
YC Rejection Emails Are Out - giologist
YC just sent out rejection emails.
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trefn
Hi everyone -

Startups are hard. I hope you'll keep going in the face of adversity.

If so, Mixpanel is here to help. Forward a copy of your YC rejection email to
free@mixpanel.com and we'll hook you up with our $150/month Startup plan, free
forever.

~~~
zoba
Sent! I only forwarded it, didn't include any extra text. Do I need to do
anything else or should I just wait patiently for a response?

Thanks for offering this! Doesn't feel as much like rejection any more ;)

~~~
trefn
Responses should be winging their way through the ether.

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hashmij
The last two days have been an emotionally draining rollercoaster. On Nov.
13th, I checked my email about 10,000 times. This increased the anticipation,
but after not hearing anything the whole day, I figured I got rejected and I
was OK with it at that time. After all, I had anticipated this as the most
likely outcome.

Then, I found out on HN that the interview notification got delayed by two
days. This was followed up by a message from PG. It really sounded like he was
interested in us! I thought to myself, "Why would a big shot like him have
sent me such a question if he wasn't really interested in us???"

So, for the next day and a half I was daydreaming of getting into YC. We had
then convinced ourselves, "We're getting an interview!"

Then, on Nov. 15, I checked my email another 10,000 times. The anticipation
was unbearable. Then, when I got the rejection email, it hit me like someone
punched me in the gut. It really hurt.

I feel like it would not have hurt so much if I hadn't have gotten my hopes up
after the PG message.

I feel stupid since I should have known that a PG message is just that: a PG
message. Why on earth did I over-interpret that?

Anyways, this really hurts...We took a day off to mourn, and then we'll get
back up and keep pressing forward.

I wonder if I answered PG's question incorrectly...Did that have something to
do with the rejection?

Anyways, at the end of the day, I still respect what PG and YC are doing. No
point in being a sore loser. In my life, I've been rejected by a lot of places
and accepted at others, and in the end, I am happy and grateful where I am
now. You win some, you lose some.

~~~
eduardordm
I feel the same way as you. I won't be applying anymore: this was the first
time I applied to an incubator. I built a startup before (that succeeded) and
we got a lot of rejections, but thing is they were pretty much immediate. They
didn't feel so bad, no anticipation was built, there were similar
opportunities to try.

YC is unique, it gets emotional and the anticipation drains the very energy
you need to succeed.

Good luck,

~~~
hashmij
Thanks for your comment. Yeah, it really really sucked the wind out of me.
It's not going to stop us from going forth, but it is a momentary pause to
catch our breath and get back up from the floor.

~~~
ohashi
You get used to it. The first time I can empathize. I've been rejected 3 times
now, I hardly noticed this time and forgot about it until I saw something on
HN. You stop pinning any sort of hope on getting accepted and keep
building/marketing/promoting/improving and life goes on :)

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cryptoz
Just got mine. Maybe next time! Gives a few more months to grow, gain users,
build more features and change the world before YC interviews me. I got the
email while arriving at a cafe to write more code to analyze Sandy, so the
timing is apt I suppose. Teaser: <http://i.imgur.com/c87tV.png>

~~~
ramidarigaz
Bummer :( PressureNET is really cool. I can't wait to see where it goes!

~~~
cryptoz
Thanks! :) Really, all a YC rejection email does is get the motivators going.
Plus, life in Montreal is really, really awesome and it would be tough to
leave, even for a few months in the Bay Area.

As others are saying, it's almost a relief. I can keep chugging away, enjoying
my current life and continuing to build my startup in the evenings. Life ain't
bad.

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xackpot
Got a reject. I kinda feel relieved now. Time to focus on how I can do better
with my project. All the best guys.

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stilldetermined
Curious how many other people got questions from the partners, website logins,
video views, and then got rejected.

I didn't put much effort into my app, thinking it unlikely that they'd accept
me, but darn it, they did get my hopes up a bit :-)

~~~
trickmonkey
They created an account and poked around but we're both over 30 which I think
is an auto-reject.

~~~
rdl
There are teams where everyone is over 30, and at least a few where the
founders include people older than pg.

~~~
trickmonkey
Granted, but fairly certain PG never looked at our company. This isn't the
early days.

