19 ms·

YC Fellowship

• throwaway69283 11y ago
  (Posting from a throwaway account) > for some people, [YCF] may be the difference between going to work at a big company and starting the next Airbnb This is me. I applied to the YC summer batch and was rejected (I applied late, as a single founder, with only an idea). I've tried to push ahead anyway with my idea/startup and built a small prototype, but in the end decided to find a job. I have just now gotten a job offer from big G. YCF looks really interesting to me. What should I do? Accept the job at G and then if accepted to YCF quit my job after 1 month? Any advice is appreciated
  • SoftwarePatent 11y ago
    Do you really want to be a googler or an entrepreneur? Visualize yourself one year from now, have you made progress towards what you really want to be?
  • wiseleo 11y ago
    You will make 12K at Google quickly enough. I'd take the time to work there for a year, get your 100K in cash or whatever you manage to save (try to keep at least 50K), build your product, then either launch or apply for S16. Of course, you can decide to launch sooner. :)
  • throwawave 11y ago
    ^ same situation, but the big difference is that i am in a country where the annual salary can be around $12k, and its the big Q instead of G, i have already started the job but will be applying regardless, hope to quit if accepted, if anybody has any views/opinions on this then let me know
• katm 11y ago
  Kat from YC here. Sam, Matt Krisiloff and I are happy to answer any questions about the Fellowship. You can also send questions to fellowship@ycombinator.com.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    Hi! Matt here -- I'll be managing YC Fellowship. I'll be answering questions here throughout the day alongside Kat and Sam.
    • aswath87 11y ago
      hey Matt, what are key differences b/w the fellowship and the YC incubator?
      • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
        It's a 12k equity-free grant, it lasts for 8 weeks, you can do it remotely, and it's primarily meant for idea and prototype-stage companies. No dinners and no formal Demo Day, but there will be kickoff and end events in Mountain View where teams will present to the YC community. We'll fly out remote teams for those.
        • speeder 11y ago
          Can my company join, aiming to finish our flagship product? My company released lots of products, all of them had critical acclaim and high user reviews, but we ran out of money before releasing our main product, and we never had marketing money, so our sales are nowhere interesting. I am wondering if you consider this early enough or not. (we had no investment beside from extra money from the original founders).
          • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
            It sounds like you might be doing a company re-launch from the ground up? If that's the case, definitely apply for YCF. If you still have successful ancillary products and just want to develop your flagship product with YC's help, consider applying to YC W16. Applications for that will open up in August.
            • speeder 11y ago
• TheMakeA 11y ago
  This seems really close to what YC started as. Why the spinoff?
  • pen2l 11y ago
    I think the underlying goal here is to broaden yc network, really to find more workers, not founders. The fwd.us initiative seems dead in the water, so can't do much there. This is a much more clever, more politically astute approach to finding possible candidates.
  • sama 11y ago
    YC has evolved quite a bit. This seems like a good way for us to scale and to enable more innovation. A lot of companies need the full $120k, but I bet many will be able to make great progress with just $12k. We thought about trying to combine them, but they seem too different.
  • kapitalx 11y ago
    I think as the popularity and # of applications of YC has increase over the years, YC has naturally leaned towards startups who were further along. This way they can make that shift official without losing the original vision of YC.
    • tjculbertson 11y ago
      I like this idea. But I agree, it's a problem and this is probably one reason for experimenting with this. It sounds like the number of apps are already crazy, so not sure how YC will be able to sort through them all with more than a crap shoot probability of success. According the PG, the big ideas are not obvious at first, so how can you make good decisions on so many ideas in so little time? Probably YC is going to filter the apps through 1-2K YC founders or something and then have a score sheet, silos of expertise, etc. Basically selection by committee. Though I like the concept, I am skeptical of the judging, as well as the sheer number of apps coming in worldwide - too much white noise which hurts the ability of the many US based startups trying to get a seat at the table.
• gargarplex 11y ago
  A truly incredible opportunity. Thank you for your leadership.
• pkfrank 11y ago
  Another great initiative from YC, which I'm sure will yield incredible access to talented entrepreneurs. Surely there will be signal-to-noise issues, but if any group is equipped to sift through for (and help develop) talent, it's YC. $12k is not a lot of money in the grand scheme, but it is a huge grant to many talented founders/teams who otherwise wouldn't be able to take this leap.
• s73v3r 11y ago
  Any mention of health insurance, or other things like that? One of the biggest reasons people do go to work for large companies instead of starting their own business is things like that. Without them, you're really only targeting the young kids right out of school, most of whom (but not all) don't really need that much in healthcare.
  • x5n1 11y ago
    it's 2 months. if you really need it just get travel insurance. that should be do-able in 12k.
    • ValentineC 11y ago
      It's quite unlikely that travel insurance would cover chronic and critical illnesses like cancer though, which other forms of healthcare would cover.
    • s73v3r 11y ago
      If I have the dreaded "Pre-Existing Condition!", somehow I doubt that would work.
      • x5n1 11y ago
        then maybe you should find a jerb. entrepreneurship is risky.
        • s73v3r 11y ago
          That's an extremely terrible answer that really only serves to diminish the diversity of startup culture.
          • x5n1 11y ago
            Might not be the answer you want to hear, but it's the truth. If you can not deal with the ambiguity of not being covered for long term illness by insurance, entrepreneurship is likely not for you.
• deleted 11y ago
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  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    Yes, absolutely. Teams will be encouraged to apply, but it won't be a requirement.
• ghshephard 11y ago
  So, I read through the description three times. And I'm puzzled as to what the real differences are between a YC Fellowship, and traditional YC investment. Are the key differences - that the Fellowship is a grant, not an equity investment (for $12K, rather than the larger YC investment), that it lasts for only 8 weeks, and that the Fellowships aren't required to move to the Bay Area?
  • kevin 11y ago
    Yup.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    It's also designed for prototype and idea-stage teams in mind. Also, there won't be a traditional Demo Day at the end, but there will be an end event where teams will come to Mountain View to present to YC partners and alumni.
  • deleted 11y ago
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• larrys 11y ago
  12k gets them first dibs on an individual and/or a team ... a smart idea. Essentially a variation of Cialdini's "reciprocity" principle (among others..) http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/six-principles-influence.htm http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/six-principles-influe... People are free to do whatever they want with the grant and not go any further with YC but it's obvious that the good will and grant will cause a large percentage of them to not do that.
  • anon1385 11y ago
    It will be up to the wider community to educate the young impressionable kids who take the money that they have no obligations to YC and that there is no such thing as loyalty in the valley. YC is sure as hell gong to chuck them to the road if they don't work out. Unfortunately a lot of these kids will probably feel guilt over taking the money and feel like they have some kind of obligation to take deals that are much worse for them.
