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I predict a huge increase in the number of applications this time, thanks to all the publicity and YC success stories. Good luck to everyone!
by eposts 19y ago
I predict a huge increase in the number of applications this time, thanks to all the publicity and YC success stories. Good luck to everyone!
- gms 19y agoYes, I imagine that's why the application is up early.
- migpwr 19y agoHow many applications do you think they receive on average?
- deleted 19y ago[deleted]
- pg 19y agoWe got about 430 last time, of which we ultimately funded 20. (1 of those 20 immediately merged with a startup from a previous round, so only 19 came to Cambridge.)
- eposts 19y agoDo you plan to keep the number at 20 this time too or its too early to tell?
- pg 19y agoIf the number of applications is higher, we'll probably accept more. It's not certain there will be more applications, though. There are usually fewer for the winter.
- gibsonf1 19y agoThose are impressively bad odds for being accepted.
- staunch 19y agoA startup is going to compete for the attention of users against many thousands of other companies. Competing against a few hundred, most of which are probably hopeless, doesn't seem that scary to me.
- pg 19y agoThey're made to look bad by how easy it is to apply. If you make a website offering people money if they fill out a form, a lot of people will fill it out. But the odds for a good team are not as bad as they might seem. At least a third of the applications are egregiously broken: 13 year old founders, people who want to "telecommute" from India, people who want us to fund their plumbing supply store, etc...
- gibsonf1 19y agoThanks for that clarification - the odds are getting a bit better :) . I'm curious: how many teams were interviewed in person to arrive at the final 20?
- pg 19y ago45-50
- deleted 19y ago[deleted]
- sabhishek 19y agoPeople might ask you first if its ok to "telecommute" from India, before applying. I was not aware "asking" that may put them into "egregiously broken" category :)
- mr_luc 19y agoI'm still not aware of that. Ask away. This is a far more convenient place to ask stupid questions than, say, Startup School. (That's what I did. At the first startup school, I asked almost every founder I could get my hands on: "So, what would you do if you didn't have a co-founder?"). If they get your application, and it says "I am from India and can't leave", then by their own rules that's broken, but there's no penalty for asking stupid questions. How you react, as you come to realize that the question you are asking is a stupid one, probably says something relevant about a startup founder.