
YCommonApp: Apply to 25+ YC-funded startups in under 10 minutes - davidbalbert
http://ycommonapp.com
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BrandonM
I feel a bit frustrated with the startup application process. The (very
common) question, "List any links that will let us know who you are. For
example, projects you've worked on or links to your GitHub, StackOverflow,
Twitter, blog, website, etc." always seems to hold a lot of weight while being
tangent to the work I would expect to be doing. I don't have a GitHub, I'm not
a StackOverflow member, I'm not on Twitter, I don't have a blog, and I haven't
had a website since graduating with my CS degree. That does not mean that I am
not talented, smart, or motivated.

In my case, I like to interact personally with friends as opposed to
digitally. I like to work on personal projects to satisfy my curiosity without
being worried about later publishing them. And I'm not interesting/vain enough
to warrant a blog, website, or Twitter presence. I like to work hard, "learn"
hard (I do enjoy Hacker News), and play hard, and keeping up on the latest
shiny-new-technology-web-presence-clique seems tangential to that.

My goal is to work for a few years in an interesting software development
position on a smart team, getting paid a fair wage while providing the company
with equal value in return. In those years, I would expect to learn (and
contribute!) a lot while also paying off my debts and helping out my parents.
After that, I would reëvaluate my goals and my career.

What frustrates me is that I feel like I have to jump through hoops just to
get into the mix. I feel like I won't even be seriously considered unless I
develop a few simple web tools built on RoR, promote them on a DJango website
with a blog, host the source to the whole thing on GitHub, jump into the
Twitter craze, and try to make useful contributions to FOSS and StackOverflow
communities that are already saturated with great solutions. That seems like a
lot of unimportant crap when all I really want to do is good work. If it takes
me an extra day to learn RoR because your company uses it, that seems very
small in the entire scheme of things.

I understand that I don't have a web-visible track record to point you to. I'm
quite willing to work at an under-market rate for a few months until I'm up to
speed and it is determined that I am a good fit. Is there anywhere interesting
to work that is looking to hire somebody like me?

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coffeemug
We're one of the companies that will hire people through the YCommonApp, and
we don't care if you're on twitter, github, stackoverflow, have a blog or a
website, and whether you've played with RoR, Django, Clojure, or some other
flavor of the week technology. Being damn good at what you do is more than
enough for us.

~~~
BrandonM
OK, thanks for the data point. Thanks in large part to the comments of you and
others, I went ahead submitted my application. Unfortunately, the only way you
could know that I'm damn good at whatever work I'm doing (whether that be
serving, bartending, tutoring, valet parking, programming, or working in a
steel mill) is to accept my word and give me some work to do. :)

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paulsingh
Pardon my ignorance, but I don't get it.

Why would you want to hire someone that "sprays" their application across 25+
companies?

~~~
shazow
The reality of an applicant is that there is extremely little information
about a startup and its reputation, and what little there is is almost always
identical to every other startup (free food, have an impact, big challenges,
blah blah blah).

You only really discover whether it's a good fit or not after you've worked
there for _months_. If you're really lucky, after you've had all the
interviews. But really never ever before you've even applied.

During the application process, I'd argue that the employer has the best idea
whether the fit would be good or not.

~~~
cyen
What happened to wanting to work on a product you (can) love?

~~~
shazow
Product changes more frequently than the team or culture.

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tomh-
As much as I love seeing other people on video, this method of applying for
jobs is not for everyone. Somehow I feel really uncomfortable when there are
cameras pointing at me.

~~~
nicholasjbs
There are two versions of the YCommonApp: one with video, and one without. You
can apply using whichever you choose.

That said, we think the one with video is much more powerful. None of the YC
companies are looking for slick presentations, just good hackers, so the
videos should be pretty informal and conversational.

~~~
catch23
Video is more powerful potentially, but it's also very hard to "edit". I
remember applying to YC via a video app and I probably had to redo the video
at least 10 times before I felt satisfied with it. It's easier to just edit
text with a mouse cursor than it is to edit video. Speaking into a camera
isn't very natural, so it's hard for me to create such a video in a single
take, however this problem probably wouldn't occur if it was a talking head
that I was speaking to.

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tlrobinson
Perhaps you should be able to select only the companies you know you're
interested in. Some people have specialties that would suit certain companies
more than others.

~~~
michaelfairley
Go to the company's website and apply manually? Or just shoot an email at
jobs@company.com?

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physcab
Oh wow, this brings back memories of applying to all the UC schools.

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sabj
I love the idea.

What about non-technical people passionate about tackling problems?
Undesirables? ;)

~~~
nicholasjbs
Right now the YCommonApp is geared towards developers, though it's possible
there'll be another option in the future for non-techies.

(However, if you're a designer, several of the companies participating are
also looking for UX/UI folks, so I'd encourage you to apply anyway :D)

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dotBen
Seems like lock in here, in that you can't take your video elsewhere or send
it to non-YC companies.

If you've spent the time perfecting an intro video, why wouldn't you want to
use that for other (non-YC) companies.

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bosch
So I'm just wondering if any of these companies hire foreigners?

Specifically Canadians. But if there could be some info up to let people know
if they'll consider applications from outside the US that would be awesome so
then some people don't waste time submitting a resume.

~~~
pbiggar
There are lots of YC companies who have hired foreigners, and have paid for
the H1B, T1N, etc. (I'm basing this on the YC mailing list traffic). It seems
to happen frequently.

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stevejobs
Why would one apply to a YComb job when if one is skilled enough he can apply
to YComb itself?

~~~
nicholasjbs
Different people enjoy different things. For example, many hackers would
prefer to work at a company where they could concentrate all their time on
coding rather than start a startup themselves where they'd have to spend much
of their time doing other tasks.

~~~
strlen
Reality of start-ups: if you're a founder and spend all your time coding,
you're going to fail. I _love_ coding, so I'd have to have an extremely
compelling vision were I to do anything else.

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lanstein
E La Carte is hiring, but doesn't have a website of any kind? I see you do own
the domain.

~~~
mcknz
<http://www.startuply.com/Companies/E_la_Carte_802.aspx>

Shhhh....

~~~
lanstein
Heh. Yeah, saw that. Not sure that counts ;)

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sliverstorm
I'm more of a hardware hacker myself, and many of the linked web pages tell
little about the startups. Does YC fund many hardware based startups, or is it
exclusively software?

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nicholasjbs
The vast majority of YC companies are pure software companies, but there are a
few that aren't. A couple of the companies on the YCommonApp are working on
hardware, including Wattvision.

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kineticac
Definitely going to be using the YCommonApp in the near future for hiring to
Fanvibe! This is an awesome way to find potential hires.

Nice work guys.

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kwamenum86
What ever happened to choosing a company that you think is a good fit? Product
fit is part of the equation.

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nicholasjbs
The YCommonApp is a first step, not the last. Anyone who applies will have
plenty of opportunity to learn more about the companies' products, cultures,
etc before deciding which companies they think are good fits.

~~~
kwamenum86
It just feels like it could be a waste of time for all parties involved.

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davidbalbert
Just added Disqus and Opzi to the list.

