What does a successful YC application look like? | Hacker News Reader

What does a successful YC application look like?

12 pointsgeuis11 comments

I am really thinking hard about applying for this round. I'm curious though, what do the applications of successfully funded YC companies look like?

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Even if people were willing to post their successful applications, I don't thing pg would approve. That would encourage copying the successful-looking applications and gaming the system.

But generally, he's looking for people who are smart, very determined, and like to make things.

"Even if people were willing to post their successful applications, I don't thing pg would approve."

Would PG approve posting a few UNsuccessful applications of different level -- from amusing, to boring, to pretty close? -- guess people like to see those just as much, I sure do, and am not merely joking here.

Why would an unsuccessful applicant care about pg's approval? Won't s/he just post it anywhere on the web if s/he so chooses? Why would even pg care?

PG of talks about what a successful application looks like.Just read his stuff.

You basically have to prove that you are a great hacker and have a demo, ready to go.

IMHO, this is not a college application. The biggest barrier is not "getting in". Your CV will not be improved by a failed attempt to start a company for 15k. If you are serious about offering the product of your work to the world, the application for ycombinator should not be intimidating and should be the least of your worries. Quit "thinking hard" and attack that application.

A lot of YC alumni are willing to talk about this. I emailed one person to ask him about an earlier application draft, and he helped me fix things up a lot.

The things that would come to mind (though mind you, I'm only an applicant at this point as well):

* Stand out * Show you know what you're doing * Focus on what's important * Be confident in your idea and your people

We got interviewed last time. Our application was pretty durned long. I don't know how they read it. They must skim them for the most part, focusing on the things most important to them and looking for raised red flags.

I do know very much that the tone has changed a bit in the interview (or did last time). They will ask a good bit about monetization. So your application will get extra points if you can show very clearly how you eventually plan to turn this into a concrete business.

do the interviews occur prior to application cut off date or after ?

I am not PG, but just from the top of my head, I think the application should at least show that:

- You <em>understand</em> what you're building, who needs it and why

- You care about this project (incl. that you have already started working on it)

- You are the kind of team who can pull this off (realistic, committed, hackerish)

Best you can do (imho) - Take a look at the existing YC companies, their idea, implementation and the team.

That's what YC is looking for; so the application just needs to be representative of that.

You should make the questions look easy.

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