YC s11 Rejected Applicants: This is the real test.
13 comments
> If this bump in the road rattles you enough to close shop, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur.
I question the value of telling someone they "shouldn't" be an entrepreneur. Even that they "aren't" an entrepreneur.
Closing shop doesn't have to be a permanent thing.
Didn't get accepted for this round of YC? Decide what that means for you, then continue to live your life.
I question the value of telling someone they "shouldn't" be an entrepreneur. Even that they "aren't" an entrepreneur.
Closing shop doesn't have to be a permanent thing.
Didn't get accepted for this round of YC? Decide what that means for you, then continue to live your life.
If rejection makes you stop building the company that you envision, love, and put all of your effort behind, then you will never succeed running a startup. This may be a bold statement, but I'd love to hear what Jobs, Gates, Zuck, or anyone else with expertise in the area have to say.
I definitely agree with this.
If you applied to YC to have your project validated by @pg and associates. Then you should think twice about your real motivations.
Only close shop when you're sure your idea is not a good one or that you KNOW that you're not able to achieve it.
I got to the badge below Eagle (Life) basically as fast as it was mechanically possible to. I'm not sure when exactly, but by 8th grade at the latest. Then all of my friends dropped out of scouts when we got to high school. I ended up being Senior Patrol Leader and running the troop for a couple of years, and I avoided working on an Eagle project for a while... I had time.
Then at some point I decided I'd rather do something that other kids my age were also doing, so after much hand-wringing I quit Boy Scouts and joined the theater. I ended up being the lead in the school musical senior year, and I sung in choirs all through college. I did light opera. I joined a gospel choir and performed in baptist churches all across the state.
I also developed a deep belief that I could try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone, and excel at them.
I sometimes wonder whether I should've stayed and gotten the Eagle. Finishing things is certainly a weakness of mine. Maybe if I had spent those last two two years of high school hanging around with 13 year olds and building a bridge in the woods I'd be a better finisher. But I'd be a worse artist. And I'd be a more cautious person.
This is the second time I got rejected from YCombinator. And quitting is the furthest thing from my mind. But I'm glad I quit back then.
Then at some point I decided I'd rather do something that other kids my age were also doing, so after much hand-wringing I quit Boy Scouts and joined the theater. I ended up being the lead in the school musical senior year, and I sung in choirs all through college. I did light opera. I joined a gospel choir and performed in baptist churches all across the state.
I also developed a deep belief that I could try totally new things that were outside my comfort zone, and excel at them.
I sometimes wonder whether I should've stayed and gotten the Eagle. Finishing things is certainly a weakness of mine. Maybe if I had spent those last two two years of high school hanging around with 13 year olds and building a bridge in the woods I'd be a better finisher. But I'd be a worse artist. And I'd be a more cautious person.
This is the second time I got rejected from YCombinator. And quitting is the furthest thing from my mind. But I'm glad I quit back then.
Girl Scout Gold Award recipient here just got rejected. (: I'm looking for a cofounder if anyone knows anyone interested in working on a social startup. I'm more interested in finding passionate people than people with a particular skillset.
You might want to look into why the images on pages like http://yellowrubberball.com/why-yrb/ on your site hang off the side of the page in Chrome 10.0.648.204 on OS X.
I noticed it on the home page too.
I noticed it on the home page too.
I've been looking for someone to work with on my social networking project, so give a shout if you would like to discuss it. Would be nice to reapply (or get funding elsewhere) with a strong team.
Eagle Scout here. We got rejected as well. I wonder how much bearing gold/eagle awards actually have on the yc selection process. Are you out in the bay area Katie?
Disappointed.
I've got nothing against YC, but I've seemed to go into "success is the best revenge" mode ha.
To be honest it's a good wake up call, I need to stop treating my start up as a lifestyle business.
Dropping out of university at the end of this term and i'm pushing forward with it.
Decisions been made.
I've got nothing against YC, but I've seemed to go into "success is the best revenge" mode ha.
To be honest it's a good wake up call, I need to stop treating my start up as a lifestyle business.
Dropping out of university at the end of this term and i'm pushing forward with it.
Decisions been made.
Have you considered whether you're following a fantasy? Maybe you should seek advice from someone you trust who doesn't drink the HN/TechCrunch Kool-Aid. Somehow I doubt you were rejected from YC due to lack of effort.
I've been working on the idea for a while now, in a nutshell it's a less bureaucratic version of paypal. I've been seeking advice from a lot of different sources. To be honest, i think the main reason is the fact that i'm a sole founder and that I've been doing everything on my own. Which is stupid, but it isn't easy to find technology entrepreneurs my age in the UK, or ones who are as committed.
The prototype has been developed, so I'm going to take it to market within the next few weeks. Then apply to YC again in the winter, with a bit more grounding and social proof.
