{"id":11617,"date":"2023-03-06T12:23:17","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T06:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/?p=11617"},"modified":"2025-02-20T02:47:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:17:06","slug":"writing-an-outstanding-y-combinator-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/writing-an-outstanding-y-combinator-application\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write an outstanding Y Combinator application: A YC Founder\u2019s guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ht hu hv hw hx\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crafting that perfect Y Combinator application can seem like a daunting task. What are investors looking for? What story to tell? How to tell it? These are questions YC aspirants always grapple with.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, for answers, we at <a href=\"https:\/\/rize.razorpay.com\/\">Razorpay Rize<\/a> reached out to a founder who knows what it takes to get into Y Combinator.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/f07352934e22?source=post_page-----c5919cf46317--------------------------------\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Daniel Kang<\/i><\/a><\/strong><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is CEO &amp; Co-founder of Flowbo, and was accepted to Y Combinator\u2019s Summer 2021 batch. Flowbo provides capital to one-person businesses that don\u2019t have access to bank loans. Kang was a former investor at Softbank and currently a venture partner at Pioneer Fund, a VC fund run by YC alumni.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is his comprehensive guide to writing the perfect YC application.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Before we begin&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congratulations on starting your company and applying to Y Combinator. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I got into YC with an idea \u2014 no product, no revenue. So if that\u2019s what\u2019s holding you back, you should apply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is endless content about \u201chow to get into YC\u201d. Don\u2019t get stuck in that rabbit hole.\u00a0 Don\u2019t waste your time micro-optimizing your application. The application is a straightforward process. In this piece, I\u2019ll be consolidating advice and providing educated guesses having gone through YC and having been an investor on the other side of the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"f7ad\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The purpose of this piece is to minimize the time you spend on optimizing the application and maximize your time on building your company.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But before I dive in, I\u2019d like to share a few reminders to get you in the right mindset as you start preparing for your application:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Y Combinator is not the be-all and end-all for your company. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YC partners will tell you this as soon as you get in. In practical terms, that means you should have a plan to build and grow your company regardless of YC. YC should be seen as a multiplier. If your company will die without YC, then it is unlikely any investor, including YC, will invest. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For me, that meant raising a pre-seed round before getting into YC to build my company with clear execution.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The game you\u2019re playing has <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/entrepreneur-s-handbook\/the-one-strategy-that-led-to-a-5m-oversubscribed-seed-round-1b2c76d7eae9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>asymmetric outcomes<\/b><\/a><b>. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a heavy luck component<\/span><b>. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you have a killer company and a killer application, it is possible you might not get into YC. The best you can do is stack your odds. Apply to several accelerators if you need a community. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also applied to several accelerators \u2014 some turned out, and some didn\u2019t. In the end, I chose the accelerator, not the other way around.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The success of your YC application is NOT a proxy of your worth or chances of building a successful company<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. YC will also tell you this on the first day of the batch. Every respectable investor I\u2019ve spoken to admits that they can be wrong about passing on your company. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For me, YC was helpful, but it was not the source of my convictions.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht hu hv hw hx\">\n<h2 id=\"e9ae\" class=\"mq kp ia bd kq mr ms mt ku mu mv mw ky jg mx jh lb jj my jk le jm mz jn lh na bi\">Getting through the funnel<\/h2>\n<p id=\"0b2e\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">So we know that each year,\u00a0<a class=\"ae lo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/everyone-wants-be-entrepreneur\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">over 15,000 companies\u00a0<\/a>apply, of which around\u00a0<a class=\"ae lo\" href=\"https:\/\/picampus.it\/getting-into-y-combinator-according-to-its-ceo-michael-seibel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">1,500 companies (10%)<\/a>\u00a0get an interview, of which around 200 companies make it into the program. That\u2019s about a 1% acceptance rate.<\/p>\n<p id=\"379b\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Your job in the application is to maximize your chances of getting through the funnel and be a part of that 10% for an interview. In the screening phase of an investment, investors will need to answer at least three questions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Do I understand it?<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2. Do I like it?<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>3. Can I back it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"b249\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">This is the funnel you should think about when crafting your application.<\/p>\n<p data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11623 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d6xcmfyh68wv8.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1.png\" alt=\"Y Combinator\" width=\"3840\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1.png 3840w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1-1024x241.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1-768x181.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1-1536x362.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-1-2048x483.