YC has started sending out invitations for interviews and rejection emails...so check your email and your spam folder.<p>Congratulations to everyone who got invited to interview.<p>And everyone else, remember, YC can help you get to where you want to go faster, but isn't everything. Don't give up and you will make it anyway.
We received our rejection as well. As much as you try to tell yourself say it is not a big deal, it still hurts. You question much of what you are doing. I have been grinding on many unsuccessful projects for a while now, and it's hard to stay positive.<p>The funny thing is, we had no intention to apply to YC originally, but once we did, you start to dream about how it could change your life. How that might be the defining boost and help you need to succeed.<p>The nice thing about cofounders is they help you stay positive. We are currently working on game related software, which is not exactly your typical YC company, but we thought it was a decent enough concept. We plan to keep pushing forward, maybe try a kickstarter.<p>Unfortunately this means I will have to go back to getting a job again, with $36.43 in my bank account, I pretty much am on empty...
You won't hear from the applicants that got interviews. PG manually deletes their "we got an interview" posts to prevent pre-interview poaching by other investors/companies.<p>97% of applicants get rejected. 3% of applicants get an interview. You can read all about it, along with about 30 blog posts of interview experiences, at:<p><a href="http://ycuniverse.com/interviewees.php" rel="nofollow">http://ycuniverse.com/interviewees.php</a>
We just received our rejection letter. Major shame, but wasn't at all unexpected. Based on Analytics and MixPanel our demo we set up wasn't actually tried, so I guess the takeaway from this was that the application wasn't as strong as we thought. Even so, the entire process of writing the application was very rewarding. It really did help focus our direction into something concrete.<p>Incidentally, since it's all over, here's what we posted for "tell us something interesting". (I think that was the question). I posted how 1/998001 is an awesome number!<p><a href="http://rentivo.com/ycombinator/divide" rel="nofollow">http://rentivo.com/ycombinator/divide</a><p>(Perhaps I shouldn't have shown the PHP code! Ha. It's hard to make something so hacky not look so ugly).
Yeah...got our rejection.<p>Probably the nicest rejection letter I've ever seen, YC is definitely astute at winning hearts and minds.<p>We are getting involved in another incubator however it would have been great validation to get into YC. The caveat one has to hold onto is that it's your customers and users you have to be validated by, and not YC.<p>Great process, just building the application helped to develop insights into many of our assumptions, and product market fit. I'd encourage everyone to apply just for that reason.
Keep things in perspective. Getting in to YC != success. It's one data point.<p>Success = Success.<p>Get your customers to love you. Get people to pay you for your product / service. Be better tomorrow than you are today.<p>If you were doing all those things when you applied, that 1 data point doesn't a failure make.
Not accepted. Our video got 15 views, does that mean anything? Heh.<p>Rejection letter:<p>"We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding.
Please don't take it personally. The applications we receive get
better every funding cycle, and since there's a limit on the number
of startups we can interview in person, we had to turn away a lot
of genuinely promising groups.<p><a href="http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html" rel="nofollow">http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html</a><p>Another reason you shouldn't take this personally is that we know
we make lots of mistakes. It's alarming how often the last group
to make it over the threshold for interviews ends up being one that
we fund. That means there are surely other good groups that fall
just below the threshold and that we miss even interviewing.<p>We're trying to get better at this, but the hard limit on the number
of interviews means it's practically certain that groups we rejected
will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate
it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn
from our mistakes."
It seems that a lot of applicants didn't have their demo sites looked at. This together with what I've seen on PG's Office Hour videos leads me to believe that YC is somewhat idea-centric: if we like your idea, we'll look at your potential for execution. Else, you're out. Needless to say, there is nothing wrong with that. If that method works for YC in terms of success rate vs. time and effort spent, then that's how they should be doing it. Still, it might be worth considering the following example. Suppose that 25 years ago, someone would have come to you with this idea: I'll start a furniture store chain. But instead of shipping the furniture to people's homes, I'll give them a cardboard box with the pieces, a couple of nuts and bolts, and a wrench inside. There can be little doubt as to how that idea would have been rated: ludicrous. But if you had visited a model store and looked at all the neat furniture, not to mention the fancy bedspreads and tableware and what not, then took home a chair in pieces, assembled it, sat in it... You may not have predicted that there were going to be newspaper headlines like "IKEA will continue to hire off-duty Sheriff's deputies to help with traffic control for several more weeks." But you may well have predicted some measure of success for this offbeat idea.
