(public).sospep.subjects ~ view article ~ 002-so-you-didnt-get-into-yc-now-what?

<h1 style="text-align: center;">so you didnt get into yc, now what?</h1>
<h2>[WHAT]</h2>
<ol>
<li>]&nbsp;by Denis Mars @__ - I'd like to share some personal pointers that&rsquo;ll hopefully help you through this process and guide you towards making a successful future application for the next YC batch.</li>
</ol>
<h2>[WHY]</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>[tldr]</strong>&nbsp;</li>
<ol>
<li>] If you&rsquo;re determined to build a great company, then you&rsquo;ll do so whether you got into YC or not, so <span style="background-color: #00ff00;">don&rsquo;t give up, and keep going</span></li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[Don&rsquo;t give up] - get stronger, get wiser and get better in whatever it is you are doing, then try again</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>]&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Learn to handle rejections</span> -&nbsp;1 of the best skills every successful entrepreneur will have</li>
<li>] <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Determination</span> is by far the strongest attribute of successful entrepreneurs, so</li>
<li>] stay <span style="text-decoration: underline;">focus</span>ed, and keep going</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[ what yc looks for ]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>]&nbsp;&nbsp;The biggest thing YC looks for is a founder or founding team that will pursue success relentlessly, with or without YC</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">] Your mission should not be to get into YC. It should be to build an amazing company. Take this as an opportunity to prove yourself even more next time. Define objectives, milestones and progress</span></li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[dont take it personal]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>]&nbsp; treat this as another step in the journey of growing and becoming better at what you do. Most of the successful people I know do just that, they look at every setback as a lesson, then keep driving forward with a determination to succeed</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[dont get hung up on it]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] Sometimes there are anomalies and great founders and startups can slip through the cracks. It&rsquo;s only natural that this is going to happen. What separates these startups from the rest though are the fact that these startups are determined to keep going forward, and focus on executing their startups</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[question your motives]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] make sure your intent is to build a great company, not to get into YC</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[you will be remembered]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] startups that don&rsquo;t get accepted the first time, but keep executing, will be remembered and make for a compelling YC applicant the next time around</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[the best time to apply]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] apply when <strong>you are in the best possible position to leverage YC to help you launch</strong> your startup into high earth orbit</li>
<li>] <strong>a solid founding team with a history working together</strong> does make a difference as the most common reason startups fail is due to founders breaking up, or not working well together</li>
<li>] flesh out your ideas so that when you do apply you&rsquo;ll already have <strong>validated</strong> these<strong> ideas </strong>to some extent and are firmly <strong>in the process of executing your startup</strong></li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[traction is king]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] The hardest part for any startup is getting traction with real users, real growth, and real potential</li>
<li>] Getting early traction towards a massive market opportunity is a strong signal that you are a startup founder determined to make things happen with the vision to do something big. Traction is the best validation of both you and your vision and will give you the biggest boost for your next YC application</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[reach out]</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] there is nothing stopping you from reaching out to others, including YC alums, to help you fine tune your startup and ideas.</li>
<li>] There&rsquo;s lots of materials online, and PG has lots of <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html">great essays</a> to read that&rsquo;ll help you on your journey. There&rsquo;s great events such as YC&rsquo;s <a href="http://startupschool.org/">Startup School</a> that could be super valuable and a great way for you to meet other founders and learn what it takes to build great startups</li>
</ol></ol>
<h2>[WHERE]</h2>
<ol>
<li>] <a href="http://imars.posthaven.com/so-you-didnt-get-into-yc-now-what" target="_blank">http://imars.posthaven.com/so-you-didnt-get-into-yc-now-what</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<h2>[WHEN]</h2>
<ol>
<li>] 2014-06-12</li>
</ol>
<h2>[EXAMPLE]</h2>
<ol>
<li>]</li>
</ol>
<h2>[HOW-TO]</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>] <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Your mission</span> should NOT be to get into YC. It should be to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">build an amazing company</span>.&nbsp;</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] Define objectives,</li>
<li>] milestones and</li>
<li>] progress</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>] every setback is a lesson</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>] review and</li>
<li>] learn,</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>] reach out</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>]&nbsp;there is nothing stopping you from reaching out to others, including <span style="text-decoration: underline;">YC alums</span>, to help you fine <span style="text-decoration: underline;">tune your startup</span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">ideas</span>.</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>] learn</strong></li>
<ol>
<li>]</li>
</ol>
<li><strong>[Don&rsquo;t give up] - get stronger, get wiser and get better in whatever it is you are doing, then try again</strong><ol>
<li>]&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Learn to handle rejections</span> -&nbsp;1 of the best skills every successful entrepreneur will have</li>
<li>] <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Determination</span> - &nbsp;is by far the strongest attribute of successful entrepreneurs, so</li>
<li>] stay <span style="text-decoration: underline;">focus</span>ed&nbsp;-&nbsp;and keep going</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>
<h2>[REFERENCE]</h2>
<ol>
<li>]</li>
</ol>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</h1>

~ view article ~ Chapter] ch-999-index FROM [ Book] startup-accelorator IN [ libraries] business