- Yes, YC funds solo founders.
- At least 10% of the companies funded by YC each batch are solo founder companies.
- The misconception arises from the advice that starting a company with co-founders is easier.
- YC encourages solo founders to consider bringing on co-founders if they have suitable candidates.
- However, there are many successful companies founded by solo founders.
- Two of YC's most successful companies, Dropbox and Zenefits, were initially solo founder companies.
- Both Dropbox and Zenefits brought on co-founders after being accepted to YC.
- In conclusion, YC does fund solo founders.

Y Combinator Partner and Scribd Cofounder Jared Friedman answers, does Y Combinator fund solo founders?

https://twitter.com/snowmaker

Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year. 

Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/

At least 10% of the companies that we fund every batch are solo founder companies.

The origin of the misconception is our advice that all else being equal, it's a lot easier to start a company with co-founders.

So if you're a solo founder and you have people that you know that you could bring on as co-founders, we definitely encourage you to consider it.

But that doesn't describe every situation, and there are tons of great companies founded every year with solo founders.

In fact, 2 of YC's most successful companies, Dropbox and Zenefits, were both solo founder companies when they applied to YC.

Incidentally, in both of those cases, they ended up bringing on a co-founder after they got accepted to YC.

Just to recap, YC definitely funds solo founders.


Speaker 0: Does YC fund solo founders? The answer is yes, we do all the time. At least 10% of the companies that we fund every batch are solo founder companies. The origin of the misconception is our advice that all else being equal, it's a lot easier to start a company with co-founders. So if you're a solo founder and you have people that you know that you could bring on as co-founders, we definitely encourage you to consider it.

But that doesn't describe every situation, and there are tons of great companies founded every year with solo founders. In fact, 2 of YC's most successful companies, Dropbox and Zenefits, were both solo founder companies when they applied to YC. Incidentally, in both of those cases, they ended up bringing on a co-founder after they got accepted to YC. So that's also an option. Just to recap, YC definitely funds solo founders.

You

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Does YC Fund Solo Founders? - Jared Friedman