
Tell HN: YC Application Responses Are Out - fearless
YC has started sending out invitations for interviews and rejection emails...so check your email and your spam folder.<p>Congratulations to everyone who got invited to interview.<p>And everyone else, remember, YC can help you get to where you want to go faster, but isn't everything. Don't give up and you will make it anyway.
======
notdarkyet
We received our rejection as well. As much as you try to tell yourself say it
is not a big deal, it still hurts. You question much of what you are doing. I
have been grinding on many unsuccessful projects for a while now, and it's
hard to stay positive.

The funny thing is, we had no intention to apply to YC originally, but once we
did, you start to dream about how it could change your life. How that might be
the defining boost and help you need to succeed.

The nice thing about cofounders is they help you stay positive. We are
currently working on game related software, which is not exactly your typical
YC company, but we thought it was a decent enough concept. We plan to keep
pushing forward, maybe try a kickstarter.

Unfortunately this means I will have to go back to getting a job again, with
$36.43 in my bank account, I pretty much am on empty...

~~~
Tzunamitom
Woke up this morning to a rejection email. The good news is that this means I
have successfully achieved my New Year's Resolution of failing more. The bad
news is that it doesn't make failing any easier!

We didn't even hear about Y-Combinator until the week before, but I'd echo
notdarkyet's comments about how you start to dream. Either way, the process
has already been a very worthwhile exercise, without which I would t have
discovered Hacker News, so there are a lot of positives to take away.

Unlike notdarkyet I go back to a very well paying job, but that's a curse in
itself because it makes it far too easy to become complacent and comfortable.

I guess I just need to find the next thing to fail at until next round :-)

~~~
shimms
Just to put it out there - why not continue on the rejected idea?

YCombinator are good, but not infallible. Just because they reject your
application doesn't guarantee that your idea doesn't have legs.

~~~
Tzunamitom
Thanks for the suggestions - we absolutely will be doing. Though I didn't
apply to Y-Combinator because I thought the idea needed validation, or because
I needed the money, I applied for two main reasons:

1\. I feel the programme represents the best possible start for the company,
the buzz of being around so many super smart people with a constant focus on
delivery would help make it a success.

2\. The programme would provide a framework for the transition we need to make
from a corporate job to startup world. No matter what anyone tells you, it's
extremely difficult to give a startup enough attention when you're doing it
"on-the-side" of a big four corporate job due to the sheer number of hours
(let alone the regulations). It's also very hard to leave a six-figure tax-
free salary at 27 under current economic conditions without a framework for a
transition.

I recognise that 2. is a complete excuse regardless of its merits. Given that
I don't want to be sitting around at 70 wondering why I never did what I truly
wanted to, I now have a lot of thinking to do about where to take this - i.e.
take the plunge and self fund; minimise workload to bare minimum to find some
time to work on the side; find a startup in Silicon Valley to join to move in
the right direction.

------
citizenkeys
You won't hear from the applicants that got interviews. PG manually deletes
their "we got an interview" posts to prevent pre-interview poaching by other
investors/companies.

97% of applicants get rejected. 3% of applicants get an interview. You can
read all about it, along with about 30 blog posts of interview experiences,
at:

<http://ycuniverse.com/interviewees.php>

~~~
EREFUNDO
I thought around 10% get interviews and 3% gets into the program?

~~~
citizenkeys
3% and 97% are the only numbers I've ever seen written by Paul Graham himself.
PG has also informed me that I'm wrong about the lack of reason for acceptance
posts on HN. Apparently, such posts get deleted because of the large quantity
of HN submissions that would result if YC allowed such posts.

------
chrisacky
We just received our rejection letter. Major shame, but wasn't at all
unexpected. Based on Analytics and MixPanel our demo we set up wasn't actually
tried, so I guess the takeaway from this was that the application wasn't as
strong as we thought. Even so, the entire process of writing the application
was very rewarding. It really did help focus our direction into something
concrete.

Incidentally, since it's all over, here's what we posted for "tell us
something interesting". (I think that was the question). I posted how 1/998001
is an awesome number!

<http://rentivo.com/ycombinator/divide>

(Perhaps I shouldn't have shown the PHP code! Ha. It's hard to make something
so hacky not look so ugly).

~~~
yaz
My demo wasn't tried either (I checked everyday), nor did I have more than 4
pageviews of my video, most of which are mine.

Good luck and don't take it hard.

~~~
huhtenberg
Have it at all occurred to you guys that some people might be running AdBlock
and alike, so MixPanel/GA scripts won't even have a change to load? Hm.