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3840px) 100vw, 3840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before an investor can evaluate something, the investor needs to understand it. Too many founders do creative things to make their application stand out only to get <\/span><b>filtered out<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the first part of the funnel. Don\u2019t sabotage yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reading through thousands of applications manually is not easy. It\u2019s read by humans, and will necessarily have human components. Your application might be right after a brutal board meeting or putting kids to sleep or any range of circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simply making things easy to understand and following instructions will get you to the top 50% of applications. Here are some practical tips.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a492\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"ak\">Use simple, concise language<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your core message should be crisp and constructed in a way that an intelligent person who is not an expert in your sector\/ function can understand. This means no jargon. This means no buzzwords.<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"59f5\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In my view, lack of clarity is usually a symptom of not knowing what you say. Know what you want to say. There is a reason YC asks you to \u2018<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Describe what your company does in <\/span><\/i><b><i>50 characters or less\u2019 <\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the application. I\u2019ll give you a made-up example.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"ab6a\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\">Clear:<\/strong>\u00a0We help businesses sell invoices for faster access to cash.<\/li>\n<li id=\"2b4f\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\">Unclear:<\/strong>\u00a0We are revolutionizing the $3tn trade finance market and disrupting the procure-to-pay cycle using AI to scrape data and automate processes using API plugins. With over 20 years of experience, we bring the full procure-to-pay cycle as a one-stop shop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe the first one doesn\u2019t sound sexy, but at least I understand what the company is trying to do. Of course, you\u2019ll need to add a bit more flavour to the question, <\/span><b><i>\u201cWhat is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.\u201d <\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dalton Caldwell, Head of Admissions at YC, did an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ycombinator.com\/library\/6t-how-to-apply-and-succeed-at-y-combinator\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">entire talk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on this stuff, sharing examples of good descriptions and poor descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even native English speakers will have to put in the effort to get this right. Take the extra time with tools like Grammarly or even ChatGPT to make sure everything flows.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"d561\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"ak\">Tell a story, but pick the right genre<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p id=\"b77f\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">A great application will come to tell a good story. Many people will advise founders to tell a good story for applications and fundraising without prescribing what kind.<\/p>\n<p id=\"59bc\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">It\u2019s not a mystery novel \u2014 don\u2019t hide the main message. It\u2019s not a thriller \u2014 we don\u2019t need plot twists. It\u2019s also not a literary piece with deep character development.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2bef\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Instead, I\u2019ll share two frameworks I use to tell a story when answering questions in both written and verbal form.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"6592\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\">ABCs<\/strong>: This is a technique a friend of mine from Harvard Law School shared. A \u2014 Answer the question directly. Don\u2019t avoid the question, don\u2019t talk about what you want to talk about, and don\u2019t lie. Give a direct answer with evidence. B \u2014 Bridge to what you believe is the material part of the discussion. C \u2014 Close strong with the few points you want to drive across in your application.<\/li>\n<li id=\"8966\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\">Pyramid Principle:<\/strong>\u00a0The order of your answer matters. This is a required reading for almost all management consultants. I also read this when I worked for BCG and Oliver Wyman. The crux of it is this: Start with the answer, then summarize supporting arguments, then provide evidence. In that order. No need to read the whole book, but read the summary and do a few practice questions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YC already does a good job of asking questions that minimizes these errors from the applicants. But there are times when explaining is required. For example, to \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How far along are you? Please explain.\u201d, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">start with an honest answer backed by data, and then add context rather than starting out with a defensive sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Starting with an answer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: We have a working product, 30 daily active users, but no revenue. We prioritized onboarding, growing 10% a week, and are now setting up payments to start charging. During our user interview, we saw that users were paying $x to solve this problem and showed a willingness to pay. We\u2019ll validate this next week once we start charging for our product.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Starting with a defense<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: We\u2019re going to make $y MRR from our users. We\u2019re 100% sure of this because, during our interview, our users said they\u2019d pay $x for our product. We\u2019re just about done with payment integration on our website, which is the only reason we haven\u2019t generated revenue yet. Our product is out and have hundreds of registered users who are obsessed with our product.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See the difference here? I know it\u2019s exaggerated, but one sounds honest, calm, and in control. The other one sounds defensive, deceptive, and insecure.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Follow instructions<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YC has specific instructions on how to complete the application. Follow the directions. Complete the whole thing. Keep the word\/ character count. Use proper grammar. Now is NOT the time to be creative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please enter the URL of a 1 minute unlisted (not private) YouTube video introducing the founder(s). This video is an important part of the application.