Ask PG: Did the "apply to YC without an idea" experiment work?

To be honest, I wasn't sure whether or not the noidea application was live. I had to go look at the source. So it looks like we de facto killed it by never enabling it for s13. Frankly it's not a big deal either way. We only accepted one noidea application last cycle, and IIRC there were only about 50 applications.

Being one of the no idea / barely an idea teams in s12, one of the teams that acrimoniously blew apart and probably one of the teams that led to the changes that YC made for w13, I am glad that "no idea" is no longer an option.<p>I still view YC's willingness to experiment in an extremely positive light. It's why YC is the innovator, and everyone else (500, techstars etc) are just imitators. That being said, I think "no idea" was a bad idea, for YC as investors and advisors, for the following reasons:<p>1. It created teams that had not actually <i>worked together</i> for a significant length of time on an idea that <i>all founders believed in</i>. In other words, "teams" which were not actually "teams", but rather a set of individuals with strong credentials.<p>2. Some of the most important psychological benefits of going through YC, particularly the artificial pressure of Demo Day, have a paradoxical effect on "no idea" teams. The experience of watching good startups grow literally before your eyes at weekly dinners is inspiring, but not particularly conducive to coming up with your own idea. For me at least, it created an almost existential angst.<p>3. Without an idea, a shared revolutionary vision of the future, there is nothing binding a team together. Each time an idea "failed" there was an intense feeling of loss and personal failure, particularly (as mentioned above) when you see the "idea" teams progressing week on week. That emotional baggage can rip apart formerly great friends .. it did in our case.<p>Given that, s12 was <i>not a disaster</i>. For one, many s12 teams are doing brilliantly, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than a few black swans amongst my batchmates. But more importantly, it wasn't a failure in the same sense that Edison's first 9,999 light bulbs (that didn't work) were not failures.<p>For me personally, "no idea" was a great idea, as I learned more from my YC experience than can be quantified. While I'd never take funding again without an idea (or a working product or service) as it causes unnecessary and often contradictory pressure, my understanding of how to succeed in startups is orders of magnitude greater than it would have been without YC, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

It seems to me there would be no benefit to them in allowing it. If you want to get into YC and are smart, determined and all the other qualities they want-- you will come up with <i>something</i>. It may not be right, but PG et al can still decide they want the applicant without liking the idea.<p>Like problem solving in job interviews, doing the exercise tells you a lot more than just if the applicant can get the right answer or not. It can demonstrate your effort, creativity, intelligence, even if it has flaws.

If you really want to apply without an idea just do it. No one is forcing you to fill out every single field of the application. Don't fall victim to being constrained by the limits of the system!

Voicegem was one of the no idea companies in the first YC class it was offered. They've already joined Palantir, it seems: <a href="http://www.voicegem.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.voicegem.com</a>

"Application deadline: March 29"<p>Today's the last day to apply. How did no one notice or think about asking this earlier?

Here's some previous times this has come up:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4512022" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4512022</a> (answer from pg)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5262796" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5262796</a>

I'm a sole founder with a non techincal background who is currently outsourcing the development of my site .I applied for the summer batch what do you guys think my chances are ???

I have always worked on the principle that entrepreneurs have 1000 ideas, choosing which idea to work on is the challenge.<p>I presume YC attracts a certain target audience of generally 'people who build things.' . Wonder did YC without an idea change the target audience?

While not related to the original question, how does YC work for non US residents and Visa related issues? Does it accept/sponsor a few outside the US startups? IS it interested in doing so?