  • bengali3 11y ago
    I love Cialdini, thanks for linking. I recommend his book on Influence to everyone. I did think about this reciprocity initially when I heard no equity involved, however I don't think YC & Co's problem is getting startups to agree take their money after mentoring? Their issue is likely getting enough investment opportunities to put cash into as fast as they can raise it. ( ie-pretty fast ). For that they need a bigger opportunity pipeline. So, i basically agree that they are getting first dibs, but due little to Cialdini's rule on reciprocity. I'd point more towards 'Liking' (ie building the trust early) or 'Authority' since they are getting in the door first with founders and are likely the initial startup mentor. What I see, is that this program is just a simple (relative) way to ignite some ideas that are on the cusp of being implemented, remove some of the founding barriers, and start a conversation with their team earlier on in the process (no one wants to be the third on the list to call to invest in a great co.). The standard YC class schedule and size limitations are likely the gating factors to their growth, especially when interest in 'startup investing' isn't declining, and YC has already made moves to make it easier for non-accredited investors to invest. Maybe this is in line with what you were referring to.
• anon1385 11y ago
  >We understand that $12,000 is not a lot of money, and this won’t make sense for everyone. But for some people, it may be the difference between going to work at a big company and starting the next Airbnb. Maybe if the founders of AirBnB had been given $12,000 they wouldn't have needed to make money though illegal spamming.
  • vonklaus 11y ago
    Interesting, I haven't heard about this. Could you speak more to the illegal spamming allegation?
    • anon1385 11y ago
      http://gawker.com/5853754/the-seedy-spammy-past-of-airbnbs-co-founder http://gawker.com/5853754/the-seedy-spammy-past-of-airbnbs-c...
• cwal37 11y ago
  This is really interesting, and seems like a great opportunity for people in a position to take advantage of it. Particularly the ability to work remotely. An 8-week relocation could have been a major sticking pint for many groups. If I wasn't tied down at my job for the foreseeable future I would jump at this chance to go hard on an idea out of my "future/dream projects" design docs folder that I only get to sporadically put time towards.
• heynk 11y ago
  The announcement's discussion of 'good founders' led me to view this as supporting individuals, as well as teams. In contrast to YC's stance on only really exceptional solo founders, could this program be more tailored to a solo founder, perhaps still looking for a co-founder?
  • sama 11y ago
    We will be slightly more open to solo founders because we think at this stage you still have a good chance of finding a cofounder. But the bar will still remain higher for solo founders given all of our historical data.
    • jhartmann 11y ago
      I'm glad you will be slightly more open to solo founders. I also like that you are open to a more remote experience. I think this project could be very helpful in my situation, I have a great idea that is progressing (Deep Learning/AI Image Recognition SaaS) but would have a hard time putting together a suitable team that could survive with our current obligations in San Francisco (families, house payments, etc.) Maybe getting myself working on it full time could get it to the point where it could sustain itself enough that YC proper could work out financially for a bigger team. Very excited, I'm definitely going to apply.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    We're treating it the same way -- solo founders are definitely encouraged to apply, but everything being equal, it's better to have co-founders.
  • lmb 11y ago
    At the risk of repeating myself, if you're thinking of applying as a solo founder you're solving the wrong problem. You need a co-founder more than the money (see also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9918690 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9918690)
• fivedogit 11y ago
  This is great. It's the natural evolution of going earlier and earlier into lifecycle of a startup (or even idea). As a next move, I'd like to see them go "pre-team" and put talented individuals with complimentary skill sets together behind a single idea.
  • saveetree 11y ago
    If you are interested in 'pre-team' you should check out EF in London (joinef.com). They are all about helping technical co-founders meet. Some of the companies have raised amongst the largest seed rounds in Europe. Full disclosure: I have worked with them
• pilingual 11y ago
  This is exactly why Y Combinator is the best. This is what leadership is (and what those other accelerators do, is follow the lead). > but as always we’ll consider solo founders too. Please be extremely open minded about solo founders. I feel that is one consideration that hasn't been adapted with the changing tech landscape.
  • BinaryIdiot 11y ago
    > Please be extremely open minded about solo founders. I feel that is one consideration that hasn't been adapted with the changing tech landscape. This is something I always worry about too. I have several really amazing people that I could partner with on a few different things but due to financial obligations there isn't anyway they'd be able to join full time unless there was an investment. So pitching as a solo always makes me nervous that I'll be immediately discounted even if I could bring in a partner shortly thereafter.
    • mattzito 11y ago
      > I have several really amazing people that I could partner with on a few different things but due to financial obligations there isn't anyway they'd be able to join full time unless there was an investment. So pitching as a solo always makes me nervous that I'll be immediately discounted even if I could bring in a partner shortly thereafter. It's a fair point, but you have to take into account the fact that a lot of those people won't join you when you do get investment. It's the same thing as when two founders show up and talk about their rolodex of talent they have waiting to be hired as soon as there's money in the door - it's a useful data point, and certainly something to consider, but a good percentage of those people will typically not work out, or won't like the terms, or will want too much money, etc. So you can't treat it the same as the people who have the team onboard now.
      • BinaryIdiot 11y ago
        Oh I completely agree and understand just commiserating with the previous poster as I have some of the same concerns but I don't blame YC either.
• vishalzone2002 11y ago
  can people working on side-projects/ideas while having a Full time job take part in this?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    You can definitely apply while still having your job, but you must be willing to work on it full-time for at least the duration of the Fellowship program. We hope you'll commit to it longer than that too -- if your startup is promising, you'll be working on it for many years to come.
    • vishalzone2002 11y ago
      sweet. thanks !
  • giarc 11y ago
    This is my question as well. However, I read an answer by one of the YC staff and they told the commenter that a current college student could apply, as long as they were willing to take the semester off. So it sounds like they are serious about the full time work requirement.
  • deleted 11y ago
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  • kevin 11y ago
    http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/faq/#commitment http://fellowship.ycombinator.com/faq/#commitment
• rokhayakebe 11y ago
  YC is an entire team and as with every great team, the most influential work is being done by people we shall never know. Kudos to everyone there. That being said, this Sama is one freaking impressive DOer. From the time he came in to now, this feels like the YC you would expect 10 years from now.
• jordigg 11y ago
  Don't underestimate that 12k + YC network and help. Most unicorns that came from the YC program started with 20k not long ago. Too much money can kill a small and inexperienced team, be lean, scrappy and bootstrap to prove then raise to grow.
