11 ms·

How Instacart (YC S12) Hacked YC

209 points by olivercameron 14y ago

jere 14y ago
tl;dr: Beer.
- SwaroopH 14y ago
  Next best thing: pizza
- geoffschmidt 14y ago
  tl;dr determination, creativity, and a good product demo. If you copy those things, you'll have a good chance of getting into YC. If you copy "Send Garry Tan beer," you'll look like "the guy that didn't have any original ideas, so he copied Apoorva" :)
  - jere 14y ago
    >tl;dr determination, creativity, and a good product demo. Sure, but aren't those things that are normally expected of applicants? "Hack" implies a clever trick that routes you around the normal mechanisms. And, quite seriously, the only hack I found was beer.
    - drumdance 14y ago
      He used his product to deliver the beer. How many times has that happened to you?
vladd 14y ago
> most importantly I learned that I’ll never take “No” for an answer again. There are two types of challenges in life: the first ones are generic and depend mainly on you, such as (1) double the revenue in the next 6 months, or (2) double the team size. Even if one of your staff quits or the market dips, as long as you're passionate about, have a plan that is doable and work hard enough to get there, it can be done. The other type of challenges are the ones about specific people or entities. Impressing girl X strong enough to kiss you, making Y lend you money or convincing Z to fund you. It's a wrong lesson to learn not to accept NO for an answer in these kind of situations, mainly because it's not something depending mainly on your ambition and productivity but rather on the subjective freedom of a specific person to act with respect to you. By refusing to take "No" for an answer in those cases you can easily end up being depressed or a jerk in the long run.
- isalmon 14y ago
  Does not work with girls. When they say "No" - that usually means "Yes, but later" or "Yes, but you'll have to work on it". So I would not take "No" for an answer here too ;)
  - chimi 14y ago
    You really should delete that comment. It's entirely inappropriate. When a woman says no, she means no. End of story.
    - gw 14y ago
      What a comical overreaction. The history of cinema and literature is replete with love story cliches just like that -- a boy being rejected by a girl and eventually winning her over with perseverance and charm. Of course, the over-correcting HN crowd instantly interprets such a comment as the words of a misogynistic psychopath.
      - GuiA 14y ago
        >The history of cinema and literature is replete with love story cliches just like that -- a boy being rejected by a girl and eventually winning her over with perseverance and charm. Fun fact of the day! Literature and movies are, in fact, not the same as real life!
        ehsanu1 14y ago
        That snark is not warranted. The point is also not so relevant: we're talking about cultural acceptability, and popular literature/movies are a reflection of that to a large extent. For the record, that particular love story cliche did actually work out for me personally, as the guy. Maybe it's not common, but it's not ridiculously unrealistic.
        shocks 14y ago
bryanh 14y ago
Its nice that these types of stories put a face on the fabled "determination" trait that YC always say they select for [1]. Good timing on the story too, right before demo day... :-) [1] http://paulgraham.com/founders.html http://paulgraham.com/founders.html
d0m 14y ago
I've talked with a lot of startups who got in YC in the past several years, and none of them got a call or an interview without having connection inside or using some kind of a hack. Still, it's sadden me a little bit. You send the best possible application you can create, you're refused. You contact the YC team, you're refused. You send beer to one of them, oh you get the chance to have an interview. If they liked the idea so much to admit Instacart so late with a single founder, it's hard to believe they're doing a great job at screening the applications. IMO, every (no-spam) applications should at least have a 2 minutes skype call with one of the YC members. I know it takes time but it's in their interest.
- arkitaip 14y ago
  Maybe keeping at it and deploying the beer hack - a very good marketing tactic, really - what made Y! make up their mind. Anyone that dedicated is bound to at least get stuff done.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    "Dedicated enough to send a six pack" is not a very strong signal. Probably don't everyone start sending gifts to yc now.
    - arkitaip 14y ago
      Dedicated as in contacting all Y! partners. Dedicated as in running up against a wall and finding a way around it. And it really wasn't about the beer but generating interest in Instacart.
    - dkrich 14y ago
      I think you're kind of missing the point. He didn't just send a six-pack of beer, but rather he sent a six-pack of beer with his own product. I don't think getting food delivered to their offices is going to help your pitch for a new way to share photos.
- tptacek 14y ago
  You think the difference between interview and no-interview with a seed fund is "six pack of beer"? That doesn't sound naive to you? My read was, the difference here was between the idea of a business being discussed on the Internet, versus an instance of the actual real-world execution of that idea.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
dkrich 14y ago
That's a great example of the power of demonstration. Showing someone what your product can do, as opposed to what it will do is about 10,000x more powerful. However, this sort of begs the question, if you already have a successful product, why give up a significant amount of equity to an incubator? To help sales?
- patrickyeon 14y ago
