

The YC Rejection thread - nanexcool

Just got an email informing me of my rejection to YC this summer. Bummer.<p>I'm still going to go on and develop my idea. It's just going to take a little longer than I expected without the money.
======
froo
Well I'm going to throw a different idea out there. I applied to YC with a
friend last year, we were rejected.

It was a very difficult idea to pitch.

We thought our idea was the best thing since sliced bread and all of our
friends told us so (this should have been a warning sign... false positives)

We went on to building it anyway.

We got a version built, up and running in a couple months after initially
dragging our feet. It basically worked, but poorly - we never took into
account that battery life would be an issue on the phone app.

We got a little disheartened, started bickering and eventually the thing
failed - before we even launched.

Somehow we had gotten the idea in our head that we needed YC to be successful.
No, we needed a good idea and our idea was, at the time, not so good.

Not being accepted isn't the worst thing in the world. Everyone thinks their
idea is the best idea EVER... We sure did.

The partnership broke down as a result of us forging ahead anyway without
really looking at our product and only talking to people who only gave us
positive answers.

Anyway, moral of the story for us? Being rejected was the best thing that
could have happened for us.

I learned a lot about the other person during this process and also a lot
about myself. I'm not bulletproof.

On reflection, I also learned that being unwilling to discuss my idea openly
with others for fear of it being stolen was stupid. We would have discovered
flaws early on and saved us a lot of trouble.

I openly discuss my new idea with others now.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=502164>

Some people tell me it's stupid, I ask them why and we discuss it. Some others
tell me it's interesting, and we discuss it. Some tell me it's great and we
discuss it.

I refuse to accept simple answers now and discuss as many different aspects as
I can think up. I also appreciate other's perspectives on it.

This has also helped cement the idea in my head and I can pitch it relatively
easily now. I've come up with a solution to a problem, rather than having a
solution and looking for a problem.

Will I apply to YC again? Probably, I'm not sure. I've got a clearer head now
- not so caught up in the hype.

To reiterate, getting rejected is not the worst thing in the world. It's just
one avenue in the startup process. you should think of YC as a tool to help
you get where you want to be, rather than the destination.

------
sam_in_nyc
I wonder if all the rejection e-mails had the same text.

Mine started with "We're sorry" and ended with "Y Combinator Staff" and has
the following MD5: f459a7d636ac85cdcd680b135bcfc521

Edit: easy multi-line md5 here: <http://www.webhost.org/widgets/md5encrypter>

~~~
dthakur
OT: Did it bother anyone else that the site calling it an "MD5 Encrypter" with
the "Encrypt Data" button and all. Where is the decrypter?

~~~
catch23
Some poor soul probably "encrypted" all his important documents into tiny
little md5 strings that he now stores in his wallet.

------
unalone
Yep! Rejected!

We got our beta up and running this weekend, and we're fixing up bugs so we
can expand and planning our commercial launch, so it's not the worst thing in
the world. Better to get rejected at 18 when you've never done anything web-
related before than to get rejected for the same circumstances at an older
age.

Hopefully I'll see all of you posting about your launches on HN! I'm certain
I'll be posting in a month or so and I'd love to see everybody do the same.

~~~
silencio
Why is age such a bad thing :) I'm 20 and we also got rejected, but one of us
happens to be in her 50s and doesn't consider this the worst thing in the
world (or even, the worst thing to happen to our startup).

~~~
smidwap
Same here. We have a team of 20-year olds an one 52 year-old. The grandpa of
us bunch didn't see the same excitement in this opportunity as the young'uns
did. Rejection here as well...would have been a heck of a summer in San
Francisco, instead it will have to be an awesome 4 months in Bloomington, IN,
home of Indiana University!

~~~
dotmatrix
Age is seriously but a number. Who cares if your 18 or 52. In fact having a
dynamic team with experience people and young people is great. Our company is
run by a guy that is in his late 30s and the co founder is in his early 30s
and I can honestly say that a young guy couldnt do half the stuff these guys
can...

Sometimes age is totally a good thing :) And btw im 24 and on my second
startup so I beat you 18 year old shits.

~~~
smidwap
Correction: you haven't beaten the 18/19/20/whatever year-old shits...yet.
Give us a few years to be 24 :)

Age does matter. People of different age have different priorities, bottom
line. Our 52 year-old has children our age and is much less concerned with the
exciting opportunities engendered through YC and much more focused on just
getting the business off the ground with something to show for it.

~~~
dotmatrix
No, it really doesn't. And thats not true either, ive met plenty of maried and
with kids entrepreneurs that rock it! Dont hate, its totally uncool.