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a simple set of instructions, yet apparently many people get this wrong. A partner mentioned receiving a 20-minute spiritual journey video instead of a 1-minute video required in the application. Don\u2019t do that. Have the founders present, record it in a quiet space, make sure it\u2019s unlisted, and make sure the link works.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Recommendations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One side point I\u2019ll make is on recommendations. Most of you will know that YC alumni can recommend start-ups. Will it help? I think it depends. If you happen to know a YC founder well, feel free to ask for a recommendation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you don\u2019t know anyone, don\u2019t worry about this or try to \u201cnetwork\u201d with YC partners. You might think this is hustling, but this is not helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, one problem YC identified and tried to solve was to help founders without connections to investors raise capital and run a company. In my view, networking with YC partners to \u201cfind the back door\u201d runs contrary to the ethos of YC. YC partners also talk about stalkerish behaviour when it comes to this stuff. That\u2019s not good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nail the basics. Focus on fundamentals. Stand out for the right reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11624 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d6xcmfyh68wv8.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2.png\" alt=\"Y Combinator\" width=\"3840\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2.png 3840w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2-1024x241.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2-768x181.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2-1536x362.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-2-2048x483.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3840px) 100vw, 3840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"25d8\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Great, you\u2019ve made it easy for Y Combinator partners to understand your company.<\/p>\n<p id=\"2e73\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In theory that should be it. You\u2019re done. You shouldn\u2019t change your business to appeal to investors, and you definitely should not be lying.<\/p>\n<p id=\"139d\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">However, I did want to share how many investors think about taking the first pass on a company for founders who are less familiar with the space. It\u2019ll help you understand the perspective of investors and guide what pieces of information you should emphasize.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"9fb6\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong>Understanding Y Combinator<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this section, I\u2019ll reference people directly involved in YC \u2013 including Paul Graham, the Co-Founder of YC \u2013 supplemented by my views of what investors look for.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"nh\">\n<p id=\"9ba8\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Investors try to capture the upside of a high-potential investment while de-risking Type I (investing in a bad company) and Type II (passing on the next unicorn) errors.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your application should demonstrate how your company \u201cbuilds something people want\u201d, and if successful, could become really big, really quickly. That\u2019s the mantra of YC and the definition of a start-up according to Paul Graham. Hopefully, this isn\u2019t news to you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investors have a set of mental shortcuts and heuristics to quickly assess these two points. We call this pattern matching. In the early stages, the most important metrics are team, market, and idea, usually in that order with market and idea being distant second and third.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"modern-quote\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You are your company.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paul Graham <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ycombinator.com\/howtoapply\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">posted his process for reviewing applications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. While some of the questions have changed, I think it\u2019s still valuable. It\u2019s like your customer is telling you exactly how they do things. This is where insights happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paraphrased, he (1) Tries to understand the idea (2) Assesses the team archetype and track record of founders (3) Examines unique insights that have been discovered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many early-stage investors, the largest emphasis is on the team. I.e. What is the team archetype and have they demonstrated achieving some extraordinary thing in their lives?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4175\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong>Need-to-believe analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is another mental model. Good investors want to believe that a startup will work. And the \u201cneed-to-believe\u201d analysis is the set of assumptions I\u2019d need to believe in order for the company to be successful. Each of those assumptions is going to have some risk associated with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In reference to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daniel Kahneman\u2019s work<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on System 1 and System 2 thinking, here\u2019s my attempt at deconstructing what this mental model might look like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Demand risk \u2014 do people even want this thing?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> YC emphasizes talking to users for a reason. Investors are probably better at running theoretical scenarios. What they want to see is who your users are and that they truly want this thing \u2014 that\u2019s your unique insight. <\/span><b>Traction<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is probably the best way to demonstrate that this is de-risked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Product risk \u2014 can the founders build the thing? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okay, so maybe I\u2019m convinced that some users actually want this thing. Can the founders even build it? If you\u2019re a first-time, non-technical founder who used to do strategy in consulting, this becomes a really hard sell. At a minimum, a tech company should be able to build the tech. A devices company should be able to build devices. This becomes important for companies that require domain expertise like rockets or cancer drugs. <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/minimum-viable-product-mvp\/\">MVP<\/a> or track record <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for building similar things is one way to demonstrate this is de-risked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sales risk \u2014 can they sell the thing?