  • michaelochurch 11y ago
    If I hear that word "scrappy" one more time, I won't have any veins left in my neck to pop.
    • jsmthrowaway 11y ago
      That's rough. How on Earth do you make it through Scooby-Doo?
    • personjerry 11y ago
      What's wrong with the word "scrappy"?
• curiousjorge 11y ago
  This is fairly aligned with what I described before, making tiny bets or investments across large number of individuals or startups. Having said that $12,000 is too small of a figure to make a realistic impact. Rather it would be better to focus on boostrapping and making that amount every month, and continually reinvest in your business.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    YC's first batch, the Summer Founders Program, was just 6k per founder for 5-7% equity -- teams were expected to make that last for three months (as opposed to YCF's two), and were required to pick up and move on top of that. That funding was enough for Reddit to get started, and we think there will be other great founders who will be able to start good companies with this amount too.
• colinbartlett 11y ago
  A very interesting proposition! I am thrilled to see this kind of model come to life. > Selected teams are strongly encouraged to move to the Bay Area for the program, but it’s not required. I wish it wasn't so strongly encouraged. To move anywhere on a whim for 8 weeks is crazy to me, especially since the processes and tools for remote work are so readily available. It's becoming increasingly important to know and understand how to work with team members and stake holders all over the globe, so why not encourage that mindset from the very beginning?
  • djb_hackernews 11y ago
    From my point of view this is very much aimed at the just graduated crowd. These are young people thattypically just graduated in May, maybe took the summer off or had a summer internship and are debating what to do next. 12k to them is more than plenty for living with Mom and Dad for a few more months or going on an 8 week adventure to SF. Of course this will be a great opportunity for someone debating quitting a job or something, but it seems the most available people will be those just out of college. To that end it will be interesting to actually see what types of people that this program works for and are accepted.
• sbuccini 11y ago
  Do you foresee this being available at other times in the year, like the YC program itself? A winter fellowship would be ideal for me.
  • katm 11y ago
    We're going to see how this initial experiment goes before we make any decisions.
• dspoka 11y ago
  How important is it for this Fellowship to have a flushed out Business Model?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    If you have good ideas, that's great, but it's not that important. We primarily want to see that you and your co-founders are a very determined, smart team working on an interesting idea. We expect a lot of ideas to keep evolving as teams work on their companies, and any business models would of course change with that as well. Don't try to send us business plans -- we won't look at them.
• staunch 11y ago
  This could shift how technology is funded on a scale much larger than YC already has. Teams probably need more like $50k, but even $12k is going to be the difference for some great people. Congrats to YC for pushing things forward, again. Let a million flowers bloom!
  • jebblue 11y ago
    12K is more than I'd make in a month (because I'm a terrible negotiator when it comes to money - and old) but what do they want you to get done in what 5 or 6 weeks?
• FiatLuxDave 11y ago
  I have to say that I love this idea. It addresses the biggest deficiency in the typical Silicon Valley VC funding model, in that it requires moving to Silicon Valley. It also bridges the gap in low-level seed funding which stops many ideas from becoming reality. Perhaps you could call this "catalyst-stage funding" since it will probably reduce the activation energy for getting many ideas started (to use a physics analogy). So, in short, go YC, you rock! That said, I have a few questions: 1) Any idea of how many slots are open for this round? I expect you will get many more applications than YC normally gets. 2) Some teams may have members with families who won't want to move to SV and will work remotely. Other teams may have members who can and want to move. Some teams may have a mix. What are your thoughts on splitting a team, having some remote and some in SV? Would this provide advantages over having no one in SV, or would splitting the team have so many downsides that it would be better to be all remote? 3) For a team that already has a prototype and is beginning to work on getting customers, but is not able to relocate, would YCF be a good choice?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    1) Around 20 -- we want to keep this test batch small. If successful, we'd grow future batches. 2) I think it would depend on your company and what you're trying to do. I can think of advantages to either way, and if accepted it's something we can talk about. 3) If you're just starting to get customers (or struggling with it), still apply. It will be a judgement call on whether you're too far along and should just apply to YC W16, but relocating or not won't make a difference in that assessment.
• ryanSrich 11y ago
  Wow. I am super impressed that this is being allowed remotely. I really hope this is foreshadowing a shift in being more supportive of remote teams for the larger YC program.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    It's an experiment we're eager to try with this. We'll have to see how it goes!
• chadnickbok 11y ago
  What kind of progress are you expecting teams to make during the 8 weeks? How greatly do you anticipate this program impact getting into the "real" YC winter batch? Do you expect that after 8 weeks most good startups would be "ready" to be accepted into the winter class? Do you expect that after completing the 8 weeks, teams will be ready to raise funds?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    We want teams to make as much progress as possible based on wherever they're starting at (ie for an idea-stage team, it could be building a prototype and getting it into the hands of some users, for a prototype team, launching and getting customers) We hope we'll be able to help teams a lot -- YCF teams will be held up to the same standards as all other YC applicants though if they choose to apply. There won't be special treatment for YCF teams. Maybe -- we at least hope they'll apply for funding from YC!
• josher 11y ago
  This is exciting, and appears to be just for me. One of the hardest things to do is get enough past the idea stage to get to a prototype to attract an investor. A little cash can make that happen a whole lot faster.
• tajen 11y ago
  > $12000 France gives you a lumpsum of your unemployment benefits if you start a business. If you were paid an average engineer salary, 2200€ net pm, it makes 42000€, and it's called ACCRE. The condition is to be fired, and not on our heavy fault. Most of my friends negotiate giving cash to their employers to get fired, so they could get ACCRE. There are other grants (e.g. 6000€ for being a woman) and loans (28000€ for being a woman, and others named CIR if you employ PhDs). For all of that, you don't even need to have a good project, as opposed to applying to YC. What I mean is, YC isn't targetting France, or is it?
  • scoot 11y ago
    > Most of my friends negociate giving cash to their employers to get fired, so they could get ACCRE. Perhaps something got lost in translation, but that sounds unethical at best, and highly illegal at worst.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    YC has already funded a couple great teams from France. And we want people from all over the world to apply to YCF too. As long as you have a good enough internet connection for clear video chats, you don't have to move here either.
  • throwaway41597 11y ago
    YCF offers office hours for 8 weeks, two events with the partners and the alumni network. And the $12k and €42k are not mutually exclusive. How many €10M+ companies got started with ACCRE money? Probably not even as many as there are $1B+ YC companies.
    • tajen 11y ago
      Do we even have €10M+ startups in France? Besides Gemalto which is 30 years old. There's just no way we could create an Apple in France. It's too agressive, therefore we would forbid it.
