How to Apply and Succeed at Y Combinator

I am not a YC alumnus, but I had the pleasure and privilege of interacting with several of them. I can definitely say here: what matters is not what an accelerator or any training can give you, but what you are going to take. You can tell a lot about a person and their experience and ambition from one question.

Any training is an investment. An investment of time and effort that will pay off, depending on how much of that investment is targeted and how much time you really put into it.

From my experience of applying to YC, I can highlight a couple of points.

1. There are a bunch of different consultants and advisers who promise to help you create a successful application. Often their services are about helping you rewrite the application over 100 times. It’s important to understand what those who read the application want to see in each of the paragraphs, and evaluate how your answers fit into that vision.

2. A good application is no substitute for the performance and experience of the founders. YC gets projects at the idea stage, but it’s precisely because the founders have a great understanding of how they will solve the client’s problem at the very beginning and they have relevant experience. And not because they are the best at filling out an application. like excellent students.