~~~
msbii
Our demo was viewed 4 times yet got rejection. We were very confident and
feeling pretty bad now :(

~~~
chrisacky
I wouldn't worry. It's not changed a single thing for us. YC is just the
lamborghini. We are still going to get exactly where we need to go in our
trusty wagon, we just might of got their quicker in the Lambo.

Ultimately, I don't think anything should change for anyone who got rejected.

------
nickler
Yeah...got our rejection.

Probably the nicest rejection letter I've ever seen, YC is definitely astute
at winning hearts and minds.

We are getting involved in another incubator however it would have been great
validation to get into YC. The caveat one has to hold onto is that it's your
customers and users you have to be validated by, and not YC.

Great process, just building the application helped to develop insights into
many of our assumptions, and product market fit. I'd encourage everyone to
apply just for that reason.

~~~
movingahead
Completely agree. The application form makes you think really hard about what
you are doing. Every startup founder should try those questions to understand
his work better.

------
sudonim
Keep things in perspective. Getting in to YC != success. It's one data point.

Success = Success.

Get your customers to love you. Get people to pay you for your product /
service. Be better tomorrow than you are today.

If you were doing all those things when you applied, that 1 data point doesn't
a failure make.

------
katiekitay
Not accepted. Our video got 15 views, does that mean anything? Heh.

Rejection letter:

"We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding. Please don't
take it personally. The applications we receive get better every funding
cycle, and since there's a limit on the number of startups we can interview in
person, we had to turn away a lot of genuinely promising groups.

<http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html>

Another reason you shouldn't take this personally is that we know we make lots
of mistakes. It's alarming how often the last group to make it over the
threshold for interviews ends up being one that we fund. That means there are
surely other good groups that fall just below the threshold and that we miss
even interviewing.

We're trying to get better at this, but the hard limit on the number of
interviews means it's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on
to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us
an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes."

------
thebear
It seems that a lot of applicants didn't have their demo sites looked at. This
together with what I've seen on PG's Office Hour videos leads me to believe
that YC is somewhat idea-centric: if we like your idea, we'll look at your
potential for execution. Else, you're out. Needless to say, there is nothing
wrong with that. If that method works for YC in terms of success rate vs. time
and effort spent, then that's how they should be doing it. Still, it might be
worth considering the following example. Suppose that 25 years ago, someone
would have come to you with this idea: I'll start a furniture store chain. But
instead of shipping the furniture to people's homes, I'll give them a
cardboard box with the pieces, a couple of nuts and bolts, and a wrench
inside. There can be little doubt as to how that idea would have been rated:
ludicrous. But if you had visited a model store and looked at all the neat
furniture, not to mention the fancy bedspreads and tableware and what not,
then took home a chair in pieces, assembled it, sat in it... You may not have
predicted that there were going to be newspaper headlines like "IKEA will
continue to hire off-duty Sheriff's deputies to help with traffic control for
several more weeks." But you may well have predicted some measure of success
for this offbeat idea.

------
alex3mis
The funny thing with a rejection is that it makes you try harder. If you set
your mind to success then no YC or anybody can bring you down. Really looking
forward to our 1-year anniversary email to them!!

Go local, go dopios.com

------
mdanger
Nonapplicant: are the accepted not allowed to say that they've been accepted,
or all they all too busy celebrating to post here?

~~~
tylermenezes
citizenkeys says no - <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3850693> \-
although I've never seen it written anywhere.

No one's been accepted yet ;)

------
elamadej
Yay! We're in (for the interview at least!)

