

Ask YC alumni/HN: Please advise on strategy. - csillag

We have applied for S11, but we were not invited for interview. (Our product has just reached pre-alpha stage for the submission deadline.)<p>We think we have what (according to YC) is the most important to build a successful startup: we (the founders) get stuff done, we have the brains, we have a great friendship, and are used to working together.<p>However, we are not that great in selling ourselves (or our stuff), and we suspect that this might have been one of the main reasons we did not get in this time. (Of course this might be just wishful thinking: it's also entirely possible that we are simply not good enough, but since in this case, we are doomed anyway, we are planning for the other possibility.)<p>Now we need to decide the strategy for the next steps. We see several possible courses of action:<p>A) Progress with development in our spare time (with no funding), and retry YC for W12.<p>B) Try to get an other mentor/investor, possibly from Europe. (This would probably exclude us from future YC batches.)<p>C) Put the project on hold, and try to get a (developer) job in the Bay Area. Then move there, and (while working on a different project, for someone else) try to do some networking. Apply for YC W12. (The rationale for this plan is this: we are based in Eastern Europe (not the best place for startups, anyway), and we don't really know anybody in the Bay Area, or in the startup world, in general. Changing this might help us seeing ourselves with your eyes, and thus presenting ourselves better. Developing our English would not hurt either.)<p>D) Something else.<p>What do you think would be best course of action?<p>Thank you for your help.
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HardyLeung
You should not base your strategy on eventually getting accepted into YC.
There are just too many applications and the acceptance rate is very low. The
majority of the applications were rejected, and I am sure many are very good.
YC is just one route, and if you are willing to take YC out of the equation,
A/B/C/D are all doable and the best route really depends on your situation
(how much do you believe in your startup, can you bootstrap, do you need
coaching/funding).

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citizenkeys
Keep-a-goin'!

Start by reading all of these: <http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html>

Then study all the YC companies, which I have listed on my site:
<http://ycuniverse.com/ycombinator-companies.php>

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abbasmehdi
You're in a tight spot, but don't count on YC. To feel better let me tell you
this, in 2012 or 13 if you look at the entire startup landscape most
successful startups will have not gone through YC, just like the year before,
and the year before, and the year before... I hope you are one of the
companies we talk and read about in 2013 :)

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triviatise
Just because you are not "good" enough to get into YC does not mean you are
doomed. I have many friends who have started companies that make >10M year
that would have zero shot of getting into YC. YC is great for many reasons,
but is not a prerequisite to business success.

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revorad
What's your startup?