      • ethnomusicolog 11y ago
• billconan 11y ago
  this is great, but the real obstacle for me is the green card. I'm on h1b, can't do anything. :(
  • ghufran_syed 11y ago
    You can still do the fellowship: the h1b rules say you're not allowed to take other paid employment, but the fellowship will not be employment. Think of it as working for free on your project + winning a (very small) lottery :)
    • billconan 11y ago
      no, I can't. they said I have to work full-time during that 8 weeks.
      • YogeeKnows 11y ago
        You can take vacation as much as you can take or go on a 8 week trip to India. I mean If YC takes you under it arms are you not willing to carve out 8 weeks for it?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    If you wanted, you could still do it remotely!
• RandomBK 11y ago
  Wow! It's good to see YC sticking its neck out to grow the startup community. I have a quick question though: as this is a remote program, will you be willing to consider candidates living outside the United States? My team and I are in Canada, and are currently unable to move to the States.
  • katm 11y ago
    Yes - we're happy to consider teams from anywhere in the world (as long as you have a good internet connection).
• ohitsdom 11y ago
  Great program, well done YC. Also a good case study on what makes a good intro/landing page for a product. Quite a few "so how is this different" questions in these comments.
• drsim 11y ago
  I started my first business (web design) at 15 with a £1,000 grant from The Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust. It was a very significant amount for me. Without it I wouldn't have been able to start. My family were on income support so the money went straight on a PC, internet, phone line, business cards and public transport to reach my clients to pitch them. Thankfully I still lived with my parents: no rent until I was earning. $12k is a very substantial amount for an underprivileged kid who's making the Airbnb vs. large corp choice. My grant was (lightly) means-tested. Did you consider means-testing as a way to make more of an impact past the ideological one?
  • adventured 11y ago
    The effort involved in means testing, including verification, would be extremely taxing for an organization the size of YC and doubly so in relation to the size of the money involved. I have to suspect they never seriously considered it because it'd be so impractical, and there would be inevitable abuse (each layer of complexity makes such things worse, for YC simplicity has always been integral).
    • michaelchisari 11y ago
      Especially considering $12k x20 is $240k, which is only two normal YC recipients. If only one of these 20 grant recipients go on to build a solid company, then this project has been a success, I'd say.
      • bengali3 11y ago
        agreed, don't forget the other salaries and expenses involved with running the class twice a year. Possibly another 100k per company cost to YC.
    • drsim 11y ago
      For my grant I was asked to sign a simple declaration of means. There was no verification. It was more to do with the aspiration of the Trust rather than an ironclad requirement (I was funded age 15: the minimum was supposed to be 16). There would be no additional burden on YC to say 'we want to encourage more people from underprivileged backgrounds to start a company'. At this level of funding YC's impact is going to be much greater for that demographic than those whose parents can afford to seed their startup just as they'd buy them their first car.
• omouse 11y ago
  Definitely will be applying to this; I was going to apply for the regular funding cycle as well (still will apply because I want a few more months of my own time to work on an idea). Glad to see YC experimenting with new ideas :D
  • hna0002 11y ago
    I am in a similar boat, I need some time to work on my project and introspect on the actual product before I can even think about growth not to mentioned growth on steroids is months/a year away. I was targeting for YC16 or later, but I still applied thinking YC community may help with the feedback and vendors (its a hardware project/startup), and overall pointing me in the correct direction.
• tuberry 11y ago
  YC is so great at pushing VC in the right direction. Thanks for doing this.
• adamzerner 11y ago
  Is there a catch? What does YC gain from this? A larger pool of applicants to chose from for YC? Or is this philanthropic?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    No catch. We believe it's incredibly important to keep growing the number of startups throughout the world -- they're the largest drivers of innovation and change.
  • robotnoises 11y ago
    To me it seems to follow along the lines of VCs investing in things like npm, where they believe they might reap benefits indirectly down the line.
• hkmurakami 11y ago
  This reminds me a lot of government entrepreneurship grants (ex: Singapore) that similarly have few strings attached, if any. I'm not sure if I've ever heard of any such things in the US (other than those related to science research spin outs), so this seems to fill a needed gap. Kudos.
  • morgante 11y ago
    > I'm not sure if I've ever heard of any such things in the US (other than those related to science research spin outs), so this seems to fill a needed gap. Many universities have such programs, but they're usually limited to their students.
• lhfaria 11y ago
  1) Will YC Fellowship companies be more keen to be accepted to the YC traditional program?
  • mkagenius 11y ago
    According to FAQ on the website, no bias as such.
• hasenj 11y ago
  What qualities do you look for in founders? Is it the same set of qualities you look for in the normal YC application? A little bit more relaxed? A little bit more strict?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    It's the same. Read this: http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html
• hbhakhra 11y ago
  What about a situation where one cofounder is willing to go full-time with this YC Fellowship but the other would only work part time? How does that work out?
  • angersock 11y ago
    Get a new cofounder.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    Sorry, we want all cofounders to work full-time for at least the duration of the program.
  • chippy 11y ago
    This was the same question I was wanting to ask. $12K would be enough for one founder living in a non SV part of the world for one year, but it's not enough for two. What this implies is that the startup should be making money from the get go. So, I imagine, they are after startups that work and have some revenue but have no initial funding.
• mmaunder 11y ago
  Commenting on just the first couple of lines: I'd say that what YC has contributed to, is to change the definition of what a startup is - which has had a multiplying effect.
• nostrademons 11y ago
  Could you clarify what sort of access to YC office hours fellows get? Will they be able to sign up for office hours with any of the partners, or will all contact have to go through a single dedicated partner (and if so, which partner is handling this)? The blog post implies that there's "a dedicated partner", but the FAQ implies they get normal access to "YC partners" and office hours.
• deleted 11y ago
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  • csmajorfive 11y ago
    I think your math is wrong.
    • Kortaggio 11y ago
      Whoops, you're right.
• arihant 11y ago
  I'm not sure why it is repeated over and over that 12k is small sum of money. 12k can easily pay off 2-3 months rent, server costs, marketing stuff, even a few flights. That's mental peace for 12 weeks to build something with 100% focus. That's an extremely high value priviledge. This should make sense for a lot of startups.
  • bicknergseng 11y ago
    http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/networth/article/Average-S-F-rent-hits-shocking-new-high-3-458-6232039.php http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/networth/article/Average... 12k is a small sum of money in SF. Assuming the founders don't want to live together in a studio, looking at >5k month in just rent. Other costs of living are also high. This leaves almost nothing for any actual start up costs. Makes some sense if you're 22 and have no dependents, but 12k wouldn't be persuasive for a Bay Area founder with a family.