~~~
smidwap
Maybe if we were both more clear about the point we were trying to make, we
would agree :) Fact of the matter is that age isn't a sole determining factor
of one's entrepreneurial mindset, but it nevertheless plays a role, albeit
small or significant depending on the person. I've partnered with a mid-30's
guy who in the end wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities because he was in
the midst trying to get a job and feed his wife and son.

I'm now experiencing a partnership with a mid-50's guy. I'm working alongside
him and several others my age. What can I say? I am experiencing exactly what
I speak of right now. We have different personal goals but the beauty of it
all is that no matter our personal goals we are all headed in the same
direction.

So no hating here. Both young and old make for great entrepreneurs, just many
times with different personal goals. What exactly are we arguing?

------
dbul
As far as we're concerned, they've failed an IQ test. ;)

~~~
froo
I understand that you're probably angry, perhaps a little confused too - but
insulting the intelligence of people who have in the past proven that they are
anything but stupid, isn't going to earn you any brownie points.

I see YC as a tool to be used in helping your startup achieve it's goals,
there are many others out there of varying qualities - you shouldn't see it as
the destination of it.

Personally, I'd love to hear about your startup in 6-12 months time (if you've
continued with it) and how well you're doing, so if you do continue with your
idea and you're a squijillionaire by that time, drop me a line. My email is in
my profile. Feel free to call me all sorts of four letter words and tell me I
was wrong :)

~~~
dbul
It was rather tongue-in-cheek:

[http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=As+far+as+we're+concerned%2...](http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=As+far+as+we're+concerned%2C+they've+failed+an+IQ+test.&ei=UTF-8)

And I will report back about my startup on demo day in August -- I'd rather it
be a "you can succeed if you weren't accepted" story rather than a "told you
so" one, because frankly I think pg et al. are perfectly confident with the
startups they have chosen. Unfortunately I have two very challenging startups
at the same time, but fortunately both are well under way!

Edit: None of the websites in my profile are my startup unless it explicitly
is prefaced with _startup:_.

~~~
froo
Ah gotcha, well then I shall retract my previous statement.

I wasn't aware of the quote :)

But still the offer stands, I love talking to people about their startups (as
well as my own) and discussing various perspectives. I think lines of
communication are important!

~~~
dbul
Well actually I'm glad you pointed it out. I'm sure several people had
thought/would have thought it was an arrogant quote.

Yes, there should be a way of communicating more easily. Why isn't chatterous
embedded in HN? I've been tempted to create a portal that keeps track of
startups (techcrunch and wikipedia are no good for this). It would probably be
a waste of time... or would it?

~~~
froo
there's always #startups on IRC (irc.freenode.net)

------
varun
I loved the YC process. They asked the right questions on their application
form - which helped us a lot in getting a clearer idea of the venture. The
prospect of an interview also pushed us to develop a demo quicker than we
would have (which we just finished - didn't submit before the deadline).

So thanks to the YC process itself, we NOW have a presentation deck ready and
a demo and can charge full steam ahead regardless. YC for us would have been a
nice-to-have, not essential. We have a fairly interesting idea and a
background which included two of us having founded startups in the recent past
(one of them being www.alertle.com - check it out for UI design), being
speakers of Ruby on Rails and AJAX at conferences, and work experience at
other startups and places like Merrill Lynch. And of course, a CS background.
We didn't even get an interview.

I'm assuming the calibre of teams accepted would have been pretty
extraordinary this year. Good luck to all! :)

------
dkasper
Woohoo, rejected for the first time, and probably not the last! Cheers to
everyone who actually sent in an application!

------
vaksel
I wouldn't worry that much about the money, its not what YC is about. I'd
worry more about not getting access to all those YC connections.

~~~
nanexcool
Of course the YC connections were the first things on my mind. I don't think
you can equate them to hard cash. It's just that the cash would have given me
the chance to quit consulting and go 100% on my idea. But it's not the end of
the world.

~~~
goodkarma
So you're letting $10,000 hold you back from your dream? For real?

~~~
silencio
I think second to the valuable networking opportunities YC provides, the money
that could be spent not worrying about rent and the bills for at least a
couple months is not insignificant. I know personally it's not a huge deal to
have that money and we're continuing regardless of rejection, but that kind of
money could possibly shave off a few months of development time where I don't
have to worry so much about classes and contract work to pay for stuff at the
same time, while I would also have an opportunity to work in person with the
other developer in the group...someone who lives across the country from me
(but that I've gotten to know well over the years online).

