YC: What No Means

Years ago when Garage.com was starting up, I applied and was rejected. No big deal as I was expecting it, but it did get me a signed rejection letter from the big "Guy" himself. <p>As a beta tester it was a very nice gesture, to receive that letter with the comment "Prove us wrong!" hand written as a P.S. to the form letter. That letter hangs in a frame and every day I use it to remind myself that the only person that needs to believe in me, is me.<p>Today, many years later, I thank my lucky stars for that rejection. I went it alone, no co-founders, no frigging investor BS, and did not take a dime from anyone. <p>This year the 17 employees of MY privately held company drove our sales to 61 million dollars in online transactions. <p>The satisfaction that comes with proving investors wrong can't be bought, only earned.<p>Those that can, DO. Those that can't, find an investor.<p><p>

"OK, you may not have the same structure, advice, networks and extra cash that Y Combinator provides, but maybe that shouldn't stop you."<p>Everyone always talks about the mentoring and the connections from Y Combinator, but no one ever mentions the story. I think YC itself has a compelling story, one that's authentic but also fun to talk about. If you get funded it's the kind of thing that makes for 'sparkling' conversation at cocktail parties, as a way of talking about the program but also indirectly talking about yourself. Which is probably why YC is quickly becoming a household brand. Even my mom read the article in Newsweek.