  > However, this sort of begs the question, if you already have a successful product, why give up a significant amount of equity to an incubator? I think the idea is usually that the extra cash on hand right now and/or the networking and direct help you get from the incubator will help you grow your product so much faster that it's worth giving up the equity. In this case specifically, the capital could go to starting the same proven service in a few other cities, instead of somebody else becoming "InstaCart for Atlanta". Or maybe the most valuable part will be advice on how to scale out to other cities.
- diesellaws 14y ago
  Advice, mentorship and other intangible network effects that may only come about by being a part of YC.
rprasad 14y ago
TL;DR: YC's formal application process is broken. The new application process is to send beer or other gifts directly to the YC partners.
- Xcelerate 14y ago
  That's a rather depressing interpretation of his article. I thought what he did was quite clever; by demonstrating his product he really made them understand quickly how it worked.
- paul 14y ago
  This case was exceptional because of how late he was to apply. 90% of yc startups come in via the regular process, and nearly all of the companies that send gifts are not accepted into yc. But of course everyone is free to re-interpret the facts to fit their own self-defeating narratives...
  - GuiA 14y ago
    >90% of yc startups come in via the regular process I feel that it might then be safe to assume that accepted/applied_through_regular_process < accepted/applied_through_other_means ... the game then becomes being part of that 10% :)
    - jhuckestein 14y ago
      In my experience this is very true for most application situations with a low acceptance rate. If you're standing out by doing something vastly different, you'll already get more consideration than most. I once got into a very competitive neuro-science grad program by claiming in my application that I won't be able to answer any technical interview questions because I'm from a different field, but I could be useful in building an interdisciplinary team and helping with modeling/simulations.
  - neurotech1 14y ago
    Too true. Perhaps the best answer to "How do get into YC with my start up?" is to just do it. Create a prototype and get feedback. Those things are needed with or without YC acceptance. Remembering from my YC application, somebody did check the demo URL, so don't assume they wont.
HorizonXP 14y ago
Having known Apoorva since our days in UW, everyone should know this is par for the course for him. Many of us in our class were exceptional people, and have gone on to do exceptional things. Apoorva's different. He takes the tools and abilities he has, and just applies them differently than anyone else. It's tough to put my finger on it. When he first told me this story, I just laughed. I just thought, classic Apoorva. Think what you may about Instacart, but this man is going places.
- lusr 14y ago
  I don't know him, but reading this story it doesn't sound like he learned anything. Sounds like this sort of behaviour is him. I'm jealous - it took me years just to get to the point where I realised I'd been taking "no" as an (unnecessary) absolute, never mind consciously changing that pattern of behaviour.
kevinwdavid 14y ago
Don’t take no for an answer! YES is around the corner!.There are always back doors to opportunities if you want them badly enough.The key is transforming the 'no' from a flat refusal into an obstacle to be surmounted. If you can deal with the obstacle,your request is more likely to be granted.Whenever someone tells you 'no,' there's almost always a way to turn it into a 'yes.'Period!
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
baby 14y ago
There is ONE thing I don't understand : > No matter how large your order, we only charge $9.99 for 1 hour and $3.99 for 3 hour deliveries. How can you make it profitable if you only charge 10$ an hour (when you have to pay for the driver, gas etc...)?
- citricsquid 14y ago
  The time refers to the time from order to delivery, not the time the order will take. If they streamline the system well enough and have a large number of delivery drivers in each area they could have delivery take ~15 mins, 4 deliveries an hour is $40/driver. Not great but more than enough to cover costs and wages.
  - gav 14y ago
    I doubt in most major cities with traffic you could manage 4 deliveries/hour/truck unless your volume was big enough to have very close-by drop offs. Factor in the time taken to unload from the truck and hand off to the customer and it's even worse. One thing I don't understand is who is doing the delivering. I doubt Instacart is using their own trucks, and instead is piggy-backing off somebody else's infrastructure.
    - citricsquid 14y ago
      They're delivering things like groceries, I assume they're similar to exec (https://iamexec.com/ https://iamexec.com/) but specific to delivery. It's just "some guy" hired by Instacart to pick up groceries and then deliver them when they're told to, no trucks needed, bicycles or cars would be fine.
- timdorr 14y ago
  You're looking at it wrong. They don't take an hour to deliver your items. The driver should, in theory, be running around grabbing the items you requested (which are put into the store based on them being quickly available: "All items on Instacart are sourced from the stores closest to you") and the items of other orders in their queue. Because of the locality, it may take them only a few minutes to get you those items, not a full hour. You're also assuming they don't charge a small markup on each item, thereby offsetting the size of each order.
jonmc12 14y ago
Is a liquor license required to deliver alcohol in CA? I don't see Instacart on a quick scan of CA ABC - http://www.abc.ca.gov/datport/LQSMenu.html http://www.abc.ca.gov/datport/LQSMenu.html If a license is required, and they did not have one when applying to yc, it makes this story even more impressive!
- baddox 14y ago
  Can I call my friend and have him bring me some beer? What if I pay him a bit extra to cover the hassle? Now what if it's my personal assistant, or butler?