The funny thing with a rejection is that it makes you try harder. If you set your mind to success then no YC or anybody can bring you down. Really looking forward to our 1-year anniversary email to them!!<p>Go local, go dopios.com
Rejected. Not overly surprising given our team's lack of wow factor and demo. We had only heard of and decided to shoot for YC a few weeks before the deadline, and it took on the same mystical meaning for us as some others have mentioned. It wasn't until a week or so that I really came to grips with how slim the odds are. It was disheartening, not because it meant there was going to be more work to do before something like YC could really be possible, but because it meant we wouldn't be quitting our jobs and making it happen right now. Part of the reason is the obvious financial obstacle; student loans are expensive and the Bay is the most expensive place to live in the country. The other part is a kind of vindication. We believe in our idea, but there's a difference between believing in it yourselves and having the kind of validation that YC provides. It's far easier to go all in when the house tells you you have a winning hand. The greatest disappointment for us is that it will take many months for us to get going instead of a summer.<p>The end result for us is that we continue to build, but at a slower pace. We're positive and determined, and probably more focused for having gone through the YC application. We'll be hacking on it nights and weekends, we'll see where we can go on our own or with a different angel, and if we think it's right, we hope to be in the running with the rest of you for YC W13. So until then, ladies and gents, good night and good luck.
I'm sorry to get the rejection. Most of all it made me kick myself for wasting time on low-probability bets like this. I should have spent the time on things with a better chance of paying off.
I applied as a solo founder with no idea, so I knew a rejection letter was inevitable. In all fairness I am not quite ready to build a company but I took the opportunity to apply with no idea anyway.<p>I currently work as a sysadmin for a 1bn bank, but developing software is my passion and what I really want to do is start my own tech company.<p>I'm taking small steps. I've completed 2 bonus projects for my bank to build useful web-apps. I work on my own time & maintain IP ownership to my software so you could say I just need to start selling to other businesses.<p>Applying to YC is another small step to help push myself in the startup direction. My goal for the application was just to get my name in front of someone at YC. If my video was watched then I consider it a smashing success.
Getting rejected from YC sucks.<p>But don't get discouraged. There is a common meme that startups need to work 'til they puke to "make it" (check out this site: <a href="http://blastingstation.com" rel="nofollow">http://blastingstation.com</a>). Plenty of startups were successful by working hard, staying focused, and persisting.<p>Remember, as a startup founder, your only job is to find and motivate great talent; set a clear vision; and make sure you don't run out of money / time. Stay focused, set milestones, and persist.<p>Also, you should check out StartupPlays.com <- it's an online accelerator with modules to help you grow your startup by some of the same mentors in the YC program.
Question is whether people would rather get a rejection letter that actually showed who reviewed app, if even at all. From what I have read there are so many applications it isn't even possible for main guys to review and ones that do get reviewed are through referrals. I think it would provide solace that only an intern read your app so don't take it too personally. The dream of YC is great but don't forget that 25k and access to mentors is attainable through some creative emails and networking. Attend events and above all don't b afraid to ask.
I didn't have my shit together, so it's perfectly understandable why. No team (just had my 2nd Co-Founder jump ship due to commitment issues, now it's just me again), no prototype.<p>Now I'm going to ask for financial support from relatives. Pay for hosting, contract work to freelancers.<p>I need a developer Co-Founder, and a designer Co-Founder. Feel free to contact me if interested. lord_nolan at about.me<p>And by "Co-Founder", I mean fully-committed for equity. I don't have money, and I do receive some, it won't be very much. Money is for contractors and freelancers. and hosting, legal fees, etc.
I haven't applied this year but I really hate that rejection email. I hope one day YC could man up and tell why it was refused rather then giving a "You don't need to get in to create a successful business" bullshit. Even if it's only one sentence.<p>I feel like not doing so is really lacking respect for the teams who put hours filling it up. Add on top of that the fact that some demos are not even tried.<p>As some people like to say, applications are only for the people who didn't find a better way to get in.
For those of you rejected but determined to carry on regardless, would any of you be interested in contributing an interview/blog post?<p>I think a blog with regular updates from teams, showing their progress & determination.<p>I think it would be great to build a bit of an YC anti-portfolio and showcase the progress of the folks that just made it happen anyway.<p>YC admit themselves that they miss out on some great teams.<p>I'm sure it would be a great community also.