It's not really the money I was hoping to receive it's the support/advice/mentorship, especially on legal matters. Most of the lawyers i've spoken to don't really have a clue about the SAAS model.
The prototype has been developed, so I'm going to take it to market within the next few weeks. Then apply to YC again in the winter, with a bit more grounding and social proof.
It's not really the money I was hoping to receive it's the support/advice/mentorship, especially on legal matters. Most of the lawyers i've spoken to don't really have a clue about the SAAS model.
Although bconway is trying to look out for your better interests, I'm going to advise you to go with the route you just mapped out.
Maybe your idea isn't the "one". Maybe you can't pull off running a startup. Maybe you aren't in the right place at the time.
But I'm betting that the preceding paragraph is all false. And even if I'm wrong, at least you put your balls on the line and did something you believed in. The story of your startup will beat an infinite number of drunken frat stories any day.
Safety Net: You can always head back to college if things get ugly.
Maybe your idea isn't the "one". Maybe you can't pull off running a startup. Maybe you aren't in the right place at the time.
But I'm betting that the preceding paragraph is all false. And even if I'm wrong, at least you put your balls on the line and did something you believed in. The story of your startup will beat an infinite number of drunken frat stories any day.
Safety Net: You can always head back to college if things get ugly.
Yes and no. I was in freelance photography before switching to programming (weird, huh?). I thought repeatedly: I can't just give up photography, that'd make me a pussy. I should aspire to do what I love.
Then I dumped professional photography and became a programmer, and I am freer, better paid and happier than I would be otherwise. Quitting one thing let me find another that is better.
I guess, the real difference is that someone (Mike Rowe) tells you want to do: don't quit, it's better. But if you don't know what's better, then you don't know if you are quitting the wrong path to pursue a right path, or what. Decisions you make in absence of a judge are always uncertain. And who has the authority to judge me?
Then I dumped professional photography and became a programmer, and I am freer, better paid and happier than I would be otherwise. Quitting one thing let me find another that is better.
I guess, the real difference is that someone (Mike Rowe) tells you want to do: don't quit, it's better. But if you don't know what's better, then you don't know if you are quitting the wrong path to pursue a right path, or what. Decisions you make in absence of a judge are always uncertain. And who has the authority to judge me?
I totally agree regarding trying new things. If something interests you more, then go and do it. But if you walk away from something just because you got your ass kicked, that's just lame. Maybe that might lead to something better, more likely not. I think a hybrid model where you do something that you love while you keep your options open is a good approach :)
I got rejected twice. However, I have a different idea for a startup. Non web startup, not based on coding. Based on the fact that I never even got a reason why I was rejected, I thought I'd apply differently this time. Saved my application in a file and then posted it here:
http://thypope.posterous.com/my-latest-y-combinator-applicat...
Tried to make them think. I believe they're in a loop of... self-indulgence, really. Since I think they do their best to stay the $#@! away from taking risks with any "unorthodox" ideas.
http://thypope.posterous.com/my-latest-y-combinator-applicat...
Tried to make them think. I believe they're in a loop of... self-indulgence, really. Since I think they do their best to stay the $#@! away from taking risks with any "unorthodox" ideas.
I skimmed the first paragraph of your application...
Listen, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I wouldn't have invited you to an interview either (regardless of the BS jargon in the application). Here's why.
1. You are a single founder.
Doing a startup alone is sooooo hard. The only way they would consider having a solo founder is if you're a programmer. (see #2)
2. You're are not a programmer.
It's hard to explain. Being a programmer changes the way you think of ideas. You know what is possible, what is plausible and where that intersection between the two is. Your ideas may be fantastic, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't plausible. It's not your fault. You just need to learn how to code if you want to understand what I'm talking about. On top of that, a startup CEO typically plays 'engineer' for at least a year or two before moving up to a lofty management position (but YC looks for hackers - the kind of guys who never stop checking in code at their companies).
3. Your attitude sucks.
You got rejected from YC. Shit happens. It's irresponsible and immature to blame YC because they didn't decide to fund you. Entrepreneurs don't sit and complain when rejection happens - they work harder to ensure it won't happen again.
This is not meant to be a mean post against you. You can continue doing your thing your way, but I will almost guarantee that you will not succeed in running your startup.
Listen, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I wouldn't have invited you to an interview either (regardless of the BS jargon in the application). Here's why.
1. You are a single founder.
Doing a startup alone is sooooo hard. The only way they would consider having a solo founder is if you're a programmer. (see #2)
2. You're are not a programmer.
It's hard to explain. Being a programmer changes the way you think of ideas. You know what is possible, what is plausible and where that intersection between the two is. Your ideas may be fantastic, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't plausible. It's not your fault. You just need to learn how to code if you want to understand what I'm talking about. On top of that, a startup CEO typically plays 'engineer' for at least a year or two before moving up to a lofty management position (but YC looks for hackers - the kind of guys who never stop checking in code at their companies).