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If you\u2019re an upmarket B2B SaaS company going after Fortune 500 companies, then having zero sales experience becomes an issue. Some proof of commitment such as signed pilots can help.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Team risk \u2014 are they the right team to do this?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Why would this team do better than all other people who are working on similar ideas? Demonstrating <\/span><b>founder-market fit <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">through domain expertise, past experiences, or some unfair advantage is important here. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Dgmmje5WHWA&amp;ab_channel=SaaStr\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Co-founder break-ups are also one of the leading causes of death for start-ups <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014 so showing good teamwork is important. A few other points are the integrity of founders (are you going to be a con artist) and the motivation of founders \u2014 they really want to get to know you.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Business risk \u2014 can they make money?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You don\u2019t need to have your entire <a href=\"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/what-is-a-business-model\/\">business model<\/a> figured out, but you should have some idea of how this thing could make money sustainably. Selling $1 for $0.99 may de-risk demand and product risk but wouldn\u2019t work out as a business. Even one transaction showing <\/span><b>positive unit economics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or a strong case for <\/span><b>levers to generate positive unit economics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are good ways to demonstrate this is de-risked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Market risk \u2014 can it become big<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">? How big is the market, how fast is it growing and where is it going? <\/span><b>Show similar public companies that became really big<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Who are the major players doing this, and why is another company needed to serve the market? This is the unique insight component that can <\/span><b>only come from talking to users<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the way, these are also risks that you, as founders, should actively be looking to hedge. This is not just for the application.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sam Altman, the former president of YC and current CEO of OpenAI, talks about this in his talk <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0lJKucu6HJc&amp;ab_channel=YCombinator\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Succeed with a Startup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you\u2019re a B2C company, maybe talk about your distribution. If you\u2019re a lending company, maybe talk about your source of capital. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being a little pre-emptive is okay as long as it\u2019s not distracting from your core message. You, as the founder, should\u2019ve thought through many of these aspects if you are seriously thinking about building a company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a4f0\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong>Deciphering the intentions behind the application<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s assume that investors want to de-risk high-potential investments as discussed above. Let\u2019s also assume that the investor is thoughtful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then it follows to say each question on the application form has a specific purpose. That purpose is to gather information needed for the investor to make a call on how the company might be big, and how likely (or risky) it is to get there. It\u2019s not to trick you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be clear, I\u2019m not a YC partner. But if you don\u2019t believe me, here\u2019s what the Head of Admissions at YC says:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"nh\">\n<p id=\"a8bf\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Applying to YC is actually really straightforward and well-documented, and intentionally so. So there are not a lot of secrets, and we\u2019re not looking for people to do too much tricky stuff.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ea04\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u2014 Dalton Caldwell, Head of Admissions<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"6de5\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js nr jb ju jv ns je jx jy nt ka kb kc nu ke kf kg nv ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Here\u2019s my educated guess of what some of the questions are trying to get at:<\/p>\n<p id=\"6436\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\"><em class=\"kl\">Question 1.9. Who writes code, or does other technical work on your product? Was any of it done by a non-founder? Please explain.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"b79c\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Product risk \u2014 can you build the thing?<\/li>\n<li id=\"b805\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Legal risk \u2014 who owns the IP?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"50de\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\"><em class=\"kl\">Question 3.1. Why did you pick this idea to work on? Do you have domain expertise in this area? How do you know people need what you\u2019re making?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"90a4\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Team risk \u2014 is there a founder market fit? Is there some advantage these founders have to build this? What\u2019s the motivation here?<\/li>\n<li id=\"e9fb\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Demand risk \u2014 Do they know their customers? Do people want this thing?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"044e\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\"><em class=\"kl\">Question 3.2. Who are your competitors? What do you understand about your business that they don\u2019t?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"0324\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Idea risk \u2014 is there a unique insight?<\/li>\n<li id=\"47f1\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Team risk \u2014 is there some unfair advantage to winning against the competition here?<\/li>\n<li id=\"6810\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js me jv mf jy mg kc mh kg mi kk ma mb mc md bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Market risk \u2014 are any competitors a publicly traded company that is large? Is the market big\/ can it get big?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"2e09\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\"><em class=\"kl\">Question 4.4. If you have not formed the company yet, describe the planned equity ownership breakdown among the founders, employees and any other proposed stockholders. If there are multiple founders, be sure to give the proposed equity ownership of each founder and founder title (e.g. CEO).