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freework
I got my rejection letter. My project is already built, and has 3000 users.
I'm a solo developer, so thats probably why I was rejected. Also I'm 29 years
old (started developing at 25). I'm the anti-YC demographic, so I wasn't
really expecting to get accepted. The only think that kept me thinking I had a
chance was the fact that the application process was actually pretty easy in
my opinion. All the loggers out there talk like the application form is super
hard, but I filled mine out in under a half hour. The questions are the kind
of things you should be thinking about if you're doing things right. The
hardest part for me was doing the video. The length came in at 0:56, because I
was too nervous to say much other than the bare minimum.

Also, something else I want to say: The YC people really need to fix their
application page. The day after I filled out my application, I came back to
clean up the grammer, and when I went to click "save", it gave me the "expired
link" error. All those grammer fixes down the drain. I never did go back and
fix them. That may have also attributed to my rejection. In this day and age
there is no excuse to screwing up basic crud :/

~~~
mion
"but I filled mine out in under a half hour" See this: [http://lloyd.tc/how-
we-hacked-the-y-combinator-application-p...](http://lloyd.tc/how-we-hacked-
the-y-combinator-application-process/)

It took them one month to fill out theirs.

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ryangallen
It was fun anyways. Applying really lit a fire under my ass. Since September,
I learned a ton about web development and starting a business.

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replayzero
I actually think rejection is the key to getting better. I have been rejected
before it's no big deal. YC is a big opportunity to progress, but it's not the
only way to progress.

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viviantan
Me too. Best of luck next time to everyone!

Btw, there are post-application morale-boosting celebrations happening all
over the place. I'm hosting one this Saturday in the Bay Area. Hope you'll
join us!

More info here and here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4787228>
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4775943>

~~~
visualcsharp
Is this serious? Folks really throw rejection parties?

~~~
viviantan
Lol no! Not "rejection" parties! _Everyone_ is invited whether they're past,
present, or future YC applicants, with or without having been accepted by YC.
This is just a way for people to hang out and unwind and have fun, especially
those who have gone through the application process.

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T_Electronics
When I received my rejection email I wanted to throw a huge 6yr old kid temper
tantrum and go around the room f _ucking sh_ t up tornado style lmao! But I'll
just frame my rejection email and use it as motivation for my next big
obstacles in life. When I do finally become successful I'll put "Y Combinator
Reject" in all my about me sections! YC alumni would've sounded better though
:(

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TylerJewell
Hi Everyone:

I am always impressed and amazed at the effort, focus, and passion teams put
into their YC application. The stories of joy, heartbreak, and relief exhibit
a sheer love of technology & entrepreneurship.

In many situations, worthy teams are short changed. We'd like to change that
:)

We (Exo IDE) are a startup focused on building solutions for software
developers. We are looking to hire talent, and would like to chat with any YC
applicants (accepted or not) about what we are doing. Our ideal situation
would be to recruit a small, pre-existing team that contain designer +
engineers that have worked together on projects. The work would be in SF.

Even if it's not a fit with us, we wish everyone success in the pursuit of
their ambitions. At a minimum, we love hearing about your ideas and making any
connections that may help you on your own path.

If you'd like a chat - you can reach me at my personal email @
tylerjewell@gmail.com.

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gabhijit
Well, I got a reject as well. Last time a few years ago, I'd actually got a
call for interview and personally, if I've to judge the two ideas on merit,
the current one was way more superior than the one that got an interview
call(eventually we didn't get funding but we were very very under-prepared
back then).

My key takeaway is - there's no 'right or wrong' here, it's kind of random.
It's got a lot to do with your luck.

So what YC says in their rejection letter is actually right, we can always
cook up reasons, why one got rejecte. The only way to make sure (well not
really, just making it highly probable) that you make it to YC is be extremely
well prepared, but then you are probably beyond a point where you need to go
to YC.

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ricardobeat
I am the 97%.

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xoail
A big part of startup life is getting Rejections. Let's move on and focus on
more important things, products, customers, growth. Let's try again next time.

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TimJRobinson
Must be a strong group this year. We're a coder / marketer duo each having
already founded profitable startups in the past, in our mid 20's in a market
we understand well and with a solid business plan and way to make profit and
grow yet we still got rejected. I presume it's because we're in the gaming
industry and ycombinator doesn't normally fund gaming companies.

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jeffreyshaw
I'm going to show up for an interview anyways.