3. Your attitude sucks.
You got rejected from YC. Shit happens. It's irresponsible and immature to blame YC because they didn't decide to fund you. Entrepreneurs don't sit and complain when rejection happens - they work harder to ensure it won't happen again.
This is not meant to be a mean post against you. You can continue doing your thing your way, but I will almost guarantee that you will not succeed in running your startup.
I sincerely hope that you did get the point - that was a "kamikaze" application not meant to get me in, but meant to get them out of their self righteous loop!
You appear to not have read the whole thing. Okay, you didn't have to, of course.
But you completely proved my point: that's what they also do. This is why I tried my best to get their attention woken up at least for this one application. Maybe they'll start waking up before reading other applications in the future, as well!
I believe they never got the point that this is not a programming-centered idea. Not a software startup at all. I want to make hardware, to put it shortly.
Not meaning to brag, but I applied for another incubator as well, and got to the last stage. I was dumped there, but they did say I came across as technically strong and with relevant and solid experience. Among their tests was a programming test. I sent two e-mails explaining how I'm not a coder but how I'm not supposed to be one. And they passed me to the next stage.
Again, I think you proved the point I was trying to make with Y Combinator flawlessly. Not as an offence to you, though.
And yes, I understand that you weren't trying to bash me but to help me instead. Thanks for that.
Not meaning to brag, but I applied for another incubator as well, and got to the last stage. I was dumped there, but they did say I came across as technically strong and with relevant and solid experience. Among their tests was a programming test. I sent two e-mails explaining how I'm not a coder but how I'm not supposed to be one. And they passed me to the next stage.
Again, I think you proved the point I was trying to make with Y Combinator flawlessly. Not as an offence to you, though.
And yes, I understand that you weren't trying to bash me but to help me instead. Thanks for that.
I get that it was a "kamikaze" application. The fact of the matter is that YC looks for hackers, which you are not. It doesn't mean you're lesser. It just means that you shouldn't be surprised when you get rejected from YC.
I don't understand why/what you're protesting. If you want them to look beyond software startups, that would be very foolish of them as their area of expertise is software.
I don't understand why/what you're protesting. If you want them to look beyond software startups, that would be very foolish of them as their area of expertise is software.
Well, I don't live in The Valley. Not in the US, actually. I thought it would be reasonable to assume that people calling themselves investors would look at anything.
Right now it looks like that guy from Mountain View was right: if the iPhone's popular, everyone's doing something related to the iPhone. Which is fine, as it's their choice.
But it seems that if you utter the word Blackberry, you get fined or arrested for disturbing public order. And if you even think of Nokia, Gov. A. Schwarzenegger himself will punch you in the throat.
Okay, I didn't know that. I will remember it next time I have to deal with such people. Good to know.
What I think is obviously missing? Simple, Y Combinator's main page displaying a huge banner that says "we don't care about anything non-software, go away." It would have warned me right from the start. They never explicitly say it, they just heavily hint at it (e.g. they ask for your github ID, which you don't need unless you do some sort of coding) and I'm here to say quit hinting and just admit it out loud. But I believe that's also typical - what we hint at, it's actually an axiom. What we recommend, it's actually required. I believe that's not right. Simple as that. No hard feelings.
Okay, I didn't know that. I will remember it next time I have to deal with such people. Good to know.
What I think is obviously missing? Simple, Y Combinator's main page displaying a huge banner that says "we don't care about anything non-software, go away." It would have warned me right from the start. They never explicitly say it, they just heavily hint at it (e.g. they ask for your github ID, which you don't need unless you do some sort of coding) and I'm here to say quit hinting and just admit it out loud. But I believe that's also typical - what we hint at, it's actually an axiom. What we recommend, it's actually required. I believe that's not right. Simple as that. No hard feelings.
You're taking what Silicon Valley media reports and slapping it onto the face of YC. YC's most successful startups are not "iPhone Apps". DropBox, Heroku, CloudKick, Justin.TV, etc. These are real guys tackling real problems. Your sarcastic remarks belittle their accomplishments, which is immature at best.
"Though we fund all types of startups, we're especially interested in web/mobile applications. We've been thinking about that problem longer than anyone else, and by now can visualize much of the space of possibilities."
This means that they are more comfortable investing in an area where they're the experts. If you're going to blindly apply to a VC without reading their "About" page, that is you being irresponsible, not a problem with the VC.
"Though we fund all types of startups, we're especially interested in web/mobile applications. We've been thinking about that problem longer than anyone else, and by now can visualize much of the space of possibilities."