    • wiseleo 11y ago
      There is plenty of less expensive real estate along BART. Take a look at San Leandro, for example. Other costs can be reduced as well. I consider living in SF as an unnecessary luxury.
      • _delirium 11y ago
        Plus the pitch doesn't even encourage people to move to SF; it encourages them to move to Silicon Valley, which is also where YC is based. It's not super-cheap either, but there is plenty of Valley housing <$3k.
        • 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
          > It's not super-cheap either, but there is plenty of Valley housing <$3k. You're right. You can find studio and one bedroom apartments sub-$3K in places like Redwood City. The problem for starving founders is that landlords aren't going to lease to you when you can't show a sufficient, reliable income source (read: a real job) and sufficient credit score/history.
• will_brown 11y ago
  > "...kickoff and end events in Mountain View where teams will present to the YC community. We'll fly out remote teams for those." YC community? Is this going to be like Demo Day but without investors? I know this is an experiment, but what is envisioned here? Is it envisioned that the Fellows will/will not be ready for funding at the end of the fellowship...or completely unknown at this point? Starting with idea/prototype where are Fellows expected to be at the end of 8 weeks?
• aacook 11y ago
  If you're like me and prefer to draft writing elsewhere, here's a Google Doc you can copy with the questions and word limits: https://goo.gl/K5M3LM https://goo.gl/K5M3LM Update: Document is fully public now.
  • BinaryIdiot 11y ago
    Can you open up access to everyone versus everyone asking for permission?
    • jxm262 11y ago
      ^ "The app is currently unreachable." I'd like access too!
      • aacook 11y ago
        Try now: https://goo.gl/K5M3LM https://goo.gl/K5M3LM
    • aacook 11y ago
      Oh, thanks for the heads up. The link should be public now.
• wiseleo 11y ago
  Thank you, this is ideal for my product. I am going to submit the application as soon as I am done with the video.
• vkan 11y ago
  How would YC validate on if the company has received any funding (angel, seed) yet ? Is it not hard to validate as one of the requirement is for a company to apply with no funding?
• deleted 11y ago
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• bozoUser 11y ago
  Hi Mat and Kat, thanks for this wonderful initiative. Two qs. 1) This line: "We’ll encourage but not require that Fellows later apply to Y Combinator." Will this lead to YC fellowship being a pre-req to get into YC in the future years? 2) Will this garner similar scrutiny of getting into YC? if not can you share a few major differences in the selection criteria?
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    1) Definitely not -- they're separate programs 2) It's still going to be pretty competitive, but it's primarily for earlier stage teams (idea and prototype). YC is for companies of all stages (idea to fast growth).
• dj_doh 11y ago
  Golden. Neat idea!
• pyb 11y ago
  Are any startups around London, or Paris, interested in trying for a local group ? In which case, it could make sense to staple applications together. Please contact me (see profile), including your answer to "Please tell us in one or two sentences about the most impressive thing that each founder has built or achieved."
• usernames_suck 11y ago
  This is a great idea. I would apply, as I'm actually planning on launching in the coming weeks, but I'm a solo guy. I'm also going back to college next month; which necessarily isn't a bad thing, as my startup is aimed towards college kids.
• cperciva 11y ago
  targeted at teams that are very, very early. How about a version of this for companies which have been around for a while? Seriously, it doesn't sound like Tarsnap would fit into this program at all, but I'd love to be able to participate in something "lighter-weight" than YC -- something which, like the YC Fellowship, would allow me access to advice and contacts without taking funding or relocating. Of course, I'm guessing the YC Fellowship are largely a recruiting tool for YC ($12k is a small price to pay for the opportunity to extensively vet candidates prior to offering them a YC investment), so it wouldn't make sense for YC to invite me into that particular structure; but I'm not looking for money and I'd like to think that I could help YC by being "part of the family" and being someone companies could be pointed at to help with questions relating to my areas of expertise.
  • pilingual 11y ago
    Quora being invited into YC at a late stage was a single company experiment, so I don't see why your company couldn't be a new experiment as well.
  • danieltillett 11y ago
    Is Tarsnap a good fit for the VC industry? It is a great product, but it looks to be a much better fit for a bootstrapped lifestyle business? Why would you want to take VC money given all the problems that come with outside investors?
    • cperciva 11y ago
      I don't intend to ever take VC money for Tarsnap. But that doesn't mean that YC can't offer me any useful advice.
      • robzyb 11y ago
        > But that doesn't mean that YC can't offer me any useful advice. But what can you offer them? It's clear what YC Fellowships offer to companies, but I suspect there's also some not-as-obvious benefits to YC. Would Tarsnap bring these benefits to YC?
• shaaaaawn 11y ago
  Love to see YC branching out to those unable to migrate to SF immediately. As someone that's been through other incubators and been extremely underwlemed by my experiences; this is a fantastic idea. I know YC is open to all types of ideas and companies, but there is obviously a concentration on software/hardware related ideas. I'm curious if YC has funded any non-hardware/software startups? Any examples?
• hmexx 11y ago
  This sounds similar to my HN proposition from a couple years ago, only 10x better for the applicants. Damn you Ycombinator! :)
  • honzzz 11y ago
    How did it turn out? As far as I can tell, the last time you published something about it was the blogpost[1] from 9th February 2013 where you said that 5 MVPs were greenlighted. Did any of them gain any significant traction? [1] http://hnproposition.blogspot.cz/2013/02/first-5-mvps-green-lighted.html http://hnproposition.blogspot.cz/2013/02/first-5-mvps-green-...
• dean 11y ago
  This is a good idea and a great opportunity for many people. And I think it's fantastic that YC is doing this. However, I can't help feeling it really is intended for young people recently out of school, who have no other immediate financial obligations. I would really love to see an option for people who are not in this group. Let's imagine someone who is married, with a couple of kids and a mortgage. Right away, YC Fellowship is not feasible. If you really want another ten-fold increase in the number of startups, tapping into an older demographic could do it -- just because it seems to be a largely untapped resource. We're talking about people with years of experience working in the real world, on real products. We're talking about years of domain expertise, in all kinds of domains. We're talking about people with ideas, and the expertise to execute on them. And all this potential is being left on the table because they typically can't afford to quit their jobs for 3k a month (based on a two-founder team in YC Fellowship). But if each founder had enough funding to be able to handle their financial obligations, and work full time on their startups, for a year, I think that would break open the flood gates, and you'd see a huge increase in viable startups. There must be a sweet spot in terms of funding/equity for this scenario, in order to make it beneficial to everyone involved.