~~~
adahm
Congrats! One of the first to post as far as I can tell.

~~~
elamadej
Thanks!

------
bicknergseng
Rejected. Not overly surprising given our team's lack of wow factor and demo.
We had only heard of and decided to shoot for YC a few weeks before the
deadline, and it took on the same mystical meaning for us as some others have
mentioned. It wasn't until a week or so that I really came to grips with how
slim the odds are. It was disheartening, not because it meant there was going
to be more work to do before something like YC could really be possible, but
because it meant we wouldn't be quitting our jobs and making it happen right
now. Part of the reason is the obvious financial obstacle; student loans are
expensive and the Bay is the most expensive place to live in the country. The
other part is a kind of vindication. We believe in our idea, but there's a
difference between believing in it yourselves and having the kind of
validation that YC provides. It's far easier to go all in when the house tells
you you have a winning hand. The greatest disappointment for us is that it
will take many months for us to get going instead of a summer.

The end result for us is that we continue to build, but at a slower pace.
We're positive and determined, and probably more focused for having gone
through the YC application. We'll be hacking on it nights and weekends, we'll
see where we can go on our own or with a different angel, and if we think it's
right, we hope to be in the running with the rest of you for YC W13. So until
then, ladies and gents, good night and good luck.

------
lucasgonze
I'm sorry to get the rejection. Most of all it made me kick myself for wasting
time on low-probability bets like this. I should have spent the time on things
with a better chance of paying off.

------
rcvassallo
I applied as a solo founder with no idea, so I knew a rejection letter was
inevitable. In all fairness I am not quite ready to build a company but I took
the opportunity to apply with no idea anyway.

I currently work as a sysadmin for a 1bn bank, but developing software is my
passion and what I really want to do is start my own tech company.

I'm taking small steps. I've completed 2 bonus projects for my bank to build
useful web-apps. I work on my own time & maintain IP ownership to my software
so you could say I just need to start selling to other businesses.

Applying to YC is another small step to help push myself in the startup
direction. My goal for the application was just to get my name in front of
someone at YC. If my video was watched then I consider it a smashing success.

~~~
Pimp4life
I am currently solo with an idea.

lord_nolan at about dot me

Let's talk.

------
scottannan
Getting rejected from YC sucks.

But don't get discouraged. There is a common meme that startups need to work
'til they puke to "make it" (check out this site:
<http://blastingstation.com>). Plenty of startups were successful by working
hard, staying focused, and persisting.

Remember, as a startup founder, your only job is to find and motivate great
talent; set a clear vision; and make sure you don't run out of money / time.
Stay focused, set milestones, and persist.

Also, you should check out StartupPlays.com <\- it's an online accelerator
with modules to help you grow your startup by some of the same mentors in the
YC program.

------
bizodo
Question is whether people would rather get a rejection letter that actually
showed who reviewed app, if even at all. From what I have read there are so
many applications it isn't even possible for main guys to review and ones that
do get reviewed are through referrals. I think it would provide solace that
only an intern read your app so don't take it too personally. The dream of YC
is great but don't forget that 25k and access to mentors is attainable through
some creative emails and networking. Attend events and above all don't b
afraid to ask.

------
Pimp4life
I didn't have my shit together, so it's perfectly understandable why. No team
(just had my 2nd Co-Founder jump ship due to commitment issues, now it's just
me again), no prototype.

Now I'm going to ask for financial support from relatives. Pay for hosting,
contract work to freelancers.

I need a developer Co-Founder, and a designer Co-Founder. Feel free to contact
me if interested. lord_nolan at about.me

And by "Co-Founder", I mean fully-committed for equity. I don't have money,
and I do receive some, it won't be very much. Money is for contractors and
freelancers. and hosting, legal fees, etc.

------
phzbOx
I haven't applied this year but I really hate that rejection email. I hope one
day YC could man up and tell why it was refused rather then giving a "You
don't need to get in to create a successful business" bullshit. Even if it's
only one sentence.

I feel like not doing so is really lacking respect for the teams who put hours
filling it up. Add on top of that the fact that some demos are not even tried.

As some people like to say, applications are only for the people who didn't
find a better way to get in.

~~~
tmh88j
There are thousands of people who apply. They can't possibly find the time to
reply to all of them. Maybe a few of the borderline ones, but in reality you
can't expect them to spend weeks responding to everyone.

~~~
joncalhoun
And on top of that - most of the borderline projects would probably get an
interview if they didn't have so many applications, so even those would be
impossible to give a clear reason as to why they weren't picked aside from
saying "we thought X other projects were more promising"

------
helen842000
For those of you rejected but determined to carry on regardless, would any of
you be interested in contributing an interview/blog post?

I think a blog with regular updates from teams, showing their progress &
determination.

I think it would be great to build a bit of an YC anti-portfolio and showcase
the progress of the folks that just made it happen anyway.

YC admit themselves that they miss out on some great teams.

I'm sure it would be a great community also.