  - prodigal_erik 14y ago
    After reading jwz's horror stories about that bureaucracy, I wouldn't be surprised if all of those were illegal but very selectively enforced.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - jasonlotito 14y ago
    And now, what if it's a stranger employed by someone else, and they deliver the beer to under-aged individuals? It's a real and valid concern, and dismissing it with silly questions about friends like a weasel doesn't resolve the concern.
    - baddox 14y ago
      If a stranger (or anyone) physically hands alcohol to a minor, then a crime has been committed. What is so complicated about that?
      - jasonlotito 14y ago
        I don't know. You were the one proposing questions regarding liquor laws. Apparently it isn't as simple as you'd like to believe. But no, ignore questions and remain ignorant of realities or laws. Edit: I mean, seriously, you try and act like some smart guy proposing "insightful questions" about how there is no difference between paying your friend to bring you beer and paying a company to bring you beer, but it doesn't work that way. Instead of coming off as smart, you come off looking like a smart ass.
magnusgraviti 14y ago
Reading this article I thought about two things: 1) This guy is a real entrepreneur. He made a deal. I am thrilled! Congratulations! :) Reminds me of the book from Donald Trump about the deals. 2) Y Combinator partners are undoubtly clever people and they can't afford themselves to apply each pitch or idea and you should look for a hack to stay out of the overall group to be noticed and given a chance to win or fail.
joshu 14y ago
trying really hard is a hack?
- lindablus 14y ago
  The title of the story - specifically the liberal use of "hack" - irritated me greatly, because it made the story sound bigger than what it is. Whoever wrote the story please reserve the word "hack" for true breakthroughs in future.
sedev 14y ago
I remember PG's essay about "relentlessly resourceful": after reading this dude's story, it's pretty much exactly that. It's still surprising that he got in late - but not as surprising. He demonstrated, in a visceral way, that he had the trait that PG has described as a top success factor for YC companies. Good for him!
ibdthor 14y ago
Amusing, that this thread pops up the day after the "Why I hate HN"/"How to Fix HN" discussion. The 50% of this thread about sexism is a bit off-topic, and about another 25% is claiming the application process is broken or that beer equates to a bribe. I feel like this would have been more valuable if people had simply taken it as a lesson for success through tenacity. Here's what I take away from this: delivering the beer made the YC partners realize that Instacart was already up and running with a functional app, at which point it became a quasi-Pascal's Wager - if Instacart busts, it busts, but it looks like it could pay off big already, so why not bet on it? This is similar to how we got into YC with Light Table. Our initial application for a completely different idea didn't even get an interview, but when we applied late with numbers from Kickstarter to back us, it was a different story. I would wager that for a late application to be successful, the founders have to show a certain above-average mettle, but must also have some demonstrative additional value (like a functional app that can deliver a six pack in 30 minutes) that makes YC take the risk of a late acceptance.
ajju 14y ago
For everyone who thinks the conclusion is "Send YC partners gifts", I personally know a smart guy who sent YC gifts related to his startup before the deadline (and therefore, before Apoorva), and still wasn't invited for an interview. You have to realize that YC isn't doing this for gifts, they are doing this with the expectation that you have the potential to be breakout success like Dropbox, AirBnB or even better. They are savvy investors, and unlikely to fall for mere gimmicks.
- 46Bit 14y ago
  Seriously? Sending things is an interesting strategy if it's your business, but bribes are counterproductive. Unless premature desperation is a trait YC seek.
  - ajju 14y ago
    Did you misread my comment? I don' understand the "Seriously?" part of yours, since we seem to largely agree.
    - 46Bit 14y ago
      I wasn't having a go at you, rather wondering about who'd try such a strategy.
rweir 14y ago
wow why hasn't anyone tried this business model yet!11
its_so_on 14y ago
The problem I see with YC is that they want to take 7% of your company AND only let in people who are doing things their way already. I am extremely interested in listening to their way. That doesn't mean I'm already doing it. They should let every single applicant in who is willing to listen to them and show them an existing, working product in a big market.
brettvallis 14y ago
Personally, I mostly got the feeling that he was just publically congratulating himself - showing off. I live in Cape Town, none of my alumni could put me in contact with any SV VC's, even in 24 days. He reinforced the idea of 'it's who you know in the v(V)alley'. Due to the success of his application, the OP is applauded for his tenacity, his unwillingness to give up. If he had failed though, he would've seemed a little more like the annoying guy who just doesn't get the message. His post, and process isn't particularly helpful to most others. But I appreciate the insight given by YC, or those connected with the process. My take-away (play intended) from the post and comments is: 1.) If you believe in your product, and you feel it's commercially viable, build it before you even start asking for money, and 2.) Use your product as the pitch. Yeah, everyone demos their product during a sales call, but using it directly on the client even before an introduction seems like a nice differentiator. Not very easy in the Enterprise, or if your clients are anonymous, but a targeted start might work - warrants further thought. Anyway, good luck to the OP!

