
Acquisition Offer and Y Combinator Application - aliomrani
Hi, 
We like to apply for Y combinator next month, but we also have started two acquisitions offer talks which can take up to four to six months.<p>So we wonder should we mention this fact in our application? Does it have a negative impact on our application?<p>Also, we have NDA with those companies, so we can name them.
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pryelluw
Acquisition offer talks should not be taken seriously unless the interested
party is willing to put something in writing. That also includes some sort of
financial benefit to you in the case the deal falls through.

I would not take offers without such conditions seriously.

In regards to YC, how can joining an accelerator that opens a valuable
business network be anything but a benefit?

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snisarenko
I want to add to this comment. Previous HN discussions on acquisition have
talked about asking for a non-refundable negotiation fee (a certain percentage
of your approximate valuation). Acquisition is a distraction, and in a lot of
cases falls through. You need to make sure the other side is serious about the
aquisition

Found the HN thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22013700](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22013700)

And the related article [https://baremetrics.com/blog/i-almost-sold-
baremetrics-for-5...](https://baremetrics.com/blog/i-almost-sold-baremetrics-
for-5m)

~~~
aliomrani
Great Point. Thanks.

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WnZ39p0Dgydaz1
It signals that you are looking to sell early, which is the exact opposite of
what YC and VCs are looking for, which are startups that try to go big to
create outsized returns. Don't mention it.

That being said, there is a conflict of interest here that you may want to
think about more deeply. Trying to sell a company while also applying for
accelerators? What do you want, build a high-growth startup or cash out asap?
Both are valid, but you may be unhappy with your decision of joining an
accelerator if all you want to do is make a quick buck.

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muzani
Related:
[http://www.paulgraham.com/corpdev.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/corpdev.html)

"It's usually a mistake to talk to corp dev unless (a) you want to sell your
company right now and (b) you're sufficiently likely to get an offer at an
acceptable price. In practice that means startups should only talk to corp dev
when they're either doing really well or really badly."

I think it's fine to mention this. VCs appreciate having as much data as
possible. Hiding data that hurts your application makes you come across as
shady.

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relaunched
This is a huge distraction, unless you want to sell, now. Otherwise, I think
you are a little confused about what YC is looking for. At best, acquisition
talks are social proof, but you can't focus on growth and diligence. Also, it
s teams you don't want to be a big business.

So, you're going to broadcast that you aren't committed to going big, nor are
you focused on a building a product that people love. That's not a great way
to approach YC.

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codingdave
I can't speak for what impact it would have on a YC application, but I can say
that acquisition talks are exactly that - talk. Don't make business decisions
on the assumption that talks will turn into anything more than just talk.

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aliomrani
Thanks, I got the point about how mentioning it can show us an unambitious
team.

My main concern was around if we were not transparent.