  • deleted 11y ago
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  • wj 11y ago
    I'm married with two kids and a mortgage and I am applying. I am in an industry that has tons of room for innovation but the established firms (banks) really struggle with it as I have seen throughout my career. Too much riding on the status quo. I read this a week or so ago and I think it is applicable to my (and many other) industries. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/technology-small-fish-almost-always-eat-big-fish http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/technology-small-fish-a... I've been thinking about this startup for a few years and now is the time to make the jump. I'm not getting any younger. :)
    • tinbad 11y ago
      Really curious about your idea. I've had a few startups myself in the e-commerce/fintech space (1 failed, 1 sold) and now working in the R&D department for one of the top 3 U.S. Banks. My goal was to use my time here to figure out the next good idea, but haven't come across anything yet that would fit my criteria for a good startup. Also married and expecting twin girls, so also have the issue of giving up too much stability..
• deleted 11y ago
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• mattkrisiloff 11y ago
  The application form was getting hit pretty hard -- it's temporarily offline while the Submittable team migrates it to its own server. Should just be a few minutes -- will update when it's back up! Edit: The application servers are back up! Look forward to reading your apps :)
  • jameshk 11y ago
    It seems to be back up, but I lost my draft application, which I saved multiple times.
    • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
      I'm sorry that happened :( I hope you'll still be willing to write it again -- the system should work smoothly now.
      • jameshk 11y ago
        Not a problem! :)
• beatpanda 11y ago
  I really wish Sam Altman et all would stop both encouraging and requiring teams they fund to move to the Bay Area, because it is distorting the life out of the economy here and ruining the lives of everyone not employed in the tech industry. And before you ask, no, the attendant increase in service industry jobs does not balance out the damage done by the software industry. There are other places that need the economic boost, and we're full. Thanks.
  • matznerd 11y ago
    I think yours is a very selfish attitude. The people and the atmosphere in San Francisco and Silicon Valley are some of the biggest assets and they cannot be found in the same way in any other cities.
    • beatpanda 11y ago
      I'm assuming "the people and the atmosphere" you're referring to are the people and the atmosphere that has completely displaced the social life of this part of the world that existed before it became a colony of billionaires playing monopoly. Many of us moved here seeking a different 'people and atmosphere' which, having been displaced, now only exists as a memory.
      • beatpanda 11y ago
        And caveat emptor to anyone responding to this, "you have to embrace change!!!" is exactly equivalent to "I don't give a shit what happens to poor people."
        • chronic32 11y ago
          I do not give a shit about poor people. They can move to Oakland. They are poor for a reason. Sometimes it's not their fault but suck it up.
    • beatpanda 11y ago
      The only thing other places lack is startup capital, which isn't available in other places because people with said capital will only invest in companies willing to relocate to the Bay Area. If those investors would stop forcibly concentrating their entire investment portfolio here, there might be a chance at other places developing vibrant technology ecosystems.
• nsheth17 11y ago
  Do teams have to pay taxes on the grant money? I'm asking because I know prize money from things like hackathons are taxed. $12k can last 2 months full-time for a team of 2 ($3k/mo/founder). But if there are taxes, taking home only 65% of $12k ($8k, or $2k/mo/founder) would probably not be enough, at least not in or around major cities.
  • wesleyy 11y ago
    it's in the faq, you have to pay taxes if your team is not incorporated.
• deleted 11y ago
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• sombremesa 11y ago
  How does this work with founders who are on a visa that does not allow them to work in the U.S.? Does YC sponsor visas for them?
• hydandata 11y ago
  For me, the key is that they are even considering remote. I think that really is the part that is needed to get to another 10x. I am not saying remote work is intrinsically 10x better in quality or quantity, I am thinking about it more from the point of view of people who cannot or will not travel, new people that can be reached this way. Take myself for example: I do have this thing that I am working on.. but I also have a wife and a daughter whom I adore, and I would hate to go away from them for any period of time. Having my wife close, playing with my daughter, these are the things that keep me going, not some dream of jets and fancy cars. I already have a job that I like, I am not running away from anything, I just want to do something better, because I know I can. I already work mostly remotely, and there is no going back to old ways for me. If I ever found anything, it will be remote and remote only. Maybe there are fewer people who really get remote work, but in my personal experience, it is an absolute joy to work with them. And is it not repeated over and over again that you should not pursue something you do not believe in? I have never considered applying because of the travel requirement, but now I am really tempted.
  • Killswitch 11y ago
    Same, I have a family and obligations in midwest USA. It's not feasible for me to move to the bay area for 3 months.
  • mwsherman 11y ago
    Well put. Geography is vastly underestimated as a limiting factor. Not simply for $ – living in the Bay Area is barely feasible for a young person without dependents – but also the many quality-of-life trade-offs that come with a move. I hope this is a successful experiment.
    • garry 11y ago
      As a partner at YC for over 10 batches now, I've worked with lots of great founders who have come from all over the country, and many make having families work. The cofounders of MongoHQ both moved to Mountain View with their families (with kids) during YC, and it was a crowded house but a productive one too. It can be done. There's also nothing that says you absolutely have to stay in the Bay Area afterwards. Many founders head back to where they come from if that's the right thing for the business.
• mafuyu 11y ago
  My school requires a financial commitment by mid-August so unfortunately, I'm not able to apply without taking a risk. Something to consider if you continue with the program.
• guiomie 11y ago
  Why is there a requirement of having a video ?
• mrchess 11y ago
  The "Save Draft" feature does not work on Submittable. FYI
• ejcx 11y ago
  I only hope that YCF get's back to those accepted and denied quickly. I see this as a great program for students and if they wait too long, students may end up in an awkward position where they are unsure whether they should drop out for the semester, without hearing anything back from YCF. I think it's a great program. $12,0000 is a lot of money to sit in your apartment and hack for 2 months on whatever it is you want. Great idea.
  • mattkrisiloff 11y ago
    We plan to notify teams about interviews on August 15.
    • daveyjones 11y ago
      Hi Matt. My co-founder and I are trying to figure out how much time we would have to make a transition to full time. If you could give us any more dates like this, that would be very helpful. For example, over what time period will interviews take place? When would we be notified of our acceptance or rejection? Thank you!
• rjbwork 11y ago
  I think this would be a really cool thing to take part in for a couple of months after leaving my current job. Not that I plan on doing that any time soon, but I think it would be the perfect time to do so. Hopefully this succeeds and YC decides to do it on an ongoing basis.