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"fdc8\" class=\"lv lw ia jr b js jt jv jw jy lx kc ly kg lz kk ma mb mc md bi\" style=\"list-style-type: none;\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team risk \u2014 Is this a partnership or a founder with employees? How might this lead to founder conflict that kills many early-stage companies? Has it even been worked out i.e. Are founders able to work through hard conversations?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These questions can probably be put in clusters. For example: \u201cAre founders serious about starting a company?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Question 1.2 \u201c Company URL, if any\u201d<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s hard for me to imagine a reasonable excuse as to why a company website might not exist. Is it a capability problem that founders cannot even build a website? Is it an execution problem where founders cannot agree to create a simple website to showcase their product? Even if you have hours left until the application, set up the domain first for submission, and finish your website soon after you submit \u2014 that\u2019s the good thing about the internet. Carrd.co or Webflow are good resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Question 2.2. How long has each of you been working on this? How much of that has been full-time? Please explain.<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demonstrating some level of conviction is important. Now, there are exceptions. One famous example is Warby Parker. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/357fe5c6b525?source=post_page-----c5919cf46317--------------------------------\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adam Grant<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a professor at Wharton talks about how <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/wharton-professor-reveals-what-a-bad-financial-decision-taught-him-about-success-2016-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not investing in Warby Parker was the \u201cworst financial decision\u201d of his life<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In his book Originals, Grant talks about how the founders hedged themselves with full-time job offers while working at Warby Parker part-time. However, I think this is more of an exception than the rule for how investors gauge the conviction of founders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Question 4.1. Have you formed ANY legal entity yet? (Yes\/No). <\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think this is less of a commitment question, but a logistical question. But in my view, given how easy it is to incorporate companies, at least in the US, it\u2019s hard to see why a founder may not have incorporated before applying to YC. I was in the UK when I incorporated. Companies like Clerky and StripeAtlas make it easy to incorporate companies in the US, even from abroad. In India, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rize.razorpay.com\/incorporation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Razorpay helps you incorporate your company<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> seamlessly. I talk about this in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@itsdankang\/leaving-softbank-and-fundraising-for-my-own-company-866aeea6b01e\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">another article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but \u201cNot willing to put up $1,000 of your own money can sometimes speak to the level of conviction on the idea. Not being able to put up $1,000 can sometimes speak to the need to de-risk other parts of your career before starting a company.\u201d Again, this is my take.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the topic of application questions, a few people have asked about the question related to \u201cother ideas\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>5.1. If you had any other ideas you considered applying with, please list them. One may be something we\u2019ve been waiting for. Often when we fund people it\u2019s to do something they list here and not in the main application.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Honestly, I think it means what it says. Sometimes investors might have a thesis on a good market and idea in mind, looking for a good team that can execute the idea.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"3e06\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Or sometimes:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"nh\">\n<p id=\"8c9d\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If the founders seem promising but the idea doesn\u2019t, I check the question near the end that asks what other ideas the founders had.<\/p>\n<p id=\"78fb\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u2014Paul Graham<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So you should still spend some time on this question. At the very least, it increases your chances. It\u2019s also a space where you can demonstrate your natural interest in solving hard problems and your capability to reason through how systems work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"365a\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If it helps, here was my idea:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"224c\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"jr ib\">Reverse auction market for funeral services. It solves pricing and customer journey problems:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"b4ce\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Customer journey: people answer 6\u20138 simple questions on when and what they need for the funeral and receive options in 24 hours. It\u2019s better compared to the existing solution of googling funeral homes and calling every one for price and availability.<\/p>\n<p id=\"e6b8\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Pricing: By pooling large demands, have the leverage to enter into reverse-auction mechanism with funeral homes. Use auction theory to get the lowest or second lowest bid. Because funerals are tough to \u201cadvertise\u201d, a steady stream of customers would be worth the price cut (volume advantage &gt; price margins). This assumes not all funeral homes are owned by a 1\u20132 PE firm. Currently, the difference between the cheapest to the most expensive funeral home for the exact same service is as high as 700%.<\/p>\n<p id=\"d11b\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">After, we can start developing in-house products for standardized services like cremation, wills\/ notarization, etc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"90a0\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The caveat to all of this is not to overthink it. Just be mindful.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3539\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">You also shouldn\u2019t change your company just because it\u2019ll appeal to YC partners. However, you should understand what minimum things an investor is looking to see in a company.