
Y Combinator Will Now Accept Late Applications - pg
http://ycombinator.posterous.com/y-combinator-will-now-accept-late-application
======
skennedy
Does this also mean that applications that do not get accepted under the
initial deadline can re-apply with a new idea? If so, will the submission
process be able to recognize this as "new" so it is given a fresh review by YC
rather than viewing it as an "update" to an existing application?

~~~
pg
Hrm, I should have known you lot would think of unanticipated ways to use this
option. That wasn't the original intention, and if everyone did that we'd be
so swamped with repeat applications that we probably wouldn't be able to read
them all. How about if I add a feature for people to update an application
that was submitted by the deadline, and we'll make a pass through those too?

~~~
skennedy
Sounds like another time consuming commitment on top of your ever growing list
of commitments. How far do you scale?

~~~
pg
Actually all I have to do is change the software. Harj is going to monitor the
late applications.

<http://ycombinator.posterous.com/welcome-harj>

~~~
jackowayed
To better get the "seriously, apply on time if at all possible" idea across,
I'd emphasize that harj is monitoring late apps.

"If you apply on time, all 4 YC partners will definitely read your
application. If you apply late, our employee will skim through it to see if it
looks promising, and only if he thinks it does will any of us even see it."

~~~
ErrantX
For some that might actually be an advantage.

Think: you _know_ who will initially vet your application (as opposed to the
normal process) so you can think how to hook him in. And if you successfully
do so your now "recommended" to one of the partners.

Could be an advantage for a smart thinking founder :)

~~~
rottencupcakes
pg could correct me on this if i'm wrong, but i get the impression that harj
is already vetting all the applications.

~~~
Harj
no, everyone on the team reviews the apps. i'm just contacting groups that
seem interesting but i want to have some more information about. if you
applied early you had a higher chance of being contacted, which is an
advantage since you have an extra opportunity to impress.

~~~
chrischen
I'm just wondering, if we don't get contacted and we applied early, is that a
bad sign?

~~~
Harj
no don't read anything into it, there are only so many applicants I can reach
out to. there's almost certainly far more that I haven't looked at yet than
ones I've looked at and decided not to contact.

~~~
nlabs
Whew. I got really upset when I heard another group that has my same idea was
contacted by you and I wasnt. Thanks for clarifying.

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johnrob
I think what you've really done here is change the deadline from March 3rd to
"right before the program starts". Sure, applying earlier is better than
later, but that was already the case.

~~~
pg
I wouldn't want people to think that. Actually it is going to be much harder
to get a late application accepted. We'll dutifully process all the regular
applications in batch as usual, whereas we probably won't look that closely at
late applications unless we see something exceptional.

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gprisament
Does this mean that by pushing the deadline earlier they: \- Didn't get enough
applications? \- Didn't get enough quality applications?

Or am I reading too much into this?

~~~
pg
No, the number of applications doesn't seem to have decreased. We decided to
do this back in Jan when we moved the application deadline earlier, because
there's now a 3 month gap between the application deadline and when the cycle
starts, and we know from experience that when people start startups, they
don't always know they're going to 3 months beforehand.

~~~
m0th87
Why not just have more than two cycles per year? Is it because there's a lot
of work that has to be done during off-seasons, or is it arbitrary?

~~~
pg
We've thought about it. We may one day. But there is some stuff that usually
happens between cycles, like organizing Startup School. Plus we need some time
off. During the YC cycle we are very busy, like the startups themselves are,
because time is so compressed.

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fizx
I assume that the bar will be (much?) higher for late applicants. I think this
is a way to make sure that YC doesn't miss out on the next Facebook. When the
bulk of returns are made on the outliers, this makes sense.

------
cwilson
It's also curious that the iPad application RFS was released 3 days ago and
presented an extremely tight deadline on applying with that in mind. Now there
is plenty of time to apply if you've got the iPad in mind for YComb.

------
maxklein
Someone take this idea and apply: iPad Software that mums can use to do some
elementary diagnoses on the various illnesses that their children can get, get
to talk to other people about it and recommend doctors/medicines.

Or how about this: iPad software that contains the instruction manuals for
like every electronic device ever (TVs etc).

Or the simplest, yet best of all: iPad software that, after you weigh
yourself, you tap once on it to say how much you weigh. Over the course of the
day, it tells you when to stop eating to reduce weight. After a meal, you tap
what you just ate (chicken wings) and it adds to your calories.

If I were applying for YC I'd go for that 3rd one. Feel free to use these
ideas, I'm not going to make them myself.

~~~
kirubakaran
Why can't these be webapps? Are there any advantages in making these as native
iPad apps?

~~~
cj
Not everyone lives at their computer. It's more convienent to tap in what you
eat at the kitchen table with the iPad rather than walk to a computer.

~~~
icey
HTML 5 is supported on the iPad, you can install an application that looks
pretty native (including local storage) that doesn't have to go through the
crazy Apple approval process. Neven Mrgan made a game in HTML5 that
illustrates how well this works: <http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/257187093/pie-
guy>

------
DanielBMarkham
Very interesting, Paul. Hope the experiment works.

Staging all the funding opps is a great idea, but as you point out, it sucks
to have to wait six months. I hope this makes for a good compromise for
everybody concerned.

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pmjordan
This is a pretty interesting development. I'm wondering how YC will handle
rejections now - when you know you want to interview someone, that's pretty
straightforward. There are probably plenty of definite "no"s, too. Not having
the hard deadline will surely tempt you into watching the progress of startups
that you're undecided on for a while before making a decision, a bit like the
"big" VC courting ritual. (though considering PG's past comments on the VC
funding process, I'm assuming it won't be as frustrating for the applicants)

~~~
pg
We're not organized enough to watch the progress of so many applicants. If
we're slow to respond it will probably just be old fashioned slackness.

------
SandB0x
I want a smart alarm clock that knows that where I've got to be in the morning
and wakes me up earlier if the roads are blocked or there are major delays on
the train.

~~~
speek
<http://getzazu.com> :-)

~~~
AaronGerry
That sounds like a great app. I'd definitely use it!

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nitrogen
I wish I would've seen that the application window was opened sooner, so I
wouldn't be one of those last-minute applications. That's what I get for
thinking the HN front page would keep me up to date on YC activities ;). I'll
be subscribing to the YC blog RSS feed now...

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rubyrescue
Is there a correlation between number of follow-up questions and on-site
interviews? Is there a time window (just before/just after the deadline) where
more follow-up questions are typically asked?

edit - clarity

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Roridge
Does the 13th of March still stand for all those who made the deadline?

~~~
pg
Yes.

~~~
Roridge
Cool, thanks PG... roll on next Saturday :)

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JimBastard
I really wanted to apply for this, but the project I'm working on doesn't
really require any funding at this point. Also, I'm based in NYC.

~~~
JoshTriplett
If you have an Internet-based business and don't have any particular emphasis
on your location ("helps you navigate the local subway"), then "based in NYC"
means very little; you could always relocate for at least a summer.

As for "doesn't really require any funding", the money represents the least
important reason to work with Y Combinator. We didn't apply because we thought
$17k would make the difference between our business succeeding or failing. We
applied because we want the business guidance, connections, meetings,
resources, investor days, and the opportunity to work on our project full-time
distraction-free.

So, really, apply. :)