------
llaxsll
We got rejected :). We didn't build our startup for YC, though. In fact the YC
application was just a super great opportunity for us to have a 'checkpoint'
at our startup. So, I think this was great. Good luck to everybody else! Check
out <http://eatfindr.com/> if you'd like to find out more about what we
applied with. ShowHN coming soon. :)

~~~
frankdenbow
I know so many people with allergies that need this app. Will certainly pass
it along. Throw a like button on that page ;-)

~~~
llaxsll
ok, page is like-able now. Thanks frankdenbow for suggesting this fairly
obvious miss on our part :)

~~~
frankdenbow
Done. Looks funky in safari on iPad btw

------
jot
I'm currently judging applications for the next round of Start-Up Chile. It's
given me a very good understanding of why it's almost impossible to give a
reason for why an application is rejected, especially with the borderline
ones.

What we are doing is trying to give a sentence or two of feedback suggesting
how an application could be made stronger and/or advice on how we think they
should proceed.

------
sheikhimran1
I got rejected too :) Thank you for rejecting me because this will only make
me stronger and more focused on my vision.

Remember, Steve Jobs got rejected by many people at first, before he got his
first investment.

My startup is Jawoco.com, search engine which will let you search the web via
social media recommendation.

Also have my web browser called Xtravo and the link can be found at jawoco.com

So who's applying for TechStars?

------
WarDekar
Just a question, did everyone get a rejection letter if you applied and
weren't accepted? I applied as a sole-founder and never got one. I know when I
tried submitting my application at first the server had issues or something
and I had to try again, but I was fairly certain it went through but never
received any e-mail one way or the other.

------
julianpye
20 video views and a few LI views from 'stealth startup in SF area' - We
haven't put a demo online until our patent app goes through the first stage.
The whole process was fun though - especially after posting the app we
realized how confusing everything sounded so we kind of expected a rejection.
Anyway, back to building the system :)

~~~
corywatilo
Did you post the video on Posterous? If so, just know the video count isn't
entirely accurate. It counts views to the parent site, as well as views in the
Posterous manager, so it's really hard to tell a hard count of _actual_ views.

~~~
julianpye
Basically the count minus my views was 30 - a few days after posting the page
showed the video directly, so deducting this I thought this may be the number.
However, we look freaky and have weird accents, so maybe our views were just
for amusement :)

------
nicklovescode
Could someone post their rejection letter? Didn't apply, but I'm curious what
it said given some of the responses here.

~~~
ayu
We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding. Please don't
take it personally. The applications we receive get better every funding
cycle, and since there's a limit on the number of startups we can interview in
person, we had to turn away a lot of genuinely promising groups.

<http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html>

Another reason you shouldn't take this personally is that we know we make lots
of mistakes. It's alarming how often the last group to make it over the
threshold for interviews ends up being one that we fund. That means there are
surely other good groups that fall just below the threshold and that we miss
even interviewing.

We're trying to get better at this, but the hard limit on the number of
interviews means it's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on
to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us
an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes.

Y Combinator Team

------
YeahIamtheITguy
Rejected as well, anyways three weeks before I didn't know about the
accelerator, but had an 'idea', gonna keep working on it. Didn't have my
expectations high but still, it is a blow,may be got a reality check
\----------> need to work hard and I supposedly will. anyways long way to
go,afterall I am just 17.

------
harscoat
_don't die, don't let your company die. That's the key_ Sam Altman advice to
Pebble watch when they were not successful at raising VC funding
[http://www.communitech.ca/vcs-took-a-pass-on-crowdfunded-
peb...](http://www.communitech.ca/vcs-took-a-pass-on-crowdfunded-pebble-
watch/)

------
sjtgraham
Rejected (No idea category)

I ran our application past several YC alumni who gave it a thumbs up, and some
of them even +1'd it behind the scenes. I thought our application was quite
impressive. Even that wasn't enough to get an interview.

Good luck to those of whom have been invited for interview, and of course
those whose haven't! :)

~~~
aptwebapps
How do you have an app but no idea? Did you make a cool app but you want to do
something else?

~~~
shimms
I think they meant YC Application not software application.

------
linrichard
Rejected as well, but I feel, Oh so good! Sorry to hear that so many people
got their dreams crushed. However, lets stop having a pity party and start
pivoting, building traction, and being bosses! Lets get educated and move on,
and by educated I mean check us out at www.coursegain.com ;P

~~~
tunnuz
Loved this ad :)

------
jchampagne
Got rejected as well, I agree re: how useful it would be to even get just a
sentence or half sentence. Maybe even just a round number, i.e. round 1
(intern-reviewed) or round 2, etc. Then you'd know if you got a 1 that your
application has a lot of problems in it, at least.

------
tunnuz
Got our rejection letter. That wasn't unexpected, but a bit sad: we had a
couple of access to our demo page which made us hope for the best. Anyway, for
us the application was a great opportunity to ask ourselves the right
questions.

------
bobsil1
Rejected. 4 video views. Brush your shoulders off :)

We're building a site that tells you what to buy: the best model of anything,
accurately, by crunching owner ratings. We'd love any feedback:

<http://daring.is>

Congrats to YC S12.