<\/p>\n<p id=\"bdb6\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If you do all of this, you\u2019ll probably be in the top quartile of applications.<\/p>\n<p data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11625 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d6xcmfyh68wv8.cloudfront.net\/blog-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3.png\" alt=\"Y Combinator\" width=\"3840\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3.png 3840w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3-300x71.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3-1024x241.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3-768x181.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3-1536x362.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog.razorpay.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Question-3-2048x483.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3840px) 100vw, 3840px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht hu hv hw hx\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Y Combinator Partners have been founders and operators. In my view, they are quite empathetic to fellow founders and root for their success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, they are also investors and need to do their jobs. They also put their reputation on the line. Remember that real people are reading your applications and flagging your company and choosing to interview you. They\u2019re taking a chance on you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing steps one and two correctly is like playing all the right notes in music. But you need to do more than play the right notes to stand out. Obviously, if I had all the answers to this, then all my founder friends would be getting into YC. I don\u2019t. But I\u2019ll share a few things I\u2019ve seen that work well.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Show, don\u2019t tell<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After wrapping up section 1, I said \u201cIn theory that should be it. You\u2019re done\u201d. This is true. The easiest way to stand out and cut through all these tactics is to just build what people want.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Showing user growth<\/b> <b>is 10x more convincing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than any intellectual prose about what your users want and why.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Showing revenue growth is 10x more interesting <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than the best competitive analysis and discussing unfair advantage on why you\u2019ll win.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Showing a working product is more powerful <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than the credentials of the team.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no way around this stuff. You have to build a company, not a YC application. Show the correct metrics and growth. If you have this, then you\u2019re done with step number one. Keep your focus on what matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same thing applies to you as founders. I mentioned that the most important thing is usually the team. Building a successful company is quote \u201cextraordinary\u201d according to Paul Graham. So showing that you\u2019ve done some extraordinary thing in other parts of your life is probably good. You can say you\u2019re a hustler, gritty, or whatever else you think is cool, but having a concrete example of how you\u2019ve done something outstanding is more powerful than any amount of words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But sometimes, you haven\u2019t built anything to show. You might be pre-product, pre-user, or pre-revenue. That was the case for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s the next best thing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The \u201cidea maze\u201d \u2014 the second-best option<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balaji Srinivasan, the former CTO of Coinbase, wrote a good essay on the concept of an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/spark-public.s3.amazonaws.com\/startup\/lecture_slides\/lecture5-market-wireframing-design.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idea maze<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cThe idea maze shows all permutations of an idea \u2014 branches of the decision tree that make up a giant state machine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parenthetically, this is apparently the one thing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/a16z.com\/author\/marc-andreessen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marc Andreessen<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at a16z looks for in his investments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My own interpretation of the idea maze is this: \u201cDoes your company even work in theory based on the currently available data?\u201d You need to put in the work to do this not for investors, but to build internal conviction for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"nh\">\n<p id=\"fafb\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The mantra of startups is to be action-biased, but that\u2019s not a license to be thoughtless.<\/p>\n<p id=\"c039\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Thoughtfulness matters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js nr jb ju jv ns je jx jy nt ka kb kc nu ke kf kg nv ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fact, if you do this right, all of the pointers I talked about in sections one and two will be a common side effect. For example, let\u2019s talk about pricing. It might start with:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you charging for your product (Yes\/ No), if so why?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the pricing model? Free vs. Freemium vs. Paid? If so why?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the business model? Take rate vs. subscriptions vs. in-app purchase vs. one-time payment. If so why?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These three basic questions alone have over 24 permutations. Imagine adding details like if it\u2019s freemium, how many features would be free? Which ones? How many tiers of the premium version? Why this range of prices? You\u2019ll quickly have thousands of decisions you\u2019ll need to make thoughtfully.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make things more concrete, I\u2019ll share a few examples from my own application, which by the way, was important in the interview stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My company had obvious risks. For example, we were going after creators, but both of us were finance guys. So the obvious question is how would you acquire your first customers? We had talked to over 40 creators and had an LOI for a pilot agreement with Multi Channel Networks (MCNs) who managed over 300 creators in aggregate. I want to highlight an important nuance here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The moral of the story is not that I had an LOI.