• Katk 11y ago
  Quick on the funding constraint. I've raised money on Kickstarter recently and am still in prototyping phase. Would I be able to apply? Thanks so much. :)
• dschiptsov 11y ago
  BTW, there are places, like Nepal, where $12k could buy a lot more for a team. Kathmandu could be a hub for backpacker coders and small teams. It is an ideal place for coding camps and sprints - rentals are cheap. Also it is an education hub of a small country, so there is no shortage of English speaking CS students. Nepal needs new visitors after earthquake.
  • IsaacL 11y ago
    I'm in Chiang Mai, Thailand right now, and $12k would also go a lot further here. Maybe I'll look at Nepal next, and it would be interesting both for personal adventure and to help the local economy recover... but what puts me off is the internet speed - how fast is it out there?
    • dschiptsov 11y ago
      It is rather slow, due to limited bandwidth (Hymalayas) and lots of customers, but it is good-enough for web, git and ssh.)
• ascribd 11y ago
  There's a lot of focus on $12K that I think is a red herring. This isn't a substitute for seed funding, it's not masquerading as a full-fledged accelerator, it's a chance to borrow some of the momentum of an organization that seems to have a pretty remarkable record at moonshots. I've been working out of Denver and Vegas for several years now and the timing of this couldn't be better. After all, why iterate on the same dimension over and over and not try something new? I turn 50 on July 27. I've been working on fun projects for pretty much all of my adult life and I have better things to do than worry about things I can't control.
• markm208 11y ago
  Was there any reason why this wasn't timed for the summer months? It seems like a lot of entrepreneurial college students would love to spend their summer working on their ideas. Perhaps it just came together at this time but in hindsight I wonder if summer is a more logical time since students have the free time anyway. The 12K would allow them to easily live/eat too. I can even imagine involving college professors and students. Then it might disrupt entrepreneurship education in higher ed.
• TylerJay 11y ago
  If anyone is looking for another person for their team or wants to join a team, consider me! If you're interested in discussing further after reading this, send me a message and we'll talk. I am currently self-employed as a startup consultant and freelance web developer. I have extensive Computer Science, Sales, Account Management, and Customer Success experience and have successfully started 2 small businesses in the past with revenues of a half-a-million dollars combined. The last company I worked at had 14 people and negligible market saturation when I joined. I was instrumental in growing it to the #1 most used software system in its industry, with over 200 employees and a valuation increase of 20x (2000%) over 3 years. I am comfortable working in both a programming/product role or on the business end of things—whatever will best serve the team. I have two ideas for which I have already done market validation, but I'm perfectly happy to go with your idea instead if you can sell me on it. If you think I'd be valuable to your team, or if you think you'd be a valuable partner or member of my team, send me a message. Let's talk. Cheers
  • beeboop 11y ago
    Hi Tyler - you don't have an email listed - could you post one so I can send you a message? I'm a developer and it'd be nice to work with someone who has some experience like you.
    • TylerJay 11y ago
      Hey, thanks for reaching out. Shoot me an email at tjkresch@gmail.com
• wwwarsame 11y ago
  This is great. Doing YC remotely sounds like a good plan for founders with children and a job that won't allow them to take time off.
• longv 11y ago
  Flying to Bay Area is still recommended. The odd for an application out of U.S is low.
• sandGorgon 11y ago
  I'm not sure about the US, but in India this would be huge. The early stage ecosystem is fairly broken, but the startup scene is crazy hot - everyone is doing a startup and the talent pool is huge. Early stage investors put around 20-50K USD and take 30% of equity (yes equity - convertible notes are shunned in India). A USD 12K grant and the YC cred, would go a long way in rebalancing the ecosystem. I personally believe that early stage pre-prototype money is so easy in the US... or the Kickstarter ecosystem is so effective (cant do a kickstarter from India).... or the university aided startup infrastructure is so mature, that this would not materially impact as many people as it would in India/Asia.
  • trent09 11y ago
    I was thinking the same thing as I read the post. This would be huge in Nigeria and other African countries. I'm rooting for this to be a success.
  • habagat 11y ago
    Here in the Philippines also. The biggest startup competition here will give you $12,000 for 20% equity of your startup.
• deleted 11y ago
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• Tunecrew 11y ago
  A silly question, but do you have exact dates for kickoff, etc? This is both awesome and serendipitous, but I have a family wedding in roughly mid-September :)
• ratsimihah 11y ago
  I submitted my application for my artificial general intelligence project, see you guys soon!
• meteor 11y ago
  $12k might not seem to be a lot of money for many. But, from the place where I come from(India) it really means a lot. We are a team of two at concept stage. We have around $20k in savings. Assuming a worst case that we don't make any revenue for an year, we would need an other $30k for our runway. I was thinking about raising this money from F&F round. But now, applying to YC seems to make more sense to me. Though the money will not cover our expenses for an year, I am excited about the acquaintance we will be gaining through this program.
• Preseed 11y ago
  We will be applying with www.todoed.co and www.myidealist.co
• ncodes 11y ago
  This is a great. Finally, early stage ideas can get some support. Good one YC.
• zodiac 11y ago
  Are the questions different from regular YC applications? I don't see the "Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage" question I've read about
  • zachb 11y ago
    Looks like they cherry-picked a condensed list of the "most important" questions, likely out of respect to the fact that there are only 7 days to complete the fellowship application
• ismail 11y ago
  This is awesome. YC reputation has grown in the last few years. Raising the bar quite high, making it much harder to get in at the earliest stages. I believe this is the reason for this.
• mceoin 11y ago
  In one of his essays, PG wrote about the paradox of knowing that the success rate of YC companies indicated that YC could absorb a lot more risk, yet was unable to do so because spotting good ideas that look like bad ideas (or bad ideas that could become good ideas) was incredibly difficult. I believe that critique has been sufficiently answered.
• yumraj 11y ago
  I find it interesting that people are finding issue with the $12K. Personally I have kids and mortgage and I will be applying with my healthcare startup which as it happens is in very early stages. I would have applied even if there was no $12K since, YC is not taking any equity in this case, and, is providing access to its network which is worth much much more than $12K to me.
  • achow 11y ago
    >access to its network which is worth much much more than $12K Very true. But do not forget that this time there would be aspiring candidates from outside USA too. For them $12K would be a huge enabler (Ex.: adjusted for purchasing power $12K = ~$75K, for somebody who is in India).
• acpmasquerade 11y ago
  going thru the comments, its seems that the remote consideration is going to be the charm as well as the biggest challenge.
