
Y Combinator rejection reasons - blueintegral
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=y+combinator+interview+%22I%27m+sorry+to+say%22++%22decided+not+to+fund%22
======
apandhi
We applied (and interviewed!) for YC last season. We didn't get in, but they
were dead on about the issues with our business.

Since then, we've addressed the issue and are continuing to move forward.

Remember, not getting into YC isn't the end - and YC does make mistakes. Just
remember to hear their reasons out and really consider what they have to say.
They're all brilliant people and have an uncanny ability to unravel your
business in less than 10 minutes.

Build, fail, listen, learn, keep building, keep listening, keep learning, keep
moving.

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byoung2
I think there is a sweet spot that you have to hit where you have the focus to
start on a solution to a small part of a big problem, but still show investors
that there is a clear path to eventually tackle more and more of the bigger
problem. Reid Hoffman talks about "boil the ocean" startups that are just too
big to tackle, but if you approach it as boiling a cup or a pot first, and
convince investors that there is still an ocean to be boiled down the line,
you have a good shot.

~~~
empressplay
That said, YC could be missing out on opportunities if they fail to have the
foresight to see the cups that could eventually become oceans -- ie the
ability of sniply to (hypothetically) bring their users over to other products
in the future.

Just because a particular seed from a startup isn't going to sprout into a
forest overnight doesn't mean that particular startup doesn't have the
potential to find other seeds that do.

I guess what I'm saying is YC would do well to consider funding people with
good ideas as much as the ideas themselves.

~~~
byoung2
_I guess what I 'm saying is YC would do well to consider funding people with
good ideas as much as the ideas themselves._

That's a good point. YC does claim to look at people first and then ideas, and
really the idea is just evidence that you can have good ideas. But I guess
they are also looking for pattern recognition, as in, can you spot the pattern
that YC is looking for. That seems to be (in my opinion) smart teams who can
tackle a small chunk of a big problem before and during YC, and sell investors
the dream of the whole chunk after YC. Think couch surfing app now, disrupting
the hotel industry later. Cloud based USB stick now, revolutionize the cloud
storage industry later.

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ChrisNorstrom
YC is not going to be completely transparent in their selection process
because doing so would make it easier to manipulate the interview process.
Jessica Livingston already mentioned in an interivew that they've revealed too
much. Now founders are going in lying about working together for years on
projects and being life-long friends.

Entrepreneur: "Hey YC, what do I have to tell you in order for me to get in?
You know, so I can practice it and avoid being weeded out by your process. So
I can tell you all the things you want to hear during the interview. I promise
I won't lie during my interview."

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danieltillett
Is this a joke that I am not getting? Is linking to google supposed to be a
suggestion that there are a very large number of reasons for rejection?

~~~
Tideflat
I think it is just a clever way of linking to a collection of related
articles.

~~~
mynegation
Apparently too clever for its own good. Mobile Safari just shows clean Google
search page, no search results. I guess this is what happened to the GP
poster.

~~~
DanBC
The submitted url is:
[https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=y+combinator+interview+...](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=y+combinator+interview+%22I%27m+sorry+to+say%22++%22decided+not+to+fund%22)

If I paste this into Safari on iOS it redirects to a blank Google page in my
country:
[https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=cr&ei=yqk0VcmaLaa07QbeqoH4C...](https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=cr&ei=yqk0VcmaLaa07QbeqoH4CQ)

~~~
danieltillett
This is exactly what is happening to me too. At least I now understand what
the op was trying to do.

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andrewchambers
Just because a business is too small for investors like YC, doesn't mean it
will not be profitable if the team stays small and delivers to it's niche.

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reality_czech
Most common Y Combinator rejection reasons:

1\. Facebook is already the best "Facebook for X".

2\. The founders are old enough to know better.

3\. Co-founder looks like an extra from "Wayne's World"

4\. The co-founder is the founder's left hand inside a sock puppet.

5\. Someone mentioned "Java" and it killed the mood.

6\. The founders somehow discovered that the VCs are reptillians, as are most
world leaders

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rnc
I remember that some years ago while reading "Hacker and Painters" I got the
naive impression(I was 18) that I could just go to grad school and then become
rich by just building a technically superior product, without having business
experience. How wrong I was.

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e2e4
Thanks for the post; very helpful. You might consider sharing the link via
your own product; this way people will see how it works ...

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sparkzilla
I don't know why YC needed an interview to tell Sniply that "we can’t see it
becoming the huge type of company that investors like to fund." Surely that
should have been weeded out in the initial selection. Their story highlights a
lack of transparency in the YC selection process. Those who are rejected at
the application stage get no reasons at all. Then they hear stories like this
and wonder if there is any method to the selection process at all.

If YC has internal tools to assess all the applications (as they claim) then
what is the harm in publishing those criteria, and publishing the results
publicly. For example, let's say Sniply got 5/10 for market size, but had
10/10 for member ability (and that ability was weighted evenly) then we could
see how it was selected, and we could see why it was selected over other
applicants. Then all applicants could see where they stand. As it stands it
seems to be a real crapshoot, which gives false hope to companies like Sniply,
while denying others the chance to be selected.

~~~
zxcvvcxz
Dude, YC is not obligated to do anything for you, or anybody. They're not a
college, and even those aren't transparent with selection criteria. Christ,
checklists out of 10?

Life is a crapshoot.

People need to also stop thinking that incubator == success, or that not
incubator == not success.

~~~
ryanobjc
Except that, why would people need to stop thinking that?

Because, its very obvious that, at the very least, becoming part of y
combinator sets you up for major success. Just like being part of an Ivy
League.

Sure, you can have success without it, but damn, why wouldn't you want it?

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robertandy
There can be umpteen number of reasons for rejection. As long as the process
is opaque, people can only speculate.

Time to move on, focus on what's critical for _you_ to succeed.

