"We didn't think we were what YC was looking for..."<p>I'm so glad you took the time to apply! Your idea was slightly different back then, but I remember how impressive you were during the YC interview. As you said in your application:<p><pre><code> Among the members of the founding team we have domain
expertise in recruiting; in content creation and promotion;
and in directly engaging with women ages 20-35. What's
more, we've been working in this specific field (job
opportunities and career advice for professional women)
for the last year, and the response from women has been
unbelievable. Our user testimonials sometimes verge on
the fanatical.
</code></pre>
We could tell when we met you that you really understood the business you were in. You were exactly what YC looks for.
Don't want to sound like a downer, but I'd also love to see applications where the founders weren't your typical white MIT, Harvard, Yale graduates/PhDs who worked at McKinsey GoogleBookSoft.
Take it easy people. If what people get after publishing their applications is divertory criticism, it would discourage others from doing same.<p>Today is the deadline for YC. The idea is to give applicants final ideas to help in their application. That's what this thread should be about.<p>Ladies, thanks for publishing.<p>If there are international applicants that have been successful, please share. If you are ok sharing privately, I'd really appreciate it. My email is on my profile.
Huh, their careers page has several "jobs" available for people to write articles for them... <i>unpaid</i>. You know, the old "it's good exposure" bait for people who don't know any better.
The biggest thing that stuck out to me was how long some of your answers were. Everyone seems to always point to Drew's application with all of the short concise answers but it looks like thats not the only way to put together a winning app!
Since today's topic on HN is usability testing. I'm a bit confused by the connection between the goal stated on the YC application and thedailymuse.com. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anywhere that says this is a resource for women or "non-traditional candidates". How are you targeting this demographic without being discriminatory in your job applications?
Out of curiosity, if the founders are reading this thread, how did YC help you to improve your company? Specifically, did they help you in any way that you couldn't have done without them?