209 points by olivercameron 14y ago

jere 14y ago

tl;dr: Beer.

SwaroopH 14y ago
Next best thing: pizza
geoffschmidt 14y ago
tl;dr determination, creativity, and a good product demo. If you copy those things, you'll have a good chance of getting into YC. If you copy "Send Garry Tan beer," you'll look like "the guy that didn't have any original ideas, so he copied Apoorva" :)
- jere 14y ago
  >tl;dr determination, creativity, and a good product demo. Sure, but aren't those things that are normally expected of applicants? "Hack" implies a clever trick that routes you around the normal mechanisms. And, quite seriously, the only hack I found was beer.
  - drumdance 14y ago
    He used his product to deliver the beer. How many times has that happened to you?

vladd 14y ago

> most importantly I learned that I’ll never take “No” for an answer again. There are two types of challenges in life: the first ones are generic and depend mainly on you, such as (1) double the revenue in the next 6 months, or (2) double the team size. Even if one of your staff quits or the market dips, as long as you're passionate about, have a plan that is doable and work hard enough to get there, it can be done. The other type of challenges are the ones about specific people or entities. Impressing girl X strong enough to kiss you, making Y lend you money or convincing Z to fund you. It's a wrong lesson to learn not to accept NO for an answer in these kind of situations, mainly because it's not something depending mainly on your ambition and productivity but rather on the subjective freedom of a specific person to act with respect to you. By refusing to take "No" for an answer in those cases you can easily end up being depressed or a jerk in the long run.