I know we could get $10k+ from other sources, but when it's not from a venture
firm like YC and it's instead from our own savings and from friends/family
like we have considered before, it's a lot harder to accept.

~~~
goodkarma
I have no doubt that YC provides great networking opportunities. My question
was in direct response to nanexcool's comment that the cash would have given
him the chance.

~~~
rms
I think a lot of people saying that the money is important really mean that a
socially acceptable framework for quitting your job/school is important.

------
rms
Hey, sixth time is the charm, right?

~~~
tptacek
Really? Five times?

~~~
rms
Maybe it was four.

------
ivyirwin
Rejected (again).

But the frustrating part is feeling like my application wasn't read. I mean
they didn't even check out my website?

~~~
dave_au
Maybe next time you could give them a [yourwebsite]/yc URL so you can check
the server logs and be sure one way or the other.

------
dschobel
I'm always reminded of the words Steve Yegge once posted on his blog regarding
getting rejected from a Google interview:

 _You should feel bad, but not meta-bad_

------
fnazeeri
How cool is it that acceptances and rejections are discussed publicly?!?
Bravo!

------
khangtoh
We're officially on this list but will move to SF regardless!

PG: can we _still_hang_out_ with you guys on meetup nights. I'm serious.

~~~
iamelgringo
I hope you enjoy your move to the Bay area. It's delightful.

And, if you want to get to know some people in the Hacker community,
<http://HackersandFounders.com> gets together every couple of weeks. Let me
know you're coming, and I'll buy you a beer. :)

~~~
dwillett
I'll be moving to the bay area as well, wish I could have been getting the
experience of the YC sessions, but this sounds great

~~~
iamelgringo
I think that we all wish that we could get the YC sessions, but we actually
have a lot of cool people show up to our meetups that you can talk with and
learn from. I always have at least 3 or 4 great conversations that I learn
from.

We have guys who're working on their 4th and 5th startups. We have guys attend
who have exited and are looking for the next go around. We have startup owners
that have been in business for several years.

A lot of guys are just starting out on their own, and are interested in
feedback on their apps, or whatever they're working on. And, people generally
buy pitchers of beer, so if you're broke, you don't have to worry about it. :)

------
ktharavaad
Really sux to be rejected. But now I'm more motivated than ever to work on my
produt to prove that they made a mistake.

~~~
smidwap
I feel as if rejection here shouldn't really be a motivating factor! There
should be so many reasons above proving YC wrong to be a motivated
entrepreneur. But whatever gets you going I guess...

~~~
ktharavaad
Well, I don't care whether its a motivating factor or not. I'm simply not
letting it act as a demotivating factor.

Looking forward to all the "YC reject: launching xxxx " threads in the coming
months!!

------
hwijaya
Rejected too here. =) But, the disappointment feeling is not as huge as i
thought it would be.

Maybe the YC process itself has been beneficial in terms of helping us
refining the idea, and also maybe because we have agreed to give our best shot
on it, and whatever happen, we'll keep charging ahead. After all, Colonel
Sanders got 1009 rejections and still came up as successful entrepreneur.

So, please wait for our launch announcement on HN sometime in short future!
Good luck all!

------
krisneuharth
Rejected for the first time here but already looking forward to next Winter
for another opportunity.

------
mtpark
Wish we had launched our beta BEFORE the application.

Good luck to all of you. I think they mean well when they say they make lots
of mistakes.

~~~
gscott
I have seen from others that kept watch to see if their beta was visited and
they were not. I don't believe they test out most of the web applications that
get submitted. So not having one didn't hurt you at all. They say it is good
to have a beta, but I don't really believe it. Even in the interviews it is
said they spend less then a minute checking out any beta. It is apparently
just not really important.

------
bluefish
I didn't apply, but I'd love to hear about the ideas behind your projects that
got rejected.

------
sam_in_nyc
I didn't want to post here, but alas, I am.

I wish they would have included some feedback.

~~~
jskopek
Post your submission on HN. We'd love to tear it apart :)

------
jimwalker
Rejected as well. No biggie.

------
smidwap
Imagine the possibilities if we gathered all the troops (rejected troops that
is) and brainstormed one sweet startup. Not realistic but how cool would that
be?

~~~
themic86
judging by the amount of rejectsion - we'd have t make some SERIOUS bank in
order to quit our day jobs.

------
themic86
Does anyone else feel as if the rejection letter did nothing but fuel the fire
to get moving on their Idea? This might very well be a good thing.

