

Ask HN: Applying to YC with a product competing a YC company - sanketsaurav

We have just passed out of college, and have built a B2B product which is in direct competition to a YC company. Our product has got really good traction in two months, with at least 8-10 big companies using it in private beta.<p>We want to be a part of YC and thinking of applying for W15 batch. Would it be a good idea? Is there a policy that prevents YC to accept companies in the same domain?
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patio11
YC has the exact opposite of that policy. They'll fund competitive companies.
Numerous examples exist.

I would be prepared for the question "What do you understand about this that
$COMPANY does not?", but you should expect them to ask that about the industry
leader first, rather than about a startup with a market share measured in
basis points, which describes the overwhelming majority of startups (YC funded
or otherwise).

I would also be prepared to have people, perhaps including the YC folks and
perhaps not, tell you "You're not actually in competition with them."

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sanketsaurav
Thanks for clearing this out. This is also mentioned in one of their FAQs.

The companies who are our private beta customers have been using the other
company's product (and a few others in the market) for long, and they were
dissatisfied. We sat down with at least 15-20 of them and figured out what was
the reason. We think we have "What do you understand about this that $COMPANY
does not?" figured out. And the product has been very well received.

Actually, we ourselves think we are not in competition with them, because
although we are trying to solve the same problem, our approach is starkly
different from theirs. So, we're prepared for that as well. :)

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loumf
You compete with someone if you are substitutable (customers choose one of
you, not both), not because you do it a different way.

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akurland
You should definitely apply. In my batch there was a company in the same space
as mine, we don't compete directly but it's pretty close and certainly could
down the road. They were very good about it.

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perphywoo
Peter Thiel on monopoly and competition is inspiring. Just in case you missed
this

