How I got into Y Combinator with a 4 day old idea as a college student [storytime]
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- Here's the story of how I got into Y Combinator (YC) with a 4 day old idea, whilst still at university.
DISCLAIMER: My experiences are offered independently of, and not sponsored or endorsed by, or affiliated with, Y Combinator.
Here is the book I mention - Disciplined Entrepreneurship: www.d-eship.com/. It’s essentially a 24-step guide on how to build a startup from the ground up, and was really helpful to our team early on.
We are so grateful to the team at YC, and all those who have helped us along the way. The YC interview was a fantastic learning experience, and I’m excited to share it with you in this video! If you’re interested in seeing our YC application, getting more information on the interview, or hearing my tips on how to prepare, feel free to comment that down below.
From physics, to finance, to entrepreneurship - join me on my latest startup adventures. On this channel, I'll be sharing more about our progress, my background, the Haut team, some of the crazy stories, and inviting special guests. Subscribe to keep up to date with all things Haut!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:49 Started working on a startup idea
01:54 Submitting the online application to YC
02:54 What we did before the YC interview
04:25 The YC interview
05:27 The aftermath of our first YC interview
07:02 The second YC interview
08:05 Conclusion
Website: hautapp.com/
Instagram: / hautapp
LinkedIn: / haut-app
Music by Lucydafirst, Ej Hoffman - Window Pain - thmatc.co/?l=E1940EBB
![What is Y Combinator / My YC W21 Experience [Startups]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/y6YIWntdA6U/mqdefault.jpg)
![What is Y Combinator / My YC W21 Experience [Startups]](/img/tr.png)
Wow that is so cool Ahana! An investor we met last week told us we should apply to Y Combinator for our luxurious eco-village resorts project, and we don't know if they'll take entrepreneurs not focused on tech but who knows, worth a try, we will finish our application! 💖🌎😊
Thank you! Always worth a try - wishing you all the best 💪
This is extremely motivating as a fellow early-stage founder!
Keep it up, Ahana!
Super excited for you:)
Thanks a lot, Arnav! Looking forward to learning more about Sqillful :)
This is very encouraging. Thanks for sharing.
Good luck Ahana you are helping us a lot
I'm so happy to hear this. 🙂❤️ Congratulations! I'm going to apply to YC later this year... wish me luck.
Thank you so much! Good luck!! Feel free to reach out if you want any help with the application 😊
@@AhanaBanerjee Hi Ahana, I am applying this wee and would love your input please.
(Greetings from Rotterdam) We were just watching with a friend of mine this video and we were inspired by Quil and recorded our entire 100 idea ideation process.
Really inspiring, Ahana!
Glad to hear it! Looking forward to watching :)
Thank you for helping to dispel so many myths about the process. I pretty much thought you had no chance unless your idea already had some traction!
There's actually a huge variety of experiences have during the YC application process. Glad I was able to shed some light on it for you :)
Hard work pays off. Happy for you, Ahana!
Thank you Artem :)
Very inspiring... Have shared it in a few startup groups I am in.
Thank you so much, Rajesh! Really appreciate your support.
Thanks for sharing! I'm currently studying at Imperial and I think that your story is truly inspiring. Would love to connect and learn more from you!
Thanks Fion!!
There is no substitute for hard work. Well done!
Thank you!
Thank you Ahana. Please upload more videos on getting entry in Y combinator.
Check out my latest video ;)
Just applying to YC myself and appreciate all the insight. Looked you up, nice to see a fellow uwcsea grad.
Good luck with your application! Let me know if you need a hand.
@@AhanaBanerjee Would definitely appreciate your thoughts on my application if you have some time. I sent you a request on linkedin.
This is so encouraging. As an entrepreneur, i would be happy to connect and learn one or two things from you
Thank you Dun!
Great video! We did not get in this time around but my team and I will continue to push regardless and apply in the future again!
Thanks, Horace! I'm glad you will continue to persevere - the best thing you can do is build your business, improve traction, and make customers happy! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you and your team with your application :)
@@AhanaBanerjee Thanks so much, Ahana! We will definitely take you up on your kind assistance. Which medium of communication will be most convenient for you?
@@Horacel34 Feel free to get in touch via linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/ahana-banerjee/
Thank you for this story! 😊
Any time!
Amazing this has motivated me to apply to YC
Glad to hear it!
Thank you so much for this knowledge. It seems like YC is more interested in the founding team than the idea itself. YC would rather fund a A-team with a B-idea than a B-team with a A-idea.
I suppose so! I guess ideas/ the exact direction inevitably changes over time as the founders build and learn, so it makes sense to bet on a team that can navigate that.