~~~
sjtgraham
A lot of people do that, and unsurprisingly some people (maybe all) working at
YC do not appreciate it. Personally I would advise against it and think of a
different way to get to the partners, n.b. Instacart, rather than show up to
YC when everyone is extremely busy and putting YC staff in difficult
positions.

~~~
alrs
You can't sell a generation on the never-say-die entrepreneur ethos and then
tsk-tsk when they show up at your office uninvited.

~~~
tptacek
Yes you can.

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cpg
We also got rejected <http://www.amahi.com> though we are ramen-profitable, we
will hack growth no matter what :)

A bunch of us applicants are getting together in Mountain View on Saturday @
6pm for a drink to share ideas/experiences in the startup path.

Email if you are local and want to join. EDIT: not 8pm, 6pm.

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jmsotelo
We got rejected too but I have a great feeling about this. I'm really happy to
know that my co-founder and me can do amazing things together, and how you can
achieve a lot of cool stuff while you apply to YC. I see this as an incentive
to keep working and focus on delivering a great product.

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keeptrying
If anyone wants to work in the health and fitness space then do drop me a
line. My email is in my profile.

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hashmij
I wish PG hadn't messaged me. It made my expectations go up so much.

It's like asking out a really hot girl to the theater that you think you have
no chance with, but then she texts you back with "which movie?", so then all
of a sudden your expectations go up...But then she says no. haha

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rooshdi
To all those rejected, keep building for the love. That's all that matters.

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replayzero
I know!

~~~
hacknut13
lol sorry bro. You should also consider TechStars! I know they just opened for
the next class.

~~~
replayzero
No worries. I am kinda glad now, normal service of being broke and working my
butt off can resume -

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T_Electronics
I should start a company that gives rejected applicants a second chance, lol
yc-rejects.com We will RE-View your app and pick the most promising startups,
based off good ideas!

~~~
TheMakeA
Fog Creek was bootstrapped by taking web development overflow from another
company. There are certainly startup gems that were rejected today.

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mirrormicky
<http://www.herostart.com/productshow/ventilation-fan-motor>

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replayzero
I applied with www.bfore.me - It would be great if you guys could show us some
love and spread the word. We have just got to keep trucking!

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ankushdixit
Any idea when do late applicants usually hear about interview decisions? (If
they hear at all)

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webuntu
...I think the hardest part is deciding whether to continue, or cut your
losses.

~~~
bmelton
If you're genuinely considering closing the doors because you didn't get into
YC, that's really good evidence that YC made a good choice in rejecting you.

Take it as a slap in the face if you want. Be pissed. Cry like a baby. Throw
something at a wall. Those are all perfectly valid, but the best YC applicants
are the ones that don't need YC at all, so if you want to better your chances
for the next round, prove to them how stupid they were in passing you up.

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johnabowen
Do all of the team members get an email, or just the one who submitted?

~~~
nabeards
In our case, just the one who submitted got the email. As said above, though,
just a motivator for us to focus even more on the beta launch.

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nodemaker
Hackernode app rejected :(

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replayzero
Goodnight from London Fellow Rejects!

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bruceb
rejected and they even watched the video...

~~~
khmel
I found video experience very useful - I found 200K angels because of my team
video. Share this with other investors - they will appreciate.

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visualcsharp
OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOES!!!!11eleventyhundredandone!!

Life goes on, folks, in spite of angel investors wanting every last ounce of
your collective creative juices for almost no wage.

~~~
visualcsharp
Uh oh, downvoted for writing the truth? That's /never/ been done before--not
/once/!

~~~
nicholasreed
Perhaps it is because your comment did not add anything useful to the
discussion, but instead came across as an unproductive and unsubstantiated
rant.

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ildabu87
Ok not a problem. But I want to continue and carry on my idea. Is there anyone
based in New York that can set up a website like Airbnb or something?

~~~
ildabu87
Which is willing to work for glory and/or equity

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replayzero
airbnb are big in NY. Mayor Bloomberg just endorsed them.

~~~
ildabu87
I know, we are looking to create something similar, we need to find a good
creator of websites

