- The founders applied to YC for the mentorship, support, and top-notch advice.
- They wanted the direct and honest feedback from mentors and the opportunity to iterate quickly on their business.
- They were excited to work with partners who had experience building companies and could provide valuable insights.
- The founders were attracted to the YC community and the support and resources it offered.
- They saw YC as a way to connect with like-minded people who understood the challenges of starting a company.
- The reputation, track record, and recognition of YC were also important factors in their decision to apply.
- The funding and validation that YC provides were especially valuable for founders in emerging markets.
- Being part of the YC network would help them attract the best talent and build their company.
- The founders also saw the opportunity to learn from the community and network of successful YC alumni.
- YC was seen as an unparalleled place to build something in the world of startups.

At the start of the S23 batch we interviewed 50 founders about why they applied to Y Combinator. It's a look at the program through the people that YC helps the most: our founders.

The deadline for Winter 24 batch is October 13! Apply below.

Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/FounderFAQ-apply 
Work at a Startup: https://yc.link/FounderFAQ-jobs

Special thanks to the founders of these companies: Wayfund, Sweep, Righpage, Paylane, KinoAI, Sidenote, Fiber AI, Simbie Health, Flint, Elyos Energy, Happy Robot, Kobalt Labs, Revamp, Strada, Envelope, Automorphic, Quill, Gleam, Homey, Trayd, SpineAI, Eden Care, Greenlite, Cercli, Fortuna Health

Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) - 
00:00 - Intro
00:14 - Mentorship and Support
00:39 - Working with Partners
01:02 - Community and Network
01:29 - Following YC and it's Reputation
01:58 - Hiring and Funding
02:27 - Building Network Outside Bay Area

I think the perception is that YC is the batch and

the fundraising, but really there's so much more than that.

We applied to YC for the mentorship and support.

I mean, we wanted to get roasted by Siebel and the other group partners.

I think, like, talking to friends who did the previous batches, that direct, honest feedback, and being able to, you know, quickly iterate on your business very fast in that short 3 month period was very helpful for them and we wanted to go through that same level of pain.

I was really excited to work with the partners.

You know, it's kind of rare that a VC firm actually

has partners that have gone through building a company.

The best people to learn from are the people who've done it before and who've made all the mistakes.

We knew some people who had gone through the experience and really just spoke about the community and kind of the support and resources that are provided in this environment.

I saw YC as a great way to have a community of like-minded people.

Being part of this network and this community.

It's a long, arduous road that very few people traverse on and actually have the ability to persist.

The amount of people that you find that can relate to your problems is very little now.

So just having that network of people that actually really understand what you're going through is super helpful.

We'd obviously followed Y Combinator and like had looked up to it for several years.

I've been reading Hacker News for a while.

I've been kind of reading Paul Graham Essays since I was like 14.

The name, the recognition, the power that comes with the YC network.

I think as 2 female founders launching in construction and fintech, we needed all of the support and kind of rah-rah around us that we could get.

for us, we wanna hire the best people in the world and we

and we know the best people in the world want to work for YC companies so being

It gave us the right amount of money at the right amount of time, a fresh start, 3 month time box target with demo day at the end so it's it's just setting us up perfectly.

In this environment where funding is becoming challenging, sort of the validation that YC brings is very important, especially for founders in emerging markets where funding is not as readily available as it would be in San Francisco, for example.

We're also not in the Bay Area, so we thought there'd be a huge advantage building up a network, meeting some folks out here, and learning from some of the group partners that are here.

So we are building Gusto for Middle East and North Africa.

There's very few SaaS companies, it's very nascent out there and tech is also very nascent and YC has funded some of the best and brightest minds out here and We want to learn from that community and the network that came before us.

I've always known of YC as just a fantastic place to build something and kind of unparalleled in the world of startups.


Speaker 0: Why did you apply to YC? Good question.

Speaker 1: The brand. Community. Mentorship.

Speaker 2: I think the perception is that YC is the batch and

Speaker 3: the fundraising, but really there's so much more than that.

Speaker 0: We applied to YC for the mentorship and support. Mentors. The mentorship. Top-notch advice. Advisors who have your back.

Accountability and advice.

Speaker 4: I mean, we wanted to get roasted by Siebel and the other group partners. I think, like, talking to friends who did the previous batches, that direct, honest feedback, and being able to, you know, quickly iterate on your business very fast in that short 3 month period was very helpful for them and we wanted to go through that same level of pain. So here we are.

Speaker 5: I was really excited to work with the partners.

Speaker 6: You know, it's kind of rare that a VC firm actually

Speaker 5: has partners that have gone through building a company.

Speaker 6: The best people to learn from are the people who've done it before and who've made all the mistakes. We knew some people who had gone through the experience and really just spoke about the community and kind of the support and resources that are provided in this environment.

Speaker 0: I saw YC as a great way to have a community of like-minded people. Being part of this network and this community. A great community. The community. Community.

You know, starting a company is hard. It's a long, arduous road that very few people traverse on and actually have the ability to persist. The amount of people that you find that can relate to your problems is very little now. Like my friends now don't really relate. So just having that network of people that actually really understand what you're going through is super helpful.

Speaker 1: We'd obviously followed Y Combinator and like had looked up to it for several years.

Speaker 0: I've been reading Hacker News for a while. I've been kind of reading Paul Graham Essays since I was like 14. Why did you apply to YC? Mostly because of the reputation. The track record and reputation.

Speaker 1: The name, the recognition, the power that comes with the YC network. I think as 2 female founders launching in construction and fintech, we needed all of the support and kind of rah-rah around us that we could get.

Speaker 7: I think the brand as well, right? I think

Speaker 8: for us, we wanna hire the best people in the world and we

Speaker 0: know the best people in the world

Speaker 8: and we know the best people in the world want to work for YC companies so being

Speaker 9: 1 helps.

Speaker 0: It gave us the right amount of money at the right amount of time, a fresh start, 3 month time box target with demo day at the end so it's it's just setting us up perfectly.

Speaker 10: In this environment where funding is becoming challenging, sort of the validation that YC brings is very important, especially for founders in emerging markets where funding is not as readily available as it would be in San Francisco, for example.

Speaker 11: We're also not in the Bay Area, so we thought there'd be a huge advantage building up a network, meeting some folks out here, and learning from some of the group partners that are here.

Speaker 9: So we are building Gusto for Middle East and North Africa. There's very few SaaS companies, it's very nascent out there and tech is also very nascent and YC has funded some of the best and brightest minds out here and We want to learn from that community and the network that came before us.

Speaker 0: I've always known of YC as just a fantastic place to build something and kind of unparalleled in the world of startups.

See all Y Combinator transcripts on Youtube

50 Founders Share Why They Applied To Y Combinator