• achow 11y ago
  I compiled some Q&A from YCombinator partners that were relevant for me. Is this US-only? Nope, welcome to apply from anywhere. But.. Unfortunately we don't have the bandwidth to get involved with visas before or during the program :( If you can't do it from the Bay Area though, you can still apply to do it remotely--we want to try working with remote teams! ------------- "We encourage you to come to Mountain View if you can make it, but remote interviews over video chat will be okay too ..." For remote teams with viable ideas that YC is interested in funding, how remote can such teams be? Can teams apply from outside the US; from Europe, Asia or Africa? Yes absolutely. Teams from anywhere in the world are welcome to apply. We just ask that you have a strong internet connection that allows for clear, reliable video chats. ------------- How many teams are you hoping to accept into the fellowship for the first round? About 20 -- we want to keep it a small experiment for this test batch. ------------- What are key differences b/w the fellowship and the YC incubator? It's a 12k equity-free grant, it lasts for 8 weeks, you can do it remotely, and it's primarily meant for idea and prototype-stage companies. No dinners and no formal Demo Day, but there will be kickoff and end events in Mountain View where teams will present to the YC community. We'll fly out remote teams for those. ------------- Will we have to pay taxes on the grant? If you’ve already incorporated, you shouldn’t have to; as long as you are spending the grant on expenses for your business, you should be able to write it off. If you have not yet incorporated, you will have to pay some taxes. We’ll go over this in more detail with accepted teams. ------------- What kind of progress do you expect founders to make by the end of the Fellowship? Put another way, if the goal of participation in Y Combinator is for companies to build enough traction to become top-tier candidates for an institutional fundraise, what is the outcome that participants in the Fellowship should hope to achieve? We'd like teams to make as much progress as possible during the 8-weeks of the fellowship. If you have a prototype, that would mean launching and getting your first customers. If you're at idea stage that would mean building a prototype and talking to users. At the end of the 8-weeks we hope the teams will be ready to apply for YC W16 (it's not a requirement -- but we'll encourage it). ------------- What qualities do you look for in founders? Is it the same set of qualities you look for in the normal YC application? A little bit more relaxed? A little bit more strict? It's the same. Read this: http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html -------------
• deleted 11y ago
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• vinceyuan 11y ago
  [off-topic question] I know YC asks the oversea team which got YC investment to move to Bay Area. But how do they deal with the visa? I don't think all of them have H1B or L1 visa. I heard a team moved to Bay Area with B1/B2 visa. Is it legal?
  • vinceyuan 11y ago
    Any idea?
• taway19 11y ago
  This is my throw away account for privacy reason. I would like to have some advice about my career path (and to echo Sam's post regarding "it may be the difference between going to work at a big company and starting the next Airbnb") I am a 22 software engineer working at Facebook right now. With the current stock raise, my annual compensation comes out to be a bit over 200k/year before bonuses. I am much more excited about the start-up scene and building product. But to throw away that non-trivial income away is a really tough decision. I am wondering if anyone has done it before or if you have a more general advice. Much appreciated!
  • hannaxu 11y ago
    I'm a 24 year old UI/UX designer who just left my non-trivial income. Think about it in these terms, you have 8 weeks to try something with YC or not. Maybe more maybe less. You'll probably easily find a job right after with the same amount of compensation and something new to add to your portfolio. Many big companies also are fine if you take a non paid leave of absence. And you can come back later with the same compensation. This was offered at my company (although I didn't take it) and perhaps something you can work out with Facebook. Perhaps ask a trusted advisor, all my managers were thrilled that I wanted to work on something on my own. And that it was "the best reason to leave a company."
    • taway19 11y ago
      Thank you hannaxu! It's an encouraging feeling to know that other people are willingly taking a big leap of faith. My family and loved ones also think I should go for it. Their main reason is: 1. I should accumulate awesome experience right now and do what I love. 2. A big/small income does not have any immediate impact on my lifestyle right now. I may as well just go for it :)
  • patrickxie 11y ago
    Check your employer's contract to see if you are allowed to work on personal project during off hours. You can still work on an idea you're passionate about if you can manage your time efficiently. Another way is to find a capable co-founder and he can be the solo founder to get in the program, while you both can become co-founders when your idea gains traction and you've decided to incorporate. I would also recommend leaving your contact information in your HN about page so that people can contact you about co-founding a startup.
• martinlee18 11y ago
  We are not actively searching for investments yet, I think the YC Fellowship could be a great opportunity to get advices and contacts. But I'd need some feedback: do you think we could be eligible for the fellowship? Here are some details: - startup in the SaaS space (collaboration tool for remote teams) - 2 founders + 2 full time employees - money: 300K USD from a previous exit by the founders - private alpha in jan 2015, public beta since may 2015, service is still free for everybody (so: no revenues :) - few hundred users I'm not sure about the "no money from investors" requirement, what do you think?
  • meteor 11y ago
    As long as you didn't take any money from outside, I believe you can make it to fellowship. Just curious. How are you planning to monetize from this point. When you start charging for your service, how much churn do you expect?
• tinkerdol 11y ago
  Note to the organizers -- this sounds awesome, and I'd even love to apply, but something announced now is too short notice for a round that starts in September for those of us living in Germany and who currently have jobs (maybe this applies to all of Europe? Not sure). I have a work contract through the end of December and must give at minimum three months notice to my employer if I leave before then, in order for them to have time to find a replacement. And three months is the legal bare minimum; better to plan more like 6 months out. Pretty sure this is the standard timeframe throughout the country, if not continent. Just a heads up -- I'd guess there are at least a handful of others in my position.
• ganadiniakshay 11y ago
  I currently have a job at Microsoft and am considering applying. The application says I don't have to quit my job until I am accepted. However Microsoft requires me to give a 45 day notice. So I might not be available full time in the first week or so, will that be a problem?
• gg4u 11y ago
  Can an applicant apply within two teams? I read not possible for a team apply with two projects, I am asking if a member can be mentioned into two different teams.
• ycf2015 11y ago
  Are you guys willing to accept a solo hw startup founder from USA?
• jcrr 11y ago
  Hi Everybody, We are trying to do a startup fellowship list in this link :) https://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=9956732 https://news.ycombinator.com/edit?id=9956732
• jake_ys 11y ago
  Well if nothing else, applying to the fellowship introduced me to Hacker News. I thought it must only be programming-related, but this is awesome.
• cridiaz 11y ago
  What I found to be a really interesting differentiating factor between the YC Fellowship and other VCs is that they were open to companies in the idea stage. It has taken me on and off about 3 years to come up with a fashion social media platform named MyStylist and I appreciate the chance to compete even though I have not been able to fully execute it. I think that choosing a company in the idea stage definitely has its risks but it can turn up to be a very rewarding venture.