
Ask HN: YC rejection - golubevpavel
Just got rejected with http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.appodeal.com&#x2F;, mobile ad revenue optimizer.<p>I applied with the following video:
https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=DdR_2AODciE&amp;feature=youtu.be<p>Even though we are very close to break even and have a verified business model and growing fast, it did not work out.<p>I guess single founder is one of the reasons.<p>&quot;adtech&quot; I imagine, could be another reason.<p>May be I just did not do well on the video.<p>Anyway, would love to hear feedback from the community and will continue to grow the company.
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angersock
The only feedback you need is from your customers--everything else is just
bullshit and navel-gazing. Unless pg or sama is going to cut your company a
check (and your rejection suggests that they won't), their approval or
acceptance shouldn't matter to you one iota. That you didn't get into YC
doesn't matter, and doesn't reflect poorly on you or your business.

Get back to work. :)

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golubevpavel
Well, I believe it is worth it to stop talking to customers and coding for a
moment and try to analyze, why the heck you did not get approved to YC.

I'm not upset, actually it's a good thing that I don't have to give out 7% of
my company for $15k. But nevertheless, worth it to analyze.

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reviyou
it's no longer 15k for 7%, isn't it? it's 120k

no sane developer would trade his idea he spent several months working on for
just 15k, even if it's YC. That's not how investor's market is right now.

~~~
golubevpavel
I was not aware of that :)

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reviyou
sorry, I don't think it makes you feel any better :)

but hey, make a first million, have a successful exit - next time apply with a
billion dollars idea - they'll take you seriously!!

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golubevpavel
Frankly speaking, this is my second rejection to YC. In 2013 we applied as a
team of 4 with a secure mobile instant messenger.

We did get an invitation to the interview, however did not pass it. I guess
last time we did not convince them, the our team could execute. Official
response from Paul, however, stated, that we lacked a well-done marketing
plan.

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petervandijck
You lacked a marketing plan or you lacked a road to market? Do you remember
how it was phrased? (Just curious)

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reviyou
Yes single founder is definitely an issue for them, However I am surprised
they didn't even invite you to the interview. Are you currently in US? Could
be a reason.

Anyway looks like you are doing great, if you ever want to do something
together - let me know, I'd love to know more about how many people you guys
have and for how long have you been operating etc.

I am getting a sense that you either should have a strong founders team or a
lot of traction\revenue with an opportunity to become very big. In your case
maybe having a team of people also "too late for YC", and you can become
successful on your own.

I also heard that they don't like video made of pieces, who knows what some
alumni might not like when he sees your application.

Regards,Alexandr Alex@reviyou.com

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golubevpavel
Thanks for the feedback. I would love to learn more about your product. Lmk if
you want to meet for a coffee in SF downtown.

Yeah, I live & work in San Francisco at Rackspace co-working space on Folsom.
It's a great place to be. Definitely recommend to everyone.

Always glad to share about myself & Appodeal.

I've been working on it for almost a year now.

There is a team of 12 super strong developers in Russia & Ukraine, that have
been working with me for 4 years already. Very loyal. I myself have a strong
technical background and remote teams management experience.

Business & sales team consists of me, my operating director and a first sales
guy we are going to hire next week and we are all here in SF. So we have a
pretty strong tech team (because we don't compete for developers with
Google/Facebook). And we have business presence in SF as well.

Traction is pretty good too. We've launched in January and already have $200K
monthly revenues and some net revenues as well. Each day we receive 15-25 new
sign ups and retention is close to 100%. We are about to launch aggressive
marketing this month.

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shortoncash
How did you get the revenue you have today?

I'm just curious how you started this thing and developed it.

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sidcool
I like your idea. But sadly I am in no position to help you. I wish you good
luck!!!

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reviyou
Also even if you have a cofounder - it really matters for YC what your guys
accomplished, strong technical experience doesn't matter much, i believe they
are looking for stanford\mit grads or somebody with a strong\successful
business experience so that they can make a safe bet.

~~~
atroyn
YC is not in the business of 'safe bets'. You need only look at the
backgrounds of many of YC's most successful companies to see how wrongheaded
that perspective is.

Full disclosure: Several friends have done YC, none are Stanford/MIT, all
first time founders.