isalmon 14y ago
Does not work with girls. When they say "No" - that usually means "Yes, but later" or "Yes, but you'll have to work on it". So I would not take "No" for an answer here too ;)
- chimi 14y ago
  You really should delete that comment. It's entirely inappropriate. When a woman says no, she means no. End of story.
  - gw 14y ago
    What a comical overreaction. The history of cinema and literature is replete with love story cliches just like that -- a boy being rejected by a girl and eventually winning her over with perseverance and charm. Of course, the over-correcting HN crowd instantly interprets such a comment as the words of a misogynistic psychopath.
    - GuiA 14y ago
      >The history of cinema and literature is replete with love story cliches just like that -- a boy being rejected by a girl and eventually winning her over with perseverance and charm. Fun fact of the day! Literature and movies are, in fact, not the same as real life!
      - ehsanu1 14y ago
        That snark is not warranted. The point is also not so relevant: we're talking about cultural acceptability, and popular literature/movies are a reflection of that to a large extent. For the record, that particular love story cliche did actually work out for me personally, as the guy. Maybe it's not common, but it's not ridiculously unrealistic.
        shocks 14y ago

bryanh 14y ago

Its nice that these types of stories put a face on the fabled "determination" trait that YC always say they select for [1]. Good timing on the story too, right before demo day... :-) [1] http://paulgraham.com/founders.html http://paulgraham.com/founders.html

d0m 14y ago

I've talked with a lot of startups who got in YC in the past several years, and none of them got a call or an interview without having connection inside or using some kind of a hack. Still, it's sadden me a little bit. You send the best possible application you can create, you're refused. You contact the YC team, you're refused. You send beer to one of them, oh you get the chance to have an interview. If they liked the idea so much to admit Instacart so late with a single founder, it's hard to believe they're doing a great job at screening the applications. IMO, every (no-spam) applications should at least have a 2 minutes skype call with one of the YC members. I know it takes time but it's in their interest.

arkitaip 14y ago
Maybe keeping at it and deploying the beer hack - a very good marketing tactic, really - what made Y! make up their mind. Anyone that dedicated is bound to at least get stuff done.
- tptacek 14y ago
  "Dedicated enough to send a six pack" is not a very strong signal. Probably don't everyone start sending gifts to yc now.
  - arkitaip 14y ago
    Dedicated as in contacting all Y! partners. Dedicated as in running up against a wall and finding a way around it. And it really wasn't about the beer but generating interest in Instacart.
  - dkrich 14y ago
    I think you're kind of missing the point. He didn't just send a six-pack of beer, but rather he sent a six-pack of beer with his own product. I don't think getting food delivered to their offices is going to help your pitch for a new way to share photos.
tptacek 14y ago
You think the difference between interview and no-interview with a seed fund is "six pack of beer"? That doesn't sound naive to you? My read was, the difference here was between the idea of a business being discussed on the Internet, versus an instance of the actual real-world execution of that idea.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

dkrich 14y ago

That's a great example of the power of demonstration. Showing someone what your product can do, as opposed to what it will do is about 10,000x more powerful. However, this sort of begs the question, if you already have a successful product, why give up a significant amount of equity to an incubator? To help sales?

patrickyeon 14y ago
> However, this sort of begs the question, if you already have a successful product, why give up a significant amount of equity to an incubator? I think the idea is usually that the extra cash on hand right now and/or the networking and direct help you get from the incubator will help you grow your product so much faster that it's worth giving up the equity. In this case specifically, the capital could go to starting the same proven service in a few other cities, instead of somebody else becoming "InstaCart for Atlanta". Or maybe the most valuable part will be advice on how to scale out to other cities.
diesellaws 14y ago
Advice, mentorship and other intangible network effects that may only come about by being a part of YC.

rprasad 14y ago

TL;DR: YC's formal application process is broken. The new application process is to send beer or other gifts directly to the YC partners.

Xcelerate 14y ago
That's a rather depressing interpretation of his article. I thought what he did was quite clever; by demonstrating his product he really made them understand quickly how it worked.
paul 14y ago
This case was exceptional because of how late he was to apply. 90% of yc startups come in via the regular process, and nearly all of the companies that send gifts are not accepted into yc. But of course everyone is free to re-interpret the facts to fit their own self-defeating narratives...
- GuiA 14y ago
  >90% of yc startups come in via the regular process I feel that it might then be safe to assume that accepted/applied_through_regular_process < accepted/applied_through_other_means ... the game then becomes being part of that 10% :)
  - jhuckestein 14y ago
    In my experience this is very true for most application situations with a low acceptance rate. If you're standing out by doing something vastly different, you'll already get more consideration than most. I once got into a very competitive neuro-science grad program by claiming in my application that I won't be able to answer any technical interview questions because I'm from a different field, but I could be useful in building an interdisciplinary team and helping with modeling/simulations.
- neurotech1 14y ago
  Too true. Perhaps the best answer to "How do get into YC with my start up?" is to just do it. Create a prototype and get feedback. Those things are needed with or without YC acceptance. Remembering from my YC application, somebody did check the demo URL, so don't assume they wont.

