
Frequently Asked Questions from YC Applicants - craigcannon
https://blog.ycombinator.com/frequently-asked-questions-from-yc-applicants/
======
capocannoniere
Is this FAQ still valid as of 2018?

In particular, is the following still true?

> Q: Can you apply to YC with just an idea?

> Yes. We accept companies at a wide range of stages into the batch. Cruise,
> for example, had been working on their idea for just two weeks when they
> applied to YC.

and

> Q: Can you apply if you haven’t launched?

> Yes. Fewer than half of the companies we fund have launched before they
> apply.

Looking at the list of YC companies in the recent batch, it seems like many of
those companies have significant traction by demo day, significantly more so
than YC companies in batches from a few years ago. Obviously, there are many
factors that may contribute to this:

1) Advances in development tools as well as SaaS for startups: e.g. Stripe,
Stripe Atlas, Clerky, etc.

2) YC's brand name / perceived value has gone up + YC's deliberate outreach
efforts. This could mean more and better companies are applying to YC so the
bar has gone up.

But even controlling for those factors, it seems like many of the current
companies are still further along by demo day compared to previous batches.
Are there any examples of YC W18 companies that applied pre-traction or at the
idea stage?

I guess the more common question than

> Q: Is YC just for early stage companies?

is probably

> Q: Is YC just for companies that have already found product market fit /
> have shown traction?

~~~
pb
Yes, we absolutely fund companies at the idea stage, and often companies will
pivot mid-batch -- in fact, one of our fastest growing startups from last year
did exactly that.

One of the things I hear most often from our founders is that they
accomplished more in their 3 months at YC than they did in the entire year
before. Also, keep in mind that press is selective, and some companies wait
years before publically launching as a YC company.

~~~
cvaidya1986
Hi we have been working on our idea for two weeks so we probably won’t have
time for actual users by March 24th and our application with stripe is still
pending.Is it still ok to apply with an incomplete demo of an app?

------
sandGorgon
Just a request, please add "if I get selected by YC, do I have to
reincorporate in the US, or will YC invest in an internationally incorporated
company"

It is one of the most frequently asked questions by founders of India based
companies as well as existing investors of India-based companies.

------
swyx
how does it make sense for a company with 20m/yr revenues (messagebird) to
give away the standard YC equity cut? did they strike a special deal? this is
the first i’ve ever read of a company as late stage as this enter YC. sorry in
advance if the messagebird story is well known and i’m a dodo

~~~
jaredsohn
I'm not familiar with the messagebird story but there have been other later
stage companies in YC before. For example, Quora entered YC when worth $900
million. [https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/11/quora-y-
combinator/](https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/11/quora-y-combinator/)

~~~
mlevental
what in the world is the point of that

~~~
lbotos
You can read about it here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7723278](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7723278)

~~~
hkmurakami
selected from one of the replies - this seems to be a better synopsis from the
CEO himself. [https://www.quora.com/Quora-company/Why-did-Quora-join-
the-2...](https://www.quora.com/Quora-company/Why-did-Quora-join-
the-2014-Y-Combinator-batch/answer/Adam-DAngelo?srid=Om6j&share=1)

>There are a bunch of reasons why it's valuable for Quora to be a YC company:

>We'll have Sam and all the other partners to help us.

>We get to be part of the YC community / alumni network of founders.

>We get access to all the resources of YC.

>We were raising money anyway, so there was no overhead in letting YC
participate - this ends up the same for us as if we had just raised slightly
more money from Tiger. And independent of the benefits to Quora, I think it
will be fun personally to participate in some of the YC events. I hope my
perspective can help some of the other companies.

------
jimaek
Very interesting. Here are some random questions I personally have after
operating a company in Europe for 3 years and planning to move the business to
USA.

\- Do I need to document every single expense with invoices similar to vat?

\- What kind of expenses I can write off to my business? Apartment, house, car
lease?

\- What kind of salary to founders pay themselves?

\- Do you hire yourself at the company or only pay yourself dividends as a
salary? That's a popular method in Poland for founders to lower their income
tax

\- What's a popular visa used for this? I am looking at L1 but I am not sure
how the connection between companies is established

\- How demanding are the investors? If growth is slower than expected are
there problems?

I would actually be happy to pay someone to get answers. But not sure who. A
lawyer seems overkill for some of the basic questions.

~~~
snowmaker
\- Do I need to document every single expense with invoices similar to vat?

Not at all.

\- What kind of expenses I can write off to my business? Apartment, house, car
lease?

This is determined by US tax law, not YC. Generally part of your rent can be
expensed if you are working out of your house or apartment.

\- What kind of salary to founders pay themselves?

Usually founders pay themselves initially a salary that is below market for
what they could be making at an established company, but enough to live on.
Once their company reaches a certain level of success, they raise their salary
to a market level.

\- Do you hire yourself at the company or only pay yourself dividends as a
salary? That's a popular method in Poland for founders to lower their income
tax

You hire yourself.

\- What's a popular visa used for this? I am looking at L1 but I am not sure
how the connection between companies is established

During YC most founders stay on a visitor visa. After YC, most founders choose
to get an O1.

\- How demanding are the investors? If growth is slower than expected are
there problems?

Not from YC or from typical silicon valley seed investors.

------
alberth
How much equity is given out?

IIRC, YC use to take 6% for $100k. The link above says average now is $1m is
raised from demo days.

Is that $1m for 6% or some higher equity percentage?

~~~
tptacek
I believe the $1MM they're referring to is from outside investors (and is
commonly on convertible notes, so the valuation floats).

~~~
snowmaker
This is correct.