I'd also argue that execution and timing are both probably more valuable than an awesome idea
I think their criteria for deciding who makes a great team is flawed. I see so many people who are ex-fb employees get into YC. Then, I look at their product, and it is uglier and less useful than software from 1999.
Obviously some ex-fb are successful. But imo, they should judge founders based on what products they can build not what university or company they worked at.
@@matthewdesanctis4451and how'd you suppose they judge that other than by their background?
Superb Ahana !!
Thanks!
Congrats Ahana! That was inspiring :)
Thank you so much!
It would be great to see a video of how you wrote your application - your written/comms skills must be amazing!
Great idea! I'll cover this in a future video
Good luck!
Thank you!
This video was very helpful knowing that you can apply to ycombinator with your idea but I applied this summer batch and didn't get in am also going to try again this winter batch with a new idea
Glad to hear you'll try again - perseverance is key! Please let me know if there's any way I can help :)
Hey Ahana, great video and congrats on getting on to Y Combinator. I had quick question, in terms of building an app prototype, how did you approach this? Was your co-founder building it from scratch?
Yep, me and my co-founders built it from scratch
Such an easy out!
Hey Ahana! Love this video, super helpful. Just a question, were they against the idea of you guys being students or didn't care much or do you have any idea why they asked that question?
Hey Ibrahim! Thank you :). They did have a couple of questions about us being students. In my experience and generally speaking, they do require a full time commitment to the company, and if you're doing it part time/ on the side, they do tend to ask why. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any more questions!
@@AhanaBanerjee hello, thank you for sharing! May I know what questions they asked about that topic and how you responded to ensure them that you can still run/succeed this startup?
Thank you for response
This is great to see. How's the team doing now?
Things are great - lots of exciting partnerships and product feature releases. I've fallen a bit behind on my TH-cam uploads, though! 😅
@@AhanaBanerjee hahah hey the product growth is what matters!
Wow congrats! Great insights. If you don't mind, how did you manage to get ~200 odd people to your landing page/to sign up to your new idea?
And do you have any tips/examples of how to answer the Application and Interview Qs?
Tbh, I asked every friend, family member, group chat I was on to sign up. This was one of the times I basically called in every favour I could.
Regarding the application, the most important thing is to be concise, show you're a strong team, and that what you're building can become huge. Stay tuned for my next video, which is going to be tips on cracking the YC interview :)
By YouSum Live
00:00:00 Seizing Y Combinator opportunity with a novel idea.
00:00:11 Transition from academia to entrepreneurial journey.
00:01:02 Utilizing "Disciplined Entrepreneurship" for startup guidance.
00:01:16 Idea generation process: 100 ideas to one standout concept.
00:01:35 Quill: Automating meeting minutes for efficiency and insights.
00:01:57 Bold move: Applying to Y Combinator despite doubts.
00:02:45 Intense preparation for YC interview with alumni insights.
00:03:23 Initial feedback: Pushing to launch and gain traction quickly.
00:05:55 Pivoting to Hout: Leveraging personal insights for a new idea.
00:06:45 Intense last-minute prototype building for Hout.
00:07:49 YC acceptance: Turning a four-day-old idea into reality.
By YouSum Live
Thanks for the video, info, and motivation! Do you think applying as a sole founder is ok? I want to build a team, but should i just apply now or build a team first then apply?
Being a solo founder is harder, but one of the teams in my close group was led by a solo founder, and he was fantastic! So, in short, it's harder but can be done very well. He also had a great track record and was an experienced entrepreneur. Given YC are often looking for a good team (as it was in our case), if you don't have a lot of prior entrepreneurial experience, it may be worth trying to build a team first.
@@AhanaBanerjee Thank you!!
Hi! First of all congratulations and thanks for posting this motivating video. We have built our MVP and have launched about 8 days ago. Around 100 odd users are using the web application and I have mostly received positive feedback. Right now I am not charging to get more users. So I have no revenue to show. How particular are people at YC regarding having paying customers given that it is just an MVP which is 8 days old.
Thanks! I would apply - of course, generating revenue helps, but we certainly didn't have any revenue to show either.
@@AhanaBanerjee thank you very much
Thanks for sharing your great experience. We also attending nxt batch.
I send you connection request on linkedin
I'm so happy that you got into YC🤗. I applied to 2021 winter batch as a late submission. I know they also take late submissions but what is your idea about late submission? Chance of getting in I mean. And I if I could get in I would be grateful if you could help me with interview🤗✌️
Thank you! I'm not too sure how it works with late submission, tbh. Happy to help if you get an interiew!
Hello, Ahana! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I applied to Yc this year with a fantastic idea but I am not technically strong to develop an app myself. Will still be accepted?