HorizonXP 14y ago

Having known Apoorva since our days in UW, everyone should know this is par for the course for him. Many of us in our class were exceptional people, and have gone on to do exceptional things. Apoorva's different. He takes the tools and abilities he has, and just applies them differently than anyone else. It's tough to put my finger on it. When he first told me this story, I just laughed. I just thought, classic Apoorva. Think what you may about Instacart, but this man is going places.

lusr 14y ago
I don't know him, but reading this story it doesn't sound like he learned anything. Sounds like this sort of behaviour is him. I'm jealous - it took me years just to get to the point where I realised I'd been taking "no" as an (unnecessary) absolute, never mind consciously changing that pattern of behaviour.

kevinwdavid 14y ago

Don’t take no for an answer! YES is around the corner!.There are always back doors to opportunities if you want them badly enough.The key is transforming the 'no' from a flat refusal into an obstacle to be surmounted. If you can deal with the obstacle,your request is more likely to be granted.Whenever someone tells you 'no,' there's almost always a way to turn it into a 'yes.'Period!

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

baby 14y ago

There is ONE thing I don't understand : > No matter how large your order, we only charge $9.99 for 1 hour and $3.99 for 3 hour deliveries. How can you make it profitable if you only charge 10$ an hour (when you have to pay for the driver, gas etc...)?

citricsquid 14y ago
The time refers to the time from order to delivery, not the time the order will take. If they streamline the system well enough and have a large number of delivery drivers in each area they could have delivery take ~15 mins, 4 deliveries an hour is $40/driver. Not great but more than enough to cover costs and wages.
- gav 14y ago
  I doubt in most major cities with traffic you could manage 4 deliveries/hour/truck unless your volume was big enough to have very close-by drop offs. Factor in the time taken to unload from the truck and hand off to the customer and it's even worse. One thing I don't understand is who is doing the delivering. I doubt Instacart is using their own trucks, and instead is piggy-backing off somebody else's infrastructure.
  - citricsquid 14y ago
    They're delivering things like groceries, I assume they're similar to exec (https://iamexec.com/ https://iamexec.com/) but specific to delivery. It's just "some guy" hired by Instacart to pick up groceries and then deliver them when they're told to, no trucks needed, bicycles or cars would be fine.
timdorr 14y ago
You're looking at it wrong. They don't take an hour to deliver your items. The driver should, in theory, be running around grabbing the items you requested (which are put into the store based on them being quickly available: "All items on Instacart are sourced from the stores closest to you") and the items of other orders in their queue. Because of the locality, it may take them only a few minutes to get you those items, not a full hour. You're also assuming they don't charge a small markup on each item, thereby offsetting the size of each order.

jonmc12 14y ago

Is a liquor license required to deliver alcohol in CA? I don't see Instacart on a quick scan of CA ABC - http://www.abc.ca.gov/datport/LQSMenu.html http://www.abc.ca.gov/datport/LQSMenu.html If a license is required, and they did not have one when applying to yc, it makes this story even more impressive!

baddox 14y ago
Can I call my friend and have him bring me some beer? What if I pay him a bit extra to cover the hassle? Now what if it's my personal assistant, or butler?
- prodigal_erik 14y ago
  After reading jwz's horror stories about that bureaucracy, I wouldn't be surprised if all of those were illegal but very selectively enforced.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- jasonlotito 14y ago
  And now, what if it's a stranger employed by someone else, and they deliver the beer to under-aged individuals? It's a real and valid concern, and dismissing it with silly questions about friends like a weasel doesn't resolve the concern.
  - baddox 14y ago
    If a stranger (or anyone) physically hands alcohol to a minor, then a crime has been committed. What is so complicated about that?
    - jasonlotito 14y ago
      I don't know. You were the one proposing questions regarding liquor laws. Apparently it isn't as simple as you'd like to believe. But no, ignore questions and remain ignorant of realities or laws. Edit: I mean, seriously, you try and act like some smart guy proposing "insightful questions" about how there is no difference between paying your friend to bring you beer and paying a company to bring you beer, but it doesn't work that way. Instead of coming off as smart, you come off looking like a smart ass.

