4 ms·

Ask YC Alumni: YC S13 Application

6 points by will_brown 14y ago

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6jnvIhOPJO7WGlRcGw5Q3B3TDQ/edit?usp=sharing I was nervous about doing this, but I decided I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. I am interested in knowing things like the impression you get of me, the company, the product from the application. With your insights what do you think PG and company's impressions will be of me and/or what I have built? Would you invest in me and/or the product to succeed? Did you like the product and not me or like me and not the product? Edit: I am available to live chat if/when you visit the Google Drive link.

keiferski 14y ago
I'm not a YC person, but I can help on little edits: - you need more describing the idea. I like the simple one-liner, but you should elaborate more. - typo on "Impressive" question. "I was represented a 15 year old...". I'm not sure if you represented or were represented by. Also change the last line to something like, "deportation was cancelled." No need to use both "dismissal" and "deport" to describe the same thing. - "What do you understand better" question: I'm unsure how your answer relates to you. I'm just seeing why NatGeo gets it. - Philippines is spelled wrong - the last question seems more focused on you, and not on external information. I interpreted that question as something about the world you discovered, not an internal self-discovery. Good luck!
- will_brown 14y ago
  Thanks, I did not know what to expect, but I thought people might just shoot from the hip with impressions and thoughts about me/the product. Yours was very practical advice I will utilize in the final draft.
  - keiferski 14y ago
    No problem. Shooting from the hip: it's a neat idea but feels too much like an add-on, and not like a full-fledged company.
    - will_brown 14y ago
      I actually wish that was a YC application question. More specifically: How would you respond when people say your idea is an add-on/feature not a product? I am not going to actually answer here, because I do not want to become defensive in response to someone being so insightful. The most important thing is now I know it is a potential PG and Co. may have the same "feel".
iamwil 14y ago
I wrote this in relation to what's being asked and looked for in applications. I think it might help you. https://iamwilchung.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/i-got-into-yc-after-applying-six-times-heres-my-advice-for-yc-applicants/ https://iamwilchung.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/i-got-into-yc-a...
- will_brown 14y ago
  I have no idea how, but I previously had read your post. Likely a Google search but at this time I could not tell you the search query. Your story is both inspirational and practical. Inspirational because you continued to pursue your YC goal after most people would have given up or lost hope, and it was not just some eventuality, you took control of your circumstances by working for a YC company, moving to SV, and finding a co-founder in SV. Similarly, after my first rejection (W12) I applied to work for a YC start-up in SF, unfortunately I have not even received a form rejection much less an interview. >it wasn’t filling out the application all those times that gave me an idea of what YC is looking for, but rather, it really clicked for me after meeting the YC founders in the dinners of summer 2008. Along the same lines, this is why I posted my S13 Application to Ask YC alumni, thank you for taking the time to link your post, because I gained more from reading it this second time around - having been rejected since the first time I read it.

6 points by will_brown 14y ago

keiferski 14y ago

I'm not a YC person, but I can help on little edits: - you need more describing the idea. I like the simple one-liner, but you should elaborate more. - typo on "Impressive" question. "I was represented a 15 year old...". I'm not sure if you represented or were represented by. Also change the last line to something like, "deportation was cancelled." No need to use both "dismissal" and "deport" to describe the same thing. - "What do you understand better" question: I'm unsure how your answer relates to you. I'm just seeing why NatGeo gets it. - Philippines is spelled wrong - the last question seems more focused on you, and not on external information. I interpreted that question as something about the world you discovered, not an internal self-discovery. Good luck!

will_brown 14y ago
Thanks, I did not know what to expect, but I thought people might just shoot from the hip with impressions and thoughts about me/the product. Yours was very practical advice I will utilize in the final draft.
- keiferski 14y ago
  No problem. Shooting from the hip: it's a neat idea but feels too much like an add-on, and not like a full-fledged company.
  - will_brown 14y ago
    I actually wish that was a YC application question. More specifically: How would you respond when people say your idea is an add-on/feature not a product? I am not going to actually answer here, because I do not want to become defensive in response to someone being so insightful. The most important thing is now I know it is a potential PG and Co. may have the same "feel".

iamwil 14y ago

I wrote this in relation to what's being asked and looked for in applications. I think it might help you. https://iamwilchung.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/i-got-into-yc-after-applying-six-times-heres-my-advice-for-yc-applicants/ https://iamwilchung.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/i-got-into-yc-a...

will_brown 14y ago
I have no idea how, but I previously had read your post. Likely a Google search but at this time I could not tell you the search query. Your story is both inspirational and practical. Inspirational because you continued to pursue your YC goal after most people would have given up or lost hope, and it was not just some eventuality, you took control of your circumstances by working for a YC company, moving to SV, and finding a co-founder in SV. Similarly, after my first rejection (W12) I applied to work for a YC start-up in SF, unfortunately I have not even received a form rejection much less an interview. >it wasn’t filling out the application all those times that gave me an idea of what YC is looking for, but rather, it really clicked for me after meeting the YC founders in the dinners of summer 2008. Along the same lines, this is why I posted my S13 Application to Ask YC alumni, thank you for taking the time to link your post, because I gained more from reading it this second time around - having been rejected since the first time I read it.