
YC Rejected: Please read. - kyro
In the coming hours, and days, HN will be seeing submission after submission regarding their YC application decisions. It happens every application period and can become quite annoying. As such, I will address most of the issues many of you will be submitting threads about.<p>"Why did I get rejected?!??"<p>I don't know, many of us don't either. Other than your idea possibly being a pile of garbage, none of us here know as to the exact reasons you got rejected. Sure, pg will, but I doubt he'll write up a critique of your app and post it publicly. If you want to know why you were rejected, email someone at yc to see if they're even willing to give you feedback.<p>"Maybe we should start a YC-rejected group!!!"<p>Go for it. Honestly, it's a big waste of time. Last year someone created RejectedByYC.com, but that seems to have vanished. I don't really know why you'd want to limit yourself to giving/receiving feedback and support for your project from other YC-rejected companies. The rest of us who got accepted or didn't apply aren't less willing to encourage/support/critique your efforts.<p>"I got rejected, but I'm moving on!!!"<p>Awesome, but really, even considering to discontinue a project based on your YC decision is foolish. Sure, the experience is great, you get a little cash to get you off the ground, but if your motivation was that dependent on the outcome of whether you'd be accepted to YC, you need to realize that there are much higher hurdles to be conquered ahead. Plus, we don't need to know you're moving on. Create something, ask for feedback, and we'll care.<p>"MyStartup (YC reject '09) asking for feedback!!!"<p>Don't label yourself as a YC reject. I don't know why people do this. I am no more interested in your startup whether accepted or rejected from YC. There are several YC companies I think are crap, and many rejects that I think are awesome. I guess what you're trying to get across by labeling yourself as a YC rejects is "PG thinks we're crap, but I'm out to prove him wrong!" That makes you seem bitter and unable to emotionally settle with your rejection. We are a community of startups and people interested in them and we need not to label ourselves into various camps. There are startups that are accepted into YC, and for those companies, they were each merely granted an opportunity. For every YC accepted company, there's another who has received angel investing sans incubator-type program, and another who has been hooked up with a client that could bring lots of business, and another that just took vc funding. Starting companies is about finding opportunities. And if YC isn't an opportunity that came your way, you have hundreds of other paths to pursue.<p>I've said this before, but please realize that Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Myspace, eBay, Amazon, PayPal, and 99.999% of the most popular and/or highly valued acquired companies didn't go through YC, nor any other YC-like program.
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anuraggoel
I am all for preserving HN's sanctity, and I agree with and appreciate most of
the points you make. But your tone makes the whole thing sound almost
exclusively like "losers, please keep your rejection sob stories away from
HN". I wonder how rejected applicants will take your well-meant advice.

Rejection has a human angle, and refusing to acknowledge that people respond
to it in (seemingly) irrational ways doesn't help those who need
encouragement, validation, or just knowledge of the fact that they are not
alone. How is asking other hackers 'which web framework to use?' any 'better'
than asking other YC applicants rejection related questions, given that this
is effectively the only public YC forum?

~~~
Semiapies
To be horribly blunt - vastly more people posting and commenting care about
the web frameworks.

I'm generally a sympathetic person, but I have _no_ interest at all in hearing
complete strangers complaining about not getting mentoring and money for their
start-up. Most businesses fail very early (including the one I started years
back), and most of them don't get these sorts of benefits.

------
jasonlbaptiste
Disclaimer: We (Ramamia) got rejected.

YC is a hell of an opportunity. The advice/mentoring, along with a little bit
of cash is big for young ambitious hackers/entrepreneurs/dreamers like us.
There is no doubt it gives you an advantage.

At the end of the day, if your startup fails, it won't be due to a rejection
from YC or any one specific event. Think about it logically, should one
decision/outcome determine if a startup loses? Just being apathetic and
letting the world have its way with you, isn't the way to go.

So, go fire up textmate,photoshop,gdocs,or whatever gets you going and keep
chugging along. You've taken the time to fill out the application and probably
more, so keep going. Post on HN for feedback once the demo is up. The
community will actually give you valuable feedback and won't be assholes. You
may succeed, you may fail, but I promise you that you will not regret it.

~~~
davidw
> YC is a hell of an opportunity. The advice/mentoring, along with a little
> bit of cash is big for young ambitious hackers/entrepreneurs/dreamers like
> us.

To be a bit of a downer, I think that's why some people are so distraught
about getting rejected - sure, some people are going to come out ahead anyway,
and some never will no matter how much of a boost they get, but something like
YC is a big push for those at the margin. It really could be the difference
between success and failure.

