article

how to apply to ycombinator

[WHAT]

1. ] Paul Graham, the founder of the ycombinator accelorator program outlines his tips on applying to their program
1. ] THIS IS A SUMMARY OF SOME of the KEY POINTS -

[WHY]

1. ] the #1 startup accelorator in the #1 startup marketplace in the world

[WHERE]

1. ] READ THE FULL ARTICLE
1. ] http://www.ycombinator.com/howtoapply/

[WHEN]

1. ]

[EXAMPLE]

1. ] the biggest thing people don’t understand about the process is the importance of expressing yourself clearly.
1. ] Whatever you have to say, give it to us right in the first sentence, in the simplest possible terms
2. ] first thing i notice - your hackernews username -
1. ] make thoughtful comments on hn
2. ] other YC partners are less influenced by this,
3. ] The first question I look at is, “What is your company going to make?”
1. ] This isn’t the question I care most about -
4. ] mistake - using marketing-speak to make your idea sound more exciting. We’re immune , its noise
1. ] ex - We are going to transform the relationship between individuals and information
5. ] mistake
1. ] a sweeping introductory paragraph about the importance of the problem
6. ] Better to start with an overly narrow description of your project than try to describe it in its full generality and lose the audience completely.
1. ] If there’s a simple one-sentence description of what you’re doing that only conveys half your potential, that’s actually pretty good. You’re halfway to your destination in just the first sentence
7. ]  explain it as a variant of something the audience already knows
1. ] ...
8. ] After spending 20 seconds or so trying to understand the idea,
1. I skip down to look at the founders. My initial goal is to figure out what kind of group I’m dealing with.
9. ] the founders group "configuration"
1. ] college group, colleauges
2. ] skills ] programmer, ]
10. ] I try to figure out how good an instance of that type it is.
1. ] The most important question for deciding that is ...
11. ] Please tell us in one or two sentences about something impressive that each founder has built or achieved
12. ] To me this is the most important question on the application. It’s deliberately open-ended; there’s no one type of answer we’re looking for.
1. ] example DO - It could be that you did really well in school, or that you wrote a highly-regarded piece of software, or that you paid your own way through college after leaving home at 16. It’s not the type of achievement that matters so much as the magnitude
2. ] example DONT - Jordan is an exceptionally dedicated person who gives 100% effort to every project he undertakes
3. ] example DONT 2 - list your startup - they know you built that
13. ] If the founders seem promising,
1. ] I’ll now spend more time trying to understand the idea.
14. ] what we look for in ideas is not the type of idea but the level of insight you have about it.
1. ] You’re going to start an auction site? That could be a good idea or a bad idea. What matters is how you’re going to hold your own against eBay. What’s going to be distinctive about your solution?
2. ] common mistake -  saying its "well designed, easy to use - thats not insight -
3. ] exactly what is "well designed" why is easier to use
15. ] We don’t mind if you’re doing something that will face serious obstacles. In fact, we like that.
1. ] The best startup ideas are generally outliers that seem crazy to most people initially.
2. ] But we want to see that you’re aware of the obstacles, and have at least a theory about how to overcome them
16. ] if we can see obstacles to your idea that you don’t seem to have considered, that’s a bad sign.
1. ] We shouldn’t be able to come up with objections you haven’t thought of.
17. ] If the founders seem promising and the idea is interesting, I’ll now spend a lot more time on the application.
1. ] look at the video - (Statistically we’re much more likely to interview people who submit a video.)
2. ] look at the demo
3. ] look at answers to the mundane questions -
18. ] If (founders == true && idea == false) {
1. ] question near the end that asks what other ideas the founders had.(It’s quite common for us to fund groups to work on ideas they listed as alternates.) }
19. ] wildcard ?
1. ] Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage
2. ] We’re looking for people who like to beat the system. So if the answer to this question is good enough, it will make me go back and take a second look at an application that otherwise seemed unpromising. (In fact, I think there are people we’ve invited to interviews mainly on the strength of their answer to this question )
20. ] advice
1. ] help us out. Investors are optimists. We want to believe you’re great. Most people you meet in everyday life don’t.
2. ] Investors are different, because they get equity. Tell investors you’re going to start the next Google and they immediately perk up. They don’t default to skepticism, because they like risky bets. they hope to be drawn up with you
3. ] Like all investors, we want to believe. So help us believe. If there’s something about you that stands out, or some special insight you have into the problem you plan to work on, make sure we see it.
4. ] The best way to do that is simply to be concise. You don’t have to sell us on you. We’ll sell ourselves, if we can just understand you. But every unnecessary word in your application subtracts from the effect of the necessary ones. So before submitting your application, print it out and take a red pen and cross out every word you don’t need. And in what’s left be as specific and as matter-of-fact as you can.

[HOW-TO]

1. ]

[REFERENCE]

1. ] # 4914 - ycombinator sospep
1. ] my notebook - everything i know about ycombinator - the application process,

 

Details

ID: 4424

NAME: 001-ycombinator-how-to-apply

DESCRIPTION: SUMMARY - by Paul Graham- Tips on applying to ycombinator.com accelerator program

AUTHOR: article.author/s

EDITOR: article.editor/s

PUBLISHER: article.publisher/s

STATUS: Write

PRIORITY: 0

OWNER ID: 75

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