~~~
smidwap
Hard to see how it could be a good thing. The added desire te succeed, if any,
will likely be short term.

~~~
themic86
The fact that it might be a good thing is personal (aside from the added
desire, which could very well be the final straw to motivate whomever to do
whatever). I was a bit nervous about quitting my job - that decision has been
made for me.

------
dustineichler
while i say this is the last time, i'll apply again and make a much more
serious effort. when's the next cycle, winter? i'll be ready.

------
mynameishere
Whatever happened to that guy who got rejected over and over and over but
never changed anything about his website?

~~~
themic86
<http://Google.com>

~~~
mynameishere
Huh?

------
mauricio
I wonder if we can set up a private forum for all of us this summer that
develop our idea anyway. Maybe we can share ideas/thoughts and beta test each
other's stuff.

At the end of the summer, if we get a lot of us, we could create a a big page
for all of to show off our stuff.

What do you guys think?

------
avk
Don't despair if Y Combinator said no. Rejection reveals your true motivation.
The key? Wanting to go on.

~~~
johnmcgarvey
Well said.

------
trotzke
It's not rejection guys. It's non-selection. Oh... wait... no here it is
pretty much just rejection.

~~~
auston
Sproutbox is in the house? <http://sproutbox.com/>

------
resdirector
Even the best application will max out at [choose-your-pessimism]% chance of
success. Apply elsewhere and often. And apply for YC again next time. Max out
quality and quantity of applications for funding. If it's a good idea, you'll
get your money/support you need.

~~~
sarafsaurabh
Do you know of any investors similar to YC?

~~~
resdirector
These are programs similar to YC that we considered applying for: TechStars,
Shotput Ventures, DreamIt, LaunchBox Digital.

~~~
sarafsaurabh
Thanks!

------
flooha
I sure hope they didn't base any decisions off of the quality of the video.
Posterous hacked it up like a baby bunny through a wood chipper.

Condolences to all who got rejected. Take it in stride.

------
ohkanon
What does it mean when you didn't receive a rejection email. BUT You also
didn't get anything saying you got it. Was there a point that they just
stopped reading the applications?

------
mkramlich
Just keep in mind all the now-famous-and-fabulously-successfully people who
faced rejection -- often repeated -- earlier in their career.

------
sarafsaurabh
I got rejected too. Was applying alone. Does it make hell lot of difference?
Somewhere I read they do accept solo applications

~~~
dustineichler
I was a solo founder too. I don't think it makes much of a difference and will
apply for Winter too. Don't let that deter you.

------
dotmatrix
i got rejected too :)

If someone wants to be a technical partner with me just email me
digizal08@gmail.com its a e-commerce company that will make money off the bat.

Plus I at least know a few VCs if I were really serious about funding, I just
need a technical co-founder which is why im guessing I got a flat out
rejection.

------
nolanbrown23
What would be interesting to know is the comparison of
rejection/interview/acceptance across the various programs.

------
metalacorn
first time applying and first rejection. i am a little disappointed, i feel
very passionately about my idea and was hoping pg+co would be too - but ah
well, it's going to happen anyway to happen regardless. best of luck to all
and hope that everyone moves forward with their ideas as well.

------
derwiki
So... Rejected from YC happy hour in Palo Alto? Sounds like a good way to cuss
and discuss!

------
redleader
Can we email them for some kind of feedback about the application?

~~~
silencio
<http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html>

Maybe worth a shot regardless, but from talking to other people I know applied
and also rejected in the past few minutes (including myself), we seem to
pretty much all fall under that "good but pushed out by the best" category.

~~~
redleader
I would like to know the weakest part of our application. So if it's the
founders' experience we can work to improve upon that.

~~~
mrtron
Haha - if they say it isn't the founders' experience you won't work on
improving it?

~~~
redleader
yes that's exactly what I meant

------
IMorgothI12
There's probably too many rejections to give any feedback. I mean if there
were 10,000 to 20,000 groups that applied it would be impossible to send a
reason in the email to each group. Besides it all comes down to a numerical
rating (sauce for the goose). Kudos to the bird with a golden egg.

~~~
sam_in_nyc
I think two years ago, the last they posted their numbers, there were 421
applications. This year, I'm just guessing, but likely somewhere between 2 to
4 times that.

They are no longer posting their numbers, so don't ask.

Source: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9066>

------
IMorgothI12
Don't sweat the rejection. It's probably very difficult to get accepted to
ycombinator. The odds are probably better winning a royal flush or x... than
getting accepted to ycombinator. Cudos for the three strikes law....

------
IMorgothI12
Ycombinator has been known to make mistakes from time to time. Especially
youos.

