

Meet Y Combinator's Latest Class - citizenkeys
http://networkeffect.allthingsd.com/20110322/meet-y-combinators-latest-class/

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citizenkeys
"19 of the two-minute presentations were deemed 'off the record,' so they’re
not included." So about half the start-ups are still in stealth mode.

Also, "one start-up did not present because it already had a Series A term
sheet with a 'no-shop' clause.". The two previous YC start-ups that didn't
pitch because of a no-shop clause have been airbnb and Heroku.

You can find my as-complete-as-possible list of YC startups from every session
over here: <http://ycuniverse.com/startups.php>

~~~
jdunck
Also a nice rundown:
[https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?hl=en&key=t_toYuVyy...](https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?hl=en&key=t_toYuVyy6fci0MAiIaZ30A&hl=en#gid=20)

~~~
mlinsey
FYI: I can't speak for other batches, but the spreadsheet here has a few
companies from the S10 batch that were missing from citizenkeys' list.

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mlinsey
I attended the alumni preview of demo day along with a bunch of other founders
from my batch (Summer 2010). We were told after our demo day that we were
universally acclaimed as the best YC batch ever. All of us were completely
blown away and humbled by the quality of the startups in this current batch;
we were outdone and then some. Congrats to all the W11 founders, now go
conquer the world.

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brianwillis
A few observations:

1) GiftRocket <http://www.giftrocket.com/> Why would I use this? Why not just
give cash? I can see how some people might think of giving cash as tacky or
thoughtless. Is GiftRocket supposed to overcome that? I get the feeling that
there's something I've overlooked here. Feel free to set me straight.

2) GrubWithUs <http://www.grubwith.us/> This is fascinating. They're not just
trying to start a company, they're trying to create a whole social movement.
If this takes off, it'll be a completely new way to socialise.

3) Like.fm <http://like.fm/> Really wasn't sure what to make of this. The
concept seems very similar to last.fm. Chatted with Chris Chen using Live Help
on the site's home page. He seems convinced that the only two things that they
have in common is that both sites record what you listen to. He pointed out
that Like.fm allows you to follow people, and will soon have a recommendations
system that will "blow whatever you get from last.fm out of the water." He's
got my attention.

~~~
kapilkale
Founder of GiftRocket here.

AmEx gift cards are basically cash. People know that when they buy them. They
come with some pretty steep fees ($4 for a $25 card + $5-10 shipping if you
buy online). They probably sell ~$10B a year. Maybe more. Just AmEx.

Remember, _everything_ in the gift card market is more restrictive than cash.
We're focused on user experience and building something fun, easy, and cool
that "just works".

~~~
MichaelApproved
From your FAQ _> Who is PoundPay? PoundPay is our payments provider. If you
buy or receive a GiftRocket, you'll receive a few emails from them._

This sounds a bit strange. Are these marketing emails or just receipts?

~~~
kapilkale
They're payment confirmations. No marketing emails. We'll clarify the
language, thanks.

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pdenya
Memorable quote: “Josh, in his spare time, is the largest wholesaler of
diamonds on Amazon.”

So curious about this. Josh who? Any more detail available?

~~~
lizg
Sorry, this refers to Josh Abrams, co-founder of Tutorspree. Got distracted
talking to people at the event and neglected the context. Will add to the
story.

More trivia: two co-founders of two separate companies in the bath have the
same name and went Dartmouth a year apart. (Not mentioning the name as one was
OTR.)

~~~
shalmanese
I hope you meant batch there...

~~~
phlux
nope - he meant Bath, as in... Bathing in the Limelight.

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unohoo
YC graduates seem to be getting more and more diverse and interesting.Of
course, the total number of graduates has gone up to 43, which explains the
diversity.

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edanm
Interesting. I've heard about many of these startups before today (Convore,
Earbits, etc.)

A few possible explanations, I wonder which is right:

1\. I'm on HN more and I pay attention to YC companies more.

2\. YC companies are launching sooner and sooner.

3\. YC companies are getting more press attention sooner.

4\. YC is funding companies that have more product "in place' before going to
YC.

~~~
petercooper
I also wondered this. Perhaps my memory is poor but I seem to recall that in
previous years most YC entrants were small teams of people who really needed
ramen money to get a prototype out of the door.. whereas a lot of these seem
to be a lot more mature development wise and are, perhaps, needing the money
to specifically work toward a VC round.

~~~
iamwil
There is that, but it's a mix. Convore was built mostly in the three months of
YC, and they launched early too.

~~~
sbisker
Given her track record, I doubt Leah Culver's new company is the best example
of a team who "really needed ramen money to get out the door."

But that's besides the point. The point is, YC used to be a program that was
'taking a chance,' by its very existence. Now that it's established, I feel
like the world expects them to keep taking more chances - both on the types of
people it invests in, and in the process of investing. It's definitely doing
that in a number of ways (the Yuri thing, scaling, taking on more partners) -
but the aspiring applicants here who haven't yet seen traction (or learned
what traction is) see _themselves_ as what YC should be taking more chances
on. This may just an extension of the scaling question - with 1,000
applicants, how do you pick out the teams that just need time to prove
themselves, and how do you make room for them in a crowded program to give
them the mentorship they need?

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Aaronontheweb
I am a huge fan of AppHarbor, and already have four websites deployed on their
service, and I used them in my last Startup Weekend team. Great service!

~~~
krakensden
They seem like the one company that could go big out of all of them- there's a
lot of money in that market, and YCombinator companies are in a good position
to sell to it.

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megamark16
I was surprised at some of the names on this list that I kind of took for
granted as already established companies, like AppHarbor and HelloFax. It kind
of drives home the idea that Y Combinator isn't just for new ideas that need
to get started, it can really be beneficial for already successful teams.

Congratulations to all of the teams, and good luck!

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mariust
Great tools. Good luck to all the founders.