We got rejected :). We didn't build our startup for YC, though. In fact the YC application was just a super great opportunity for us to have a 'checkpoint' at our startup. So, I think this was great. Good luck to everybody else! Check out <a href="http://eatfindr.com/" rel="nofollow">http://eatfindr.com/</a> if you'd like to find out more about what we applied with. ShowHN coming soon. :)
I'm currently judging applications for the next round of Start-Up Chile. It's given me a very good understanding of why it's almost impossible to give a reason for why an application is rejected, especially with the borderline ones.<p>What we are doing is trying to give a sentence or two of feedback suggesting how an application could be made stronger and/or advice on how we think they should proceed.
I got rejected too :) Thank you for rejecting me because this will only make me stronger and more focused on my vision.<p>Remember, Steve Jobs got rejected by many people at first, before he got his first investment.<p>My startup is Jawoco.com, search engine which will let you search the web via social media recommendation.<p>Also have my web browser called Xtravo and the link can be found at jawoco.com<p>So who's applying for TechStars?
Just a question, did everyone get a rejection letter if you applied and weren't accepted? I applied as a sole-founder and never got one. I know when I tried submitting my application at first the server had issues or something and I had to try again, but I was fairly certain it went through but never received any e-mail one way or the other.
20 video views and a few LI views from 'stealth startup in SF area' - We haven't put a demo online until our patent app goes through the first stage.
The whole process was fun though - especially after posting the app we realized how confusing everything sounded so we kind of expected a rejection.
Anyway, back to building the system :)
Rejected as well, anyways three weeks before I didn't know about the accelerator, but had an 'idea', gonna keep working on it. Didn't have my expectations high but still, it is a blow,may be got a reality check
----------> need to work hard and I supposedly will.
anyways long way to go,afterall I am just 17.
<i>don't die, don't let your company die. That's the key</i> Sam Altman advice to Pebble watch when they were not successful at raising VC funding <a href="http://www.communitech.ca/vcs-took-a-pass-on-crowdfunded-pebble-watch/" rel="nofollow">http://www.communitech.ca/vcs-took-a-pass-on-crowdfunded-peb...</a>
Rejected (No idea category)<p>I ran our application past several YC alumni who gave it a thumbs up, and some of them even +1'd it behind the scenes. I thought our application was quite impressive. Even that wasn't enough to get an interview.<p>Good luck to those of whom have been invited for interview, and of course those whose haven't! :)
Rejected as well, but I feel, Oh so good! Sorry to hear that so many people got their dreams crushed. However, lets stop having a pity party and start pivoting, building traction, and being bosses! Lets get educated and move on, and by educated I mean check us out at www.coursegain.com ;P
Got rejected as well, I agree re: how useful it would be to even get just a sentence or half sentence. Maybe even just a round number, i.e. round 1 (intern-reviewed) or round 2, etc. Then you'd know if you got a 1 that your application has a lot of problems in it, at least.
Got our rejection letter. That wasn't unexpected, but a bit sad: we had a couple of access to our demo page which made us hope for the best. Anyway, for us the application was a great opportunity to ask ourselves the right questions.
Rejected. 4 video views. Brush your shoulders off :)<p>We're building a site that tells you what to buy: the best model of anything, accurately, by crunching owner ratings. We'd love any feedback:<p><a href="http://daring.is" rel="nofollow">http://daring.is</a><p>Congrats to YC S12.
Rejected as well.
My husband and I were trying YC first but would love to hear about other options for our early stage startup. We live in the DC area if anyone knows of any development options in the area, please share
Rejected. I'd love to know what you others are building. Started an "Ask HN" post here: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3850089" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3850089</a>
OK so all of you who submitted the application on-time have received your response email. Does anyone know when I should expect a response if I applied late? Will I even get a response?
Rejected. But the application process was worth it in itself - it forced us to make concrete goals and discuss our plan going further in a deeper way than we would have otherwise.
I like that word rejection, it's got a ring to it. I have to admit, I'm a bit more motivated now. I've got more to prove to myself every time I get rejected from YC.
the questions asked in the application form were very useful, and led to better understanding of own ideas. we, however, didn't start our project for VCs, but for users... so rejection by YC is not bothering me as much as getting traction. we are sms social network. <a href="http://this.is.osom.me" rel="nofollow">http://this.is.osom.me</a>
We had around 2000 users, but we were still rejected by YC.<p>I wish they would give some kind of note on why people are rejected. This would help budding entrepreneurs a lot more