
Y Combinator W17 Blank Application - markocalvocruz
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wMR_TqkweTbQXVb_CmogSY0XMWcq3lrmHBX7a1P9gZI/edit
======
johnwheeler
I submitted for the first time this Wednesday for my project
[https://oldgeekjobs.com](https://oldgeekjobs.com). It took 4-5 hours in
total.

Getting into YC is a long shot (especially for me since I'm a single founder),
but I got a lot out of the application itself being forced to criticize my own
business model.

I don't want to put my application online, but if anyone is curious how I
answered any of the questions, I'll do my best to oblige. I'd love to know
what others think--the good and especially the bad.

~~~
easychris
At least in Germany I'd be careful to use your project because a declined
applicant could sue the company for age discrimination [1].

EDIT: I'm not saying it's a bad idea. I just would think about rephrasing the
wording on your website e.g that you are looking for "geeks with at least 15
years of experience". IANAL but I guess that could be ok from legal view.

[1]
[http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Download...](http://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/publikationen/AGG/agg_in_englischer_Sprache.html)

~~~
germanier
I wouldn't be so sure (and very similar laws apply in the US and many other
countries). The explicitly ask people to

> Write something to encourage older applicants without discriminating against
> younger ones

It's not so different from encouraging women to apply which is commonly found.

But obviously people could still sue and maybe you wouldn't want to fight that
battle.

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lamroger
Helpful! Surprised YC doesn't do this too. Maybe you could host it on your
github acct and get your name out there too. Also, changes can be submitted as
a PR by anyone.

~~~
markocalvocruz
great idea! done. I added a new comment with the link since I don't know if
it's appropriate to submit a new link or not (new member here)

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markocalvocruz
I made this for myself so I could use git to keep track of changes and figured
some other people might find it useful.

It's view only but anyone can download the document.

Note: Any edits made to this document is just for your sanity, this is nothing
more than a copy of the questions.

Good luck!

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t27
Hey thanks for this, why not add the founder profile questions too (the
questions that each founder has to fill in their personal profile page)?

~~~
markocalvocruz
good idea! done

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ikeboy
I'm considering applying for an unlaunched e-commerce startup. Is it worth
applying as a solo (technical) founder, with all of what's been built so far
done by a web development firm paid for by me?

I doubt I can get a co founder before the deadline.

Also, I see more questions than in this doc:

"Is this application in response to a YC RFS?

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC? (List as
City A, Country A / City B, Country B.)

Who are your competitors, and who might become competitors? Who do you fear
most?"

Any tips on whether I should include a comprehensive list of 15 competitors,
or focus on the big ones and the one I'm worried about?

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BinaryIdiot
Since the target community of YC / Hacker News is so incredibly technical I'm
actually surprised they don't offer the application in multiple formats some
of which could be accepted as a drag and drop, boom application submitted.

I worked on a format like 8 years ago I called Live Resume that included a lot
of custom fields that could handle this but it was in JSON or XML which would
be probably awkward. But it's a similar concept. I'm half tempted to create a
browser plugin that pulls / puts the data into the form. But it's so niche not
sure if anyone would even want to use it.

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markocalvocruz
[https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application](https://github.com/markocalvocruz/YC_Application)

I decided to add this Application along with the Founder Profile template to
my github repository (thanks iamroger and t27 for the suggestion).

I also linked to previous successful YC applications in the README for
convenience.

Hope somebody finds this helpful!

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soneca
~60 simultaneous readers while at #13 front page, with 23 points, 2 hours old
on a Friday.

Just a personal record.

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n00b101
The application says "We will send an email to each founder to fill out
additional information about themselves."

Could someone post what those additional questions are? It would be super
helpful because we are trying to prepare everything offline first.

~~~
ikeboy
FOUNDER

Name* (Required)

Email Address* (Required)

Age

Gender

Location* (Required)

BACKGROUND

Schools, Degrees and Years of Graduation (Use a separate line for each
school.)

Employers, Position / Titles and Dates (Use a separate line for each job, most
recent first.)

PRESENCE

Personal website

Github URL

Linkedin URL

Facebook URL

Twitter URL

SKILLS

Please tell us about the time you, $username, most successfully hacked some
(non-computer) system to your advantage.

Please tell us in one or two sentences about the most impressive thing other
than this startup that you have built or achieved.

Are you a technical founder? (You are a programmer or engineer who can build
the product without outside assistance.)

COMMITMENT

Do you have at least 10% equity in the startups you're applying with?

Will you move and live in the Bay Area January through March 2017, if we fund
you?

Will you commit to working exclusively on this project for the next year? (No
school, no other jobs)

Do you have any other commitments between January through March 2017
inclusive?

Do you have any commitments in the future and if so what? (e.g. finishing
college, going to grad school)

CURIOUS

Have you been to any YC events? If so, which ones? (e.g. Startup School,
University Tour, Office Hours, etc.)

~~~
n00b101
Thanks!

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vemv
I don't get this? I could attempt to apply to YC and see the same exact
questions?

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learntospell123
URL should be capitalized