I am not involved in the admissions process at all, but in general, I am of the belief that the idea is only a small fraction of what makes a company successful
I have only 1 question. I appreciate if you take only 1 minute and answer.
1. I have a an idea of decade. And I don't have MVP. For developing MVP make take minimum 6 months.
Do Y COMBINATOR FUND FOR IDEA? OR WE SHOULD HAVE MVP?
Can i apply with just an idea. They put company field in the application and am just having the idea and can’t register a company. Can you advise.
Thanks for sharing btw. I subscribed
Yes, you can! Although it helps to show steps you've taken towards turning your idea into reality (e.g. talking to users or writing some code).
Wish I know how to code I have brilliant ideas but don't where to start
You can apply to Y combinator with just an idea? My assumption is that require a working prototype when applying,even better if you have independently scaled the product and can provide some more convincing metrics
The more traction and progress you have, the more likely you are to be successful with your application. Nonetheless, you can apply at any stage.
Hey Ahana, super inspiring video!! I was wondering if you could proofread our YC application? It would provide us valuable guidance :)
Thanks! Sure - feel free to message me on LInkedin/ Twitter/ email :)
Hello Ahana, I would like to ask if you added a demo or prototype to your application.
Not to the application, but I did show one during the interview
Thank you for sharing your experience. I have applied for Y Combinators too. I would be very grateful if you could give me some guidance if invited for interview.
Yes of course!
Did you have a logo and did you have a company on a site or yt?When you aplied?
I think I had a logo and a very basic landing page
Hi anna,we want more videos from your side
Been super busy lately but hope to get back to posting more videos in the coming months! Thanks for your support
Hey Ahana, this is vishwajeet from indian. I really inspired by your hardwork and story. I had also submitted my application in Ycombinator so will you please review my application?
Sorry for the slow response - I missed this comment. Let me know if you need help with an interview/ future application
YC continues to accept early businesses because they like the founders’ bg and the application, I think this is a mistake.
I continue to see stories of companies that were early when getting into YC and fail to reach product-market-fit. They almost always get stuck at 8-12 employees and then run out of money and fail.
Knowing that businesses take years to find product-market-fit, YC should go after companies that are 3 years old and have significant revenue.
A company that has been able to grow for years has significantly higher chances of success than a 4 day old idea trying to play the idea lottery.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I don't speak for/ represent YC, but my inkling is that YC tend to favour high risk (but potentially very high reward) investments over medium risk (already established companies) that don't have as much scaling potential. I think this makes sense for them financially.
While I agree that an already successful company has a higher chance of long term success than a brand new company that still has a lot to prove, I think there's a place for both types of company, and it ultimately depends on your strategy as the investor.
Well said.
I am mainly talking about ideas that have ability to scale vs lifestyle businesses.
Just because a business has been around for 3 years and hasn't scaled yet, doesn't mean it's a low reward business. Has your company started scaling exponentially already?
Maybe the product-market-fit hasn't been found yet.
@@AhanaBanerjee , perfect answer!
Hey Ahana, does our Linkdin profile matters while applying to YC?
I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure what you write on the application + how you come across in the video is more important
@@AhanaBanerjee okay, but when you applied & got selected at that time were you satisfied with your linkdin profile? Like, rn my linkdin profile makes me question, so I'm just asking.
@@jackc309 I have been active on LinkedIn since I started using it (when I was 18) and I applied to YC when I was 21. So, yes I was satisfied with my LinkedIn profile, but equally, it was nothing super special and I very much doubt it had anything to do with the final outcome. Some YC partners/ many software engineers hardly use LinkedIn so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
@@AhanaBanerjee cool! I have my answer now. Thanks much btw I'll reach out to you if we need any guidance before our Sept 12 deadline, if you are okay with it!?
@@jackc309 Sure!
Hi I am planning to apply in YC, it's very helpful if you can guide
Sure! Good luck for your application and feel free to reach out if you have any questions
@@AhanaBanerjee thanks how to reach out I just wanted to know some guidance before applying
@@chiragsedani674 Message me on Linkedin!
@@AhanaBanerjee thanks I have sent you connection request.
How many co founders do you have?
Just one, Ben! He features in another video of mine
Hey Ahana! Would you be kind enough to provide your business email? Would love to talk to you in detail about a venture we are developing
Of course! Feel free to reach out to ahana@getclearapp.com 📧
As A Non Technical Founder Who Has Not Build His Full MVP What Advice Would You Give For Getting Into Y Combinator
Try to find a way to prove there is demand for your idea! Start with a solution that doesn't scale - whether than means manually processing user requests/ delivering a service/ using excel.