magnusgraviti 14y ago

Reading this article I thought about two things: 1) This guy is a real entrepreneur. He made a deal. I am thrilled! Congratulations! :) Reminds me of the book from Donald Trump about the deals. 2) Y Combinator partners are undoubtly clever people and they can't afford themselves to apply each pitch or idea and you should look for a hack to stay out of the overall group to be noticed and given a chance to win or fail.

joshu 14y ago

trying really hard is a hack?

lindablus 14y ago
The title of the story - specifically the liberal use of "hack" - irritated me greatly, because it made the story sound bigger than what it is. Whoever wrote the story please reserve the word "hack" for true breakthroughs in future.

sedev 14y ago

I remember PG's essay about "relentlessly resourceful": after reading this dude's story, it's pretty much exactly that. It's still surprising that he got in late - but not as surprising. He demonstrated, in a visceral way, that he had the trait that PG has described as a top success factor for YC companies. Good for him!

ibdthor 14y ago

Amusing, that this thread pops up the day after the "Why I hate HN"/"How to Fix HN" discussion. The 50% of this thread about sexism is a bit off-topic, and about another 25% is claiming the application process is broken or that beer equates to a bribe. I feel like this would have been more valuable if people had simply taken it as a lesson for success through tenacity. Here's what I take away from this: delivering the beer made the YC partners realize that Instacart was already up and running with a functional app, at which point it became a quasi-Pascal's Wager - if Instacart busts, it busts, but it looks like it could pay off big already, so why not bet on it? This is similar to how we got into YC with Light Table. Our initial application for a completely different idea didn't even get an interview, but when we applied late with numbers from Kickstarter to back us, it was a different story. I would wager that for a late application to be successful, the founders have to show a certain above-average mettle, but must also have some demonstrative additional value (like a functional app that can deliver a six pack in 30 minutes) that makes YC take the risk of a late acceptance.

ajju 14y ago

For everyone who thinks the conclusion is "Send YC partners gifts", I personally know a smart guy who sent YC gifts related to his startup before the deadline (and therefore, before Apoorva), and still wasn't invited for an interview. You have to realize that YC isn't doing this for gifts, they are doing this with the expectation that you have the potential to be breakout success like Dropbox, AirBnB or even better. They are savvy investors, and unlikely to fall for mere gimmicks.

46Bit 14y ago
Seriously? Sending things is an interesting strategy if it's your business, but bribes are counterproductive. Unless premature desperation is a trait YC seek.
- ajju 14y ago
  Did you misread my comment? I don' understand the "Seriously?" part of yours, since we seem to largely agree.
  - 46Bit 14y ago
    I wasn't having a go at you, rather wondering about who'd try such a strategy.

rweir 14y ago

wow why hasn't anyone tried this business model yet!11

its_so_on 14y ago

The problem I see with YC is that they want to take 7% of your company AND only let in people who are doing things their way already. I am extremely interested in listening to their way. That doesn't mean I'm already doing it. They should let every single applicant in who is willing to listen to them and show them an existing, working product in a big market.

brettvallis 14y ago

Personally, I mostly got the feeling that he was just publically congratulating himself - showing off. I live in Cape Town, none of my alumni could put me in contact with any SV VC's, even in 24 days. He reinforced the idea of 'it's who you know in the v(V)alley'. Due to the success of his application, the OP is applauded for his tenacity, his unwillingness to give up. If he had failed though, he would've seemed a little more like the annoying guy who just doesn't get the message. His post, and process isn't particularly helpful to most others. But I appreciate the insight given by YC, or those connected with the process. My take-away (play intended) from the post and comments is: 1.) If you believe in your product, and you feel it's commercially viable, build it before you even start asking for money, and 2.) Use your product as the pitch. Yeah, everyone demos their product during a sales call, but using it directly on the client even before an introduction seems like a nice differentiator. Not very easy in the Enterprise, or if your clients are anonymous, but a targeted start might work - warrants further thought. Anyway, good luck to the OP!