------
dhouston
shit happens. getting rejected is part of the entrepreneur's job description
:) fortunately, YC lets you try again.

my first YC app (for my first company, an online SAT prep which I ran for a
few years) was rejected, and their critiques were largely right.

i was accepted 2 years later with a different idea (dropbox).

that said, helpful as it may be, YC is neither a necessary nor sufficient
condition for success. it's still up to you to MSPW.

~~~
russ
We were also rejected the first time as well. And were accepted for a
different idea in the next batch.

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patio11
If I can offer an alternative to post-rejection angst: just implement it. Do
it on nights and weekends, scale down your feature expectations to the bare
minimum (for 1.0, anyhow), maybe plan on something that actually has a chance
of taking money from paying customers rather than playing the VC game,
whatever you need to do.

Its quite viable, particularly for small team sizes, and you will learn quite
a bit about business, which will serve you in good stead no matter where your
career or further ambitions take you.

You'll also note that there are plenty of imitation-worthy businesses out
there which were in your shoes once. Basecamp got written as a side project
between consulting work. Balsamiq Mockups was a one-man band. I could bore you
to death with stories of niche software firms that do pretty well for
themselves.

------
gojomo
I like when people seeking feedback mention they're a YC reject (if not in the
headline in the accompanying text). They're demonstrating their relentlessness
and it satisfies my curiousity to see what sort of teams/projects weren't
selected.

To me, it's just as appropriate to mention as the fact that other companies
are "(YC'08)" or whatever.

~~~
patio11
Now I'm not exactly a suave Casanova, but I have learned that introducing
myself as "Hiya, I'm Patrick and I just got shot down by that girl over
yonder. What's your name?" is not a way to endear myself to people. I think
this insight is probably transferable to business.

Your application is what it has accomplished, not what it hasn't. Highlight
accordingly.

~~~
gojomo
True, and I wouldn't recommend leading with "YC reject" if you're _courting_
an investor or customer.

But teams asking for help/feedback from peers, here, benefit by demonstrating
earnestness and tenacity. They don't have to impress by selective disclosure.
Acknowledging, without obsessing over, the prior YC rejection at the same time
as releasing other positive news heightens the emotional impact of that news.

Founding myths often highlight the many rejections that had to be overcome.
For a team that's really on a mission, it's never too early to start sending
the message: nothing stops us.

~~~
patio11
I think working applications and paying customers demonstrate earnestness and
tenacity more effectively than tales of the string of failures you've suffered
to this point.

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vaksel
Good post, people get hung up too much on being validated by others. Do your
own thing, and stop worrying so much

~~~
mishmash
And not hung up enough on letting the market validate their idea.

~~~
jimbokun
Which, ironically, is a different form of being validated by others. It's just
that getting validated by the market can lead to worthwhile side effects, such
as financial independence.

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mannicken
I have an idea. How about we organize our own startup group, for sharing
information, support, dinners, basically all that YC does but without money
and giving away percentage? Also without PG (unless he might want to :).

PS. I am not YC reject, I never applied since I don't have a co-founder.

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jacoblyles
For us, we were at idea stage when we applied to YC. The application process
has motivated us to start something whether or not we get into one of the
'combinators this summer (some decisions are still pending). That's an awesome
kick in the pants. Applying to YC was a great opportunity to find out which of
my peers were interested in startups and to get started on something. We're
both still in school, so we have good circumstances to get going regardless of
the decision.

------
dotmatrix
Guys- I think being an entrepenuer is seriously what matters. Once you make
money what do you do with it? Spending it gets boring so you start a new
challenge. What's important is that you stick with what your doing and be the
best at it! I also think at the least applying for Y combinator is at the bare
minimum an exercise that is good for understanding your product better.

------
tlrobinson
I agree with most of what you said, but I think this belongs as a comment in
the rejection post.

~~~
kyro
I figured there'd have been less of a chance of someone submitting one of the
above posts to have come across what I wrote as a comment than as a thread by
itself.

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satyajit
Your users will tell you whether you are creating something of value for them
or not, YC isn't always capable of seeing that! So trust your users, in
yourself, and move on!

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xenoterracide
what I'd like to know is (yes I've been rejected again) is should I consider
organizing now... or continue coding and again hope to get picked up by yc in
the next round (yes I know I don't need yc). they say the don't like dealing
with existing paperwork. I'd also like to know if anyone has seen YC fund
something that wasn't a web application.

~~~
swombat
As kyro said, being accepted or rejected by YC should not be a determining
event when it comes to "should I continue". Yes, you should continue, in the
same way you would have if YC had never existed.

~~~
xenoterracide
the question is not one of 'should continue' it's one of should I go out and
organize and start building the legal entity now, or should I code for 6 more
months and try again.

~~~
swombat
That I can't answer, since I'm not familiar with the legal kerfuffle
surrounding incorporation in the US. In the UK, incorporating takes about an
hour and costs £50, but I hear that it's a lot harder and more onerous in the
US.

~~~
xenoterracide
I don't know about incorporation, but an llc takes about as much in the US.
it's not really an easy question generally. I'll probably end up waiting until
closer to a 'production' release

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fmora
I got rejected and frankly it didn't bother me one bit. I don't need the
money. I have enough. I just wanted the feedback of experienced mentors. Also,
I though it would be a great way to meet highly motivated individuals who I
could probably bring into my startup since right now I'm flying solo.

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hajrice
I actuallly think that the YC rejects aint a bad idea. We could all work
togather there like we would if we got accepted. I mean that would be really
cool. We could prepare ourselves and stuff. Generally, we'd be a huge team
working on different projects.

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afri-silicon
Me, I have already recieved my rejection (i prefer "unsuccessful")
notification, but I can assure you, i will push on. Though honestly, the
opportunity for YC would have been welcome.

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csbartus
who needs today founding & vcs to start up ???

