. Should be hiring a back end architect & coders in the next month or so at this rate. YC would be a great resource but not getting in is not the end of the world. In any case, the posts on HN have been a great learning tool.
to 16y ago
can anyone explain how that works anyway?

24 points by solipsist 16y ago

I'd assume only a small fraction of the community would have applied before, but who knows?

Twice. Their loss, twice. Edit: You guys below are taking "their loss" too seriously lol. Is it really their loss? Who knows. Do I think it's their loss? Sure.

solipsist 16y ago
Did you submit the same application both times? Was it platomic?
- benologist 16y ago
  Yep, although it was originally called SWFStats. Now I'm tracking 10 billion events a month in real time, and I'm armed with tons of awesome users, some friends and an increasingly solid strategy for capturing a few more markets. :)
  - dotBen 16y ago
    The fact that you've gone on to be successful doesn't mean that they 'failed'/'lost out' because they didn't back you. For a start it could be that the startups they did back have gone on to achieve even more (or they expected to). You're calling it as if it is black and white, and it isn't. Still, I hope you continue to see success in your venture.
    - zachallaun 16y ago
      YC definitely lost out, and I'm sure that pg (and the others) would be the first to admit it. Any good VC or Angel knows they can't always make the right call. In fact, I'm fairly confident that YC has that written down somewhere. Possibly in multiple locations.
      - aaronbrethorst 16y ago
        In theory, pg has already 'admitted' it to ben twice, now: We realize this process is fraught with error. It's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=70062 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=70062
        benologist 16y ago
        Of course they can miss stuff for a whole stack of reasons, and it's not even certain they have made a mistake - I just assume they have and everyone who's not accepted should do so too, to think otherwise about your own startup would be retarded heh.
    - wmboy 16y ago
      It doesn't mean YC failed, but he does have some bragging rights all the same. The truth is, a lot of startups have been accepted into YC and have achieved far less...
  - apedley 16y ago
    I agree it doesn't particularly mean they lost out, but well done for getting your startup off the ground without VC support. It can be much better for you in the long run anyway. Although now that you have a business going some VC support might enable you to expand quicker.
ScottBurson 16y ago
"It's their loss" is definitely the right attitude to have, whether it's factually true (how could one ever know?) or not. Good for you!
robryan 16y ago
Your product looks like a definite winner now, when you applied though I'm guessing there was a lot of work to do and it was a lot less clearly a winner?
- benologist 16y ago
  Yeah it was a lot smaller just 12 months ago: http://playtomic.com/blog/post/46-looking-back-on-2010 http://playtomic.com/blog/post/46-looking-back-on-2010

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

zemanel 16y ago

i have a lot of ideas and i've applied twice but being from europe and having difficulties finding a good team makes it impossible so i'm bootstrapping myself providing Shopify consulting amongst other things and i'm mid recruiting process for a Google position in Zurich, so maybe in the future a better opportunity comes along

yesimahuman 16y ago

Yes, twice. First time we didn't get an interview, second time we did (same project). We didn't make it past the interview but it was awesome anyways. Eventually went on to dissolve that project, but I will definitely be applying again in the future if it makes sense.

bretthellman 16y ago

Going through the YC application is a great exercise to go through for any founder. Keep your answers short. It will help you find your product's focus and remove the noise.

MrFlibble 16y ago
Agreed. Being forced to condense your brain-child into a 60 second pitch really helps you make a better first impression as well as focus you on which aspects are the most crucial.

thewordpainter 16y ago

interesting to see ~66% thus far have not. sounds like there's a great talent pool in the HN community for startups to tap into. i'm assuming most of those that haven't, have a strong passion for startups, but just haven't come across that world changing idea?

gyardley 16y ago
I imagine there's as many reasons as there are people. When I last co-founded something, we didn't apply to YC because we weren't at all interested in moving to Silicon Valley, even for a summer, and we could raise money on our own. No plans to apply to YC in the future for pretty much the same reasons.
- ianl 16y ago
  I would like to apply for YC in the future but not being a citizen of the USA makes it more difficult.

EGreg 16y ago

I applied. Didn't make it to the interview, was kind of disappointed because I heard great things about YC. Anyway it didn't really put a damper on the project :)

patio11 16y ago

Nope. I periodically mull it over, but I didn't have a suitable product or situation prior to quitting and starting AR. AR could be suitable, but I'm not 100% sure that I want to commit to seeking the sort of trajectory which results in a positive outcome for YC. I couldn't in good conscience take their money without committing. If I was prepared to commit, YC would be the first to know.

tbrownaw 16y ago

Why would I? Compared to getting a paycheck, the startup path sounds like it would be significantly higher pressure, extraordinarily higher risk, and only slightly higher expected financial return (certainly not enough to make up for those first two items). The "weekend side project" option sounds much better, and is something I've been gradually moving towards.

MrFlibble 16y ago

Yes. Non-technical single founder (kiss of death) didn't make it in. No worries though, I'm raising seed capital & continuing to design the site. Should be hiring a back end architect & coders in the next month or so at this rate. YC would be a great resource but not getting in is not the end of the world. In any case, the posts on HN have been a great learning tool.

to 16y ago

can anyone explain how that works anyway?