This means that they are more comfortable investing in an area where they're the experts. If you're going to blindly apply to a VC without reading their "About" page, that is you being irresponsible, not a problem with the VC.
My point exactly - again! "They are more comfortable in that area" means "they don't actually invest outside that area." I feel I could have saved some time if I knew this before I applied for the first time.
But yeah, I get it, you can't conceive them ever being wrong, for some reason. I have nothing against that, it's an opinion and it's as personal as a haircut.
But yeah, I get it, you can't conceive them ever being wrong, for some reason. I have nothing against that, it's an opinion and it's as personal as a haircut.
No, it doesn't mean "they don't actually invest outside that area", it means that you have to have a kick ass team and product for them to even consider taking you. You don't have a team, which is what probably killed your application from the start.
Again, this is all posted on their website. Digging around on the internet would reveal even more information. You should have done this in the first place before applying to a VC.
Again, this is all posted on their website. Digging around on the internet would reveal even more information. You should have done this in the first place before applying to a VC.
Yeah, but that whole single founder thing is so messed up. They don't really send you the message that they rarely take single founders on board. You have to find horror stories on the net. One of them is about a guy who had two other co-founders or so, but those couldn't just move for three months. They had families and lives. So the guy moves to SF and they tell him "we really hate single founders."
So, if the other co-founders are not there, it's like they don't exist at all. I do have a guy, an engineer who would do a lot of the required work, but moving him to the US is an idea from another planet.
He is part of the team. There's no doubt about that. He just doesn't want to be a legal co-owner. He doesn't want that responsibility. He's also much older than me and has a different perspective.
But Y Combinator, suffering from ADHD, won't have the patience to consider all that. That was kinda my whole point. I'm still not sure you got it.
You would not have even written that paragraph had you ever tried to run a startup under either of these circumstances:
1. You tried (legitimately) running a startup as a single founder.
2. You tried running a startup where a majority of the co-founders were not working on location.
I've been in both situations multiple times, learned the hard way.
1. You tried (legitimately) running a startup as a single founder.
2. You tried running a startup where a majority of the co-founders were not working on location.
I've been in both situations multiple times, learned the hard way.
Wow, we reached the limit of the sausage string. I have to reply to my own comment :)
I still believe I can do it "alone," i.e. with just that other guy. I'm just gonna go get the needed money elsewhere and forget about Y Combinator. That blog post or whatever you want to call it, is my opinion on them.
I still believe I can do it "alone," i.e. with just that other guy. I'm just gonna go get the needed money elsewhere and forget about Y Combinator. That blog post or whatever you want to call it, is my opinion on them.
I would consider it slanderous but to each their own. I think there are more respectable (and polite) ways of protesting though.
For some reason the rejection has bumped my productivity.
I've produced so much today than I haven't done since months now.
I guess the rejection made me feel like I don't need help, Start-up is about business and if for some reasons* YC feel like our idea don't worth investing in (I doubt it) or maybe we are not good enough to execute then it's up to us to prove the contrary.
I turned 18 before I could complete my Eagle. But Boy Scouts had a lasting impact on the way I live my life.
There are many things I have tackled in my life because I have the courage to stand up and do something others might not.
A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
There are many things I have tackled in my life because I have the courage to stand up and do something others might not.
A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
I agree. I'll never forget this one, though...
"Always be prepared."
Best advice to live your life by (especially when running a startup).
"Always be prepared."
Best advice to live your life by (especially when running a startup).
Agreed...sometimes being prepared means knowing what to do when the unknown arises
I got my Eagle at age 18 and 3 months... They give you 6 months to do the paperwork after your 18th birthday.
Yes and No. A good entrepreneur needs to be able to execute and part of that is spending time on the right ideas and features for that idea. I'd say the ability to assess sensibly the question 'Am I working on the best thing I can be at the moment' is more important than dogged pursuit of a single goal.
Have you ever bootstrapped a startup? I've never bootstrapped a startup where we weren't hell bent on getting our shit done until our vision was complete..
I am also an Eagle Scout! I have been hired at previous "jobs" because I obtained the rank. Just remember the sky starts where the ground ends! Just get it off the ground, and your in the sky... :)
I'm also an Eagle Scout and earning it is one of proudest accomplishments.
There's always something to look forward :)
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/3/30/Mike_Rowe-Dirty_Jobs_Eagle_Letter.pdf
tl;dr Becoming an Eagle Scout is proof that you aren't a quitter. You get shit done and are a relentless pioneer.
If this bump in the road rattles you enough to close shop, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur. The most successful entrepreneurs have failed more times than they can count. Each "failure" teaches you something...how to build an unbelievably great company.
Want to be a great entrepreneur? Get shit done and be a relentless pioneer. That is the real test of entrepreneurship.
PS - I got my Eagle Scout rank.