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"12e9\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The story wasn\u2019t \u201cBoom! Pilot LOI for Go-to-Market!\u201d. LOIs actually hold very little weight in my view.<\/p>\n<p id=\"1dae\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The story was, \u201chey I\u2019m a founder who\u2019s thought through the implications of acquiring users who are outside of my domain expertise and network. And I translated that thinking into action by talking directly to users for problems and acquiring partnerships with businesses that manage hundreds of creators.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"d86e\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">I\u2019ll take another example. Another obvious thing we need to figure out is how are we going to fund our customers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4f9b\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Here, I had raised a pre-seed round of $650K (excluding YC) and signed an LOI for a $10m debt facility contingent on data such as default rates (like did our users pay us back) and IRR (how much money did we make in a given time frame).<\/p>\n<p id=\"49b5\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Again, the moral of the story is not that we raised money or we had an LOI.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"30ef\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The story wasn\u2019t \u201cI have the network in finance to get the money I need\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"50d3\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The story was \u201cI\u2019m a founder who thought about how to go from 0\u20131. I have enough funding to do about X financing, assuming the average size of capital, default rates, time to pay back, and estimated returns.<\/p>\n<p id=\"9914\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If my hypothesis is correct, then this data will unlock another $10m to continue to grow. If it isn\u2019t true, we have safety mechanisms to find out early and iterate our product with our pre-seed round.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"db90\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Perhaps just as importantly, I shared why I\u2019m working on this company.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It wasn\u2019t on a whim I started Flowbo. Providing fair access to capital for everyone has been my mission for about a decade. Now you can\u2019t share everything in an application or in a 1-minute video, but your sincerity should come through.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an early-stage company, it\u2019s expected your company will iterate and change. So you are the constant. You matter a lot. In fact, in most cases, you are your company. Make that shine through the application.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take some time for introspection. It\u2019s a hard journey. Why do you want to do this?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht hu hv hw hx\">\n<h2><strong>Practical Considerations\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Applying as a non-US founder<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The good news for you is that the proportion of non-US companies in Y Combinator is increasing over the years. This seems to especially be the case for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2022\/03\/29\/y-combinator-india-winter-2022\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India with more than 90 companies funded in the last few batches<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was also a non-US founder, so hopefully, I can share a few things to keep in mind when you\u2019re applying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>To be absolutely clear, this should NOT be taken as financial or legal advice. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should make the decision as the founders of your own company.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Minimum legal requirements<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is less of a concern at the application stage, but suppose you want to think ahead. There are minimum legal requirements that YC has in order to invest in your company according to their website.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"3bf3\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If your company is already incorporated somewhere other than the United States, Canada, Singapore or the Cayman Islands, in order to participate in YC\u00a0<strong class=\"jr ib\">you will need to create a parent company that is in one of those jurisdictions<\/strong>. The existing company will then become a subsidiary of the new United States, Canada, Singapore or Cayman parent company.<\/p>\n<p id=\"55a5\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Many companies in each YC batch do this process in order to join YC. While we will connect you with lawyers who will drive this process, it will require a significant effort on your part.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"c607\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">For some companies, re-incorporating entirely in the US was an easier process, especially for idea-stage\/minimal traction companies.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"1a9c\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\"><strong>Visa requirements<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"dc50\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Again, this should not be top of mind for you at the application stage, but here are some things to think about.\u00a0<a class=\"ae lo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ycombinator.com\/faq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Directly from the YC FAQ section<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"lp lq lr\">\n<p id=\"c8d2\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If invited for interviews, we will assist you with navigating visas. If accepted into the program, we can help you with incorporation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"b475\" class=\"jp jq kl jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx ls jz ka kb lt kd ke kf lu kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">If you apply and are invited to join Y Combinator, we will connect you with an immigration attorney who will work with you to develop an individualized immigration plan for you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"5f8c\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Apparently, there were\u00a0<a class=\"ae lo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ycombinator.com\/blog\/yc-interviews-in-india\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">interviews being held in Bangalore back in 2019<\/a>, so maybe this will come back.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5bf4\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">But let\u2019s say you do want to work in the US. Is that because of YC? Is that because you want to build a company? You know how I began this whole thing by saying you should be building your company, not relying on YC? If you really want to work in the US for your startup, you should be finding ways to get there without YC.