~~~
tylermenezes
Awesome idea. My guess is the business part is the weak spot, because from a
consumer perspective it seems like an easy sell to me.

~~~
bobsil1
Thanks! The monetization should be easier in shopping than many other areas
because it's just one step away from purchase.

Btw we're doing lots of fun machine learning stuff, let me know if you might
be up for interning here in Palo Alto. You can use the feedback link at the
bottom of the site.

~~~
tylermenezes
I should have put a disclaimer that I have no idea how much companies actually
make from being affiliates. I was just guessing that was their concern.

Thanks, but I actually work at eNotes.com right now and going to be doing a
startup with some friends. Always good to know, though :D ML is fun; when I
was in high school I worked for a company which made a product recommendation
engine called xPatterns and it was a lot of fun.

~~~
bobsil1
Affiliate links are a thin biz model. When you aggregate a bunch of buyers,
you can do much more than small referral fees :)

I'll check out xPatterns. Nice, good luck with the startup.

------
Znash
Rejected as well. My husband and I were trying YC first but would love to hear
about other options for our early stage startup. We live in the DC area if
anyone knows of any development options in the area, please share

~~~
tzm
Connect with these people: <http://www.meetup.com/DC-Tech-Meetup/>

------
dmvaldman
Rejected. I'd love to know what you others are building. Started an "Ask HN"
post here: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3850089>

------
program247365
Got rejected as well. Disappointing, but not giving up. Just the beginning.

------
zandit
OK so all of you who submitted the application on-time have received your
response email. Does anyone know when I should expect a response if I applied
late? Will I even get a response?

~~~
shimms
We haven't heard yet and were a late applicant too.

Not sure if we'll get a reply in time to make it over to the states (from
Australia), but the FAQ suggests that they will respond at some point:

"You can submit a late application up till the start of the summer 2012 YC
cycle in June, but we can promise nothing about how carefully we'll read it or
when we'll respond to you."

~~~
zandit
Yes, that does seem to imply that eventually we might get a response.

Thanks for pointing that out :)

~~~
jparkside
We applied late too. We heard about for the first time 4 days after the
deadline. I think we will be hearing something soon.

~~~
zandit
Any news? We haven't heard anything yet....

~~~
pg
We haven't read the late applications yet.

------
sbrother
Rejected. But the application process was worth it in itself - it forced us to
make concrete goals and discuss our plan going further in a deeper way than we
would have otherwise.

------
swlkr
I like that word rejection, it's got a ring to it. I have to admit, I'm a bit
more motivated now. I've got more to prove to myself every time I get rejected
from YC.

------
dangoldin
Hmm. I just realized that my email address in the profile wasn't completely
filled in (dangoldin@gmail vs @gmail.com). Wonder what I should do now...

------
jhnewhall
Rejected also. I would like the weak point of the application, so that i could
at least improve the application. Really, a oneliner would be enough.

~~~
tylermenezes
I think it would be manageable if they had a few generic templates. When they
reject the app, have some check boxes for "Don't see the profit model",
"Single founder", "Already exists", "Seems like too much of a 'startup idea'",
etc. Those could generate a paragraph in the email.

------
solnyshok
the questions asked in the application form were very useful, and led to
better understanding of own ideas. we, however, didn't start our project for
VCs, but for users... so rejection by YC is not bothering me as much as
getting traction. we are sms social network. <http://this.is.osom.me>

------
plukethep
Rejected, got some demo hits, but the demo needs a bit more work. Is it worth
sprucing it up and applying again next year?

------
ofaginny
ditto. but it was as expected. Being asemi technical and single founder, it
wasn't unexpected.

------
mituljain
our demo got looked at 4 times - but we were rejected after all! Oh well -
another time :)

~~~
zupa
sounds familiar. Exactly 4 times :)

~~~
bobsil1
Us three. Four views :)

------
Frolenarzt
Rejection. They not even watch our demo and video. Interesting.

~~~
RuggeroAltair
From what they explained that means that the application itself didn't
motivate them to open the demo/video. Sorry to hear.

------
adamnemecek
Rejected :/. Given the experience was useful.

------
taskstrike
We had around 2000 users, but we were still rejected by YC.

I wish they would give some kind of note on why people are rejected. This
would help budding entrepreneurs a lot more

