
What does a successful YC application look like? - geuis
I am really thinking hard about applying for this round. I'm curious though, what do the applications of successfully funded YC companies look like?
======
zasz
Even if people were willing to post their successful applications, I don't
thing pg would approve. That would encourage copying the successful-looking
applications and gaming the system.

But generally, he's looking for people who are smart, very determined, and
like to make things.

~~~
jerryji
"Even if people were willing to post their successful applications, I don't
thing pg would approve."

Would PG approve posting a few UNsuccessful applications of different level --
from amusing, to boring, to pretty close? -- guess people like to see those
just as much, I sure do, and am not merely joking here.

~~~
kirubakaran
Why would an unsuccessful applicant care about pg's approval? Won't s/he just
post it anywhere on the web if s/he so chooses? Why would even pg care?

------
dawie
PG of talks about what a successful application looks like.Just read his
stuff.

You basically have to prove that you are a great hacker and have a demo, ready
to go.

------
jpwagner
IMHO, this is not a college application. The biggest barrier is not "getting
in". Your CV will not be improved by a failed attempt to start a company for
15k. If you are serious about offering the product of your work to the world,
the application for ycombinator should not be intimidating and should be the
least of your worries. Quit "thinking hard" and attack that application.

------
unalone
A lot of YC alumni are willing to talk about this. I emailed one person to ask
him about an earlier application draft, and he helped me fix things up a lot.

The things that would come to mind (though mind you, I'm only an applicant at
this point as well):

* Stand out * Show you know what you're doing * Focus on what's important * Be confident in your idea and your people

------
thorax
We got interviewed last time. Our application was pretty durned long. I don't
know how they read it. They must skim them for the most part, focusing on the
things most important to them and looking for raised red flags.

I do know very much that the tone has changed a bit in the interview (or did
last time). They will ask a good bit about monetization. So your application
will get extra points if you can show very clearly how you eventually plan to
turn this into a concrete business.

~~~
minalecs
do the interviews occur prior to application cut off date or after ?

------
raquo
I am not PG, but just from the top of my head, I think the application should
at least show that:

\- You <em>understand</em> what you're building, who needs it and why

\- You care about this project (incl. that you have already started working on
it)

\- You are the kind of team who can pull this off (realistic, committed,
hackerish)

------
jwilliams
Best you can do (imho) - Take a look at the existing YC companies, their idea,
implementation and the team.

That's what YC is looking for; so the application just needs to be
representative of that.

------
rms
You should make the questions look easy.