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To share my experience, my first institutional investor was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/e6964e4ea23c?source=post_page-----c5919cf46317--------------------------------\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unshackled Ventures<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are former founders with exits and phenomenal, empathetic investors. To get to the point, they specialize in immigrant founders who are coming to the US, and as a part of their value-add, they help you with the visa application process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m not going to pretend I did things perfectly, but I knew that I needed a work visa if I want to create a US company. I knew I needed to solve this problem. I got lucky. This is certainly not the only solution, and I\u2019m sure there are several startups and services that can help you with this, if you really need to be in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019re entrepreneurs. Solve this problem for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"d202\" class=\"ko kp ia bd kq kr ks kt ku kv kw kx ky jy kz la lb kc lc ld le kg lf lg lh li bi\"><strong>Frontload the work<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, as non-US founders, we will necessarily have to put in more work to build and work in the US. We\u2019re playing the game in hard mode.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above-mentioned are just two issues I highlighted. There are countless things to consider like leaving your family and friends behind, and taking care of your mental health in isolation. You\u2019ll be living in a foreign country as a foreigner. You need to create a bank account and you need to find a place to live. When you try to sign a place to rent, they\u2019ll ask for your bank account, and when you try to open up a bank account, they\u2019ll ask for your address. How do you square this circle?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So we know that there is going to be lots of work and this is foreseeable. Back when I used to be a venture capitalist and management consultant, we used the phrase \u201cfront load the work\u201d. If you know work needs to be done, do it upfront. Find out what you need to get done, and do everything you can now, so you can fully focus on building your business during YC.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ht hu hv hw hx\">\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I enjoyed my journey at Y Combinator. I\u2019m glad that I did it. I\u2019m proud to be a part of this community that continues to solve problems in the world through technology. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/swlh\/yc-application-tips-from-a-first-time-applicant-who-barely-made-it-s21-534139a41a68\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My own experience getting into YC wasn\u2019t exactly smooth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but that\u2019s okay. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Prepare for the worst<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you don\u2019t get in, I\u2019d want to share the same thing I\u2019d tell myself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>You had the courage to apply. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YC has a 1\u20132% acceptance rate. You took the calculated risk, and you know your hard work was not wasted. You can still build your company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>It\u2019s not a sign of failure.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Every investor I know, including YC, acknowledges that they make mistakes. Investors make errors passing on the best companies of our generation. There are more start-ups that became successful without YC than with YC. You can do this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Hope for the best<\/b><\/h2>\n<p id=\"2c54\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js lj jb ju jv lk je jx jy ll ka kb kc lm ke kf kg ln ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Throughout this piece, I aggregated the best advice I\u2019ve seen on getting into Y Combinator and supplemented it with my own frameworks.<\/p>\n<p id=\"e561\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">It comes down to this:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"nh\">\n<p id=\"2ca3\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Be the human being you are. Be the founder you aspire to become. Build the company you dream to build.<\/p>\n<p id=\"8faa\" class=\"ni nj ia bd nk nl nm nn no np nq kk dk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Then, help people see that and join you on that journey.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p id=\"492b\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js nr jb ju jv ns je jx jy nt ka kb kc nu ke kf kg nv ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Don\u2019t forget the essence. The goal is to build a start-up. YC should be a means to an end. Focus on what matters.<\/p>\n<p id=\"161e\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph jp jq ia jr b js jt jb ju jv jw je jx jy jz ka kb kc kd ke kf kg kh ki kj kk ht bi\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Best of luck to everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-dots\" \/>\n<p><cite><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you a founder looking to make your YC Summer 2023 application stand out? Razorpay Rize will help you refine your application and offer you all the support and guidance you need. <\/span><\/i><\/cite><i> <\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius: 3px; background: #528FF0; padding: 15px; font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: white;\" href=\"https:\/\/rize.razorpay.com\/ycombinator\/summer2023\">Get in touch!<\/a><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-dots\" \/>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disclaimer: This post or website is not sponsored or endorsed by Y Combinator. Nothing here should be taken as legal or financial advice.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Crafting that perfect Y Combinator application can seem like a daunting task. What are investors looking for? What story to tell? How to tell it? These are questions YC aspirants always grapple with.\u00a0 So, for answers, we at Razorpay Rize reached out to a founder who knows what it takes to get into Y Combinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":11634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[450,121],"class_list":{"0":"post-11617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-razorpay-rize","8":"tag-razorpay-rize","9":"tag-y-combinator"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11617"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20807,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11617\/revisions\/20807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}