Hi HN -- Kat here. Catheryn Li and I worked on launching this version of the library. This is Phase 1 -- we'll be adding more content from YC's archives, and new content as more is made. Seeing this thread and what you're searching for will give us a better sense of what we're missing. If you have feedback or ideas - let us know: [email protected] and [email protected].
Those all sound like reasons to apply to YC. :) We've funded a good number of companies at this point that were farther along when they applied and had millions in revenue (MessageBird, for example, who was just on HN a couple days ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23624854). I recommend reaching out to some of those alum and talking to them about their experience.
While it's true that we have some companies in the batch that are well past launch, in S18 only 44% of the companies we funded had revenue and roughly 40% were not launched prior to YC.
If you're working on a water startup, and you'd like to apply to YC, you should still do it. You can apply to YC with any type of company -- it doesn't have to line up with an RFS. Our blog post for water startups is still out there -- it's just not a current RFS. As I mentioned in a comment above, this isn't an exhaustive list of the ideas we'd like to fund.
The RFS isn't meant to be an exhaustive list of the ideas we're interested in funding. It's a list of ideas we'd like even more founders to apply with. We get a lot of blockchain and crypto applications -- and if that's what you're working on, I recommend you apply with it.
Another thing I've been curious about is how many of the founders had student loans when they started the company. I'd bet that student loans hold a lot of people back. I just paid mine off last year.
We donated money, are advising on technical projects and are connecting with them technical volunteers on a number of projects they're working on. When we announced we were working with the ACLU, over 1,500 people in our community volunteered to help. We sent one of our software engineers, Cadran Cowansage, to work with them full time this batch. She has been plugging in volunteers as needed. Anthony Romero, the Executive Director of the ACLU, presented at Demo Day. You can read a bit more about it here: https://www.axios.com/how-yc-is-helping-the-aclu-get-more-te...
And we don't have an arrangement with companies we fund. Founders decide if they want to put our logo on their site.
I recently tallied up the schools that founders from our Summer 2016 batch went to, and they attended over 180. There are many schools on that list that most people haven't heard of.