Since there is a limit on the number of startups we can accept for this beta test of the Fellowship, we had to turn away a huge amount of promising groups. Hopefully in the future, we can expand the Fellowship and fund even more companies this way.
Unfortunately beyond that, we can't give you individual feedback about your application. This page explains why: http://ycombinator.com/whynot/
That said, we sincerely hope you'll apply to YC's winter batch. Applications for that are scheduled to open the week of August 24th.
Unfortunately we can't give you individual feedback about your application. This page explains why: http://ycombinator.com/whynot/
We sincerely hope this won't stop you from pursuing your startup. We're not yet sure if we'll continue to do YC Fellowship past this pilot program, but we definitely welcome and encourage you to apply to YC in the future. Having applied to YC Fellowship will in no way count against you, and a surprisingly large number of companies are funded after applying to YC programs more than once.
We're trying to get better at this, but it's 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.
I got this rejection letter, and there was no evidence my application was even looked at. I didn't apply literally at the last minute, but I submitted the last day.
I had applied for summer YC batch before, and there I got people thoroughly exploring my demo, watching my app videos, and even looking at my linkedin profile. This time I got 0 hits across all mediums. Not even the video.
Please share if you had similar or difference experience as I think we will all benefit from this knowledge.
I was majorly bummed when I saw the video link was broken, and that I couldn't make any more edits.
I found a way to get an edit through anyhow, via the embed.ly cached image Submittable uses. By changing the main image on my product demo URL. I emailed the fellowship address and Sam Altman, and was put in touch with the CEO of Submittable, who thanked me for bringing it to his attention.
I was pretty proud of myself for finding a way to route around the damage, and 'hack' the YC application. I looked at it as my own Kobayashi Maru. There was no way to win with stupid typos, but by getting the edit through anyway I was changing the rules of the game, and competing on different terrain where I would stand out.
That's the way I looked at it, and now I'm even more motivated to succeed because I think YC lost out by not choosing me, and I want to prove that :)
I didn't get into YC but I had a lot of fun applying.
So to anyone reading this, if you apply to YC, make sure you do these two things: 1) Have a clear, well-written application that states your idea and your background clearly. 2) Start your application early and submit it early. This is one of those things that can only help you.
I hope you'll still consider applying again in the future.
After that, stats showed that there were 6 views, at least 4 of which could likely be attributed to the review team. The other 2 where from Finland and Israel.
My letter was the basic rejection; it was not either the 'top 300' or the 'more suited for a full session' type.
The startups we have invited to YC Fellowship interviews are primarily founders in the idea or prototype stage, and most are first-time founders who haven’t previously raised funding. We're asking almost all companies that are further along or with more experienced founders to apply to YC winter batch.
Applications open the week of August 24th at apply.ycombinator.com. We sincerely hope you will apply!
My team and I are planning on continuing on. Good luck to everyone else who is in the same boat!
