I still wish they'd give reasons why. even if it was a checkbox thing. 'primary reason of rejection: no-cofounder' or 'bad idea', 'need more demo', 'not our area of interest', 'try again with this team and idea in 6 months' etc.
It will be a combination of these and other points. As someone who got into YC, I think the things we had in our favour were:
- Strong team (10 years friendship, history of working on interesting projects together)
- Proven determination (6+ tough years working on startups, willingness to travel from Australia just for the interview)
- Good primary idea + several other solid ideas (our primary idea wasn't a new concept at all, but a new, niche angle on a very established concept)
If you didn't get picked, it's because you didn't convey these qualities well enough. All you can do to get yourself there eventually (either into YC or to startup success some other way) is to keep persisting.
The key attributes YC looks for are smart & determined. You need to prove that you have these qualities, or if you don't, you need to develop them.
Tom, whats frustrating for me is I feel like my partner and I exhibited all those attributes. We don't think its the team, we know our team is strong. So it must be the idea: they aren't getting it.
We emailed a few YC alum to review our application last month, and they all said we were a great team. One loved the idea, one liked it, and one had no clue about the market (wasn't familiar with Facebook and quizzes). Our idea targets young people (12-25 yrs). Which leads to my thinking, that because they're unfamiliar with it (YC partners too old, would never do facebook quizzes), they brushed it off? One other issue is that they prefer built out products with users. We only had a working demo and proof of concept samples.
Either that or all the other teams were more spectacular. Which bothers me, cause I've been looking people up on twitter who say they got interviews, and their products seem mediocre.
"Tom, whats frustrating for me is I feel like my partner and I exhibited all those attributes. We don't think its the team, we know our team is strong. So it must be the idea: they aren't getting it."
I bet you 90% of the YC rejects feel this way. I mean, really, what makes you think you're different from anyone else?
The point isn't that you're the same. The point is that you have you consider that everyone is putting their best foot forward and has the confidence in themselves and their idea to try out for this program.
Maybe they didn't get it... but then I'd say that's more your fault than theirs. You have to be able to convey your idea as easily and simply as possible.
Agreed but it's a rhetorical point. Fact is that 90% of the people applied feel the same way and a good percentage are probably just as smart and motivated as you (if not more so). If you went to a top tier school and majored in something the school is good at, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
I know most of everyone rejected feels the same way as I do. I can't speak for anyone else application, but I know my team is smart and determined and has the evidence to show for it. I think the frustration lies is not knowing where we went wrong (which PG actually wrote a little essay about; sometimes there is no reason. Maybe its just a numbers game).
Also, I'm not blaming YC for not getting the idea. I know it has to be clear and concise. I worked pretty hard to make it clear, which is why I solicited the help of 3 YC alumni in reviewing the application.
I thought about it more and I think it's better that YC doesn't give more feedback other than "no."
Think about it. Let's say they said, "Your team was too weak." What's the result of that going to be? It's going to be ugly and messy.
What if they said, "Your idea is too weak." Then you'd probably email PG yourself on why your idea is not weak with the following proof why. Same goes if he said there's no market for it.
Basically anything they say can result in a lot of backlash and the blame game when maybe the reason was that it was a little bit of everything.
I like to learn and improve from my mistakes and failures. If he said those things, sure I'd try to refute them and convince him. But eventually I'd look at the criticisms in a more critical manner. I'm not above anyone's feedback or advice.
Well it's self-evident that the other teams conveyed themselves as being more spectacular. It doesn't mean you're not, possibly just that the words you used didn't make it apparent enough.
Also bear in mind that they're looking for ideas that have the potential to be hugely profitable and/or world-changing. Without knowing anything more about it, when I hear 'Facebook quizzes' my immediate reaction is that it's a little limited on that front.
But if, as you say, it's an idea whose potential might be hard for people unfamiliar with this type of product to understand, then you need to come up with a way of demonstrating it.
> Our idea targets young people (12-25 yrs). Which leads to my thinking, that because they're unfamiliar with it (YC partners too old, would never do facebook quizzes), they brushed it off?
Did you validate your ideas somehow? Maybe some surveys or examples of existing similar apps being successful? Any prototypes?
It is easy to say YC partners didn't get your idea - but it was your job to demonstrate that it holds real value.
This just happened, we applied to this session (S10). We will be building the idea out regardless, maybe even applying to YC again in the winter.
But I'm still frustrated, its just not making sense in my brain and I'm trying to figure out where I went wrong. YC does make mistakes, maybe my rejection is simply one of those mistakes. Or maybe the idea does suck. I'd love to know which, lol.
Well, if you really want to know, post your YC application. I'm sure people would read it (at least I would) and give feedback. It won't tell you definitively why YC turned you down, but it will probably get you a lot of interesting feedback.
(If you don't want to post it publicly, I will read it and give my feedback, but I don't have much experience in this area myself.)
High school summers spent working together on projects. Building viral products that made us money. Selling those businesses. Putting in after-work hours. Failing a lot.
I found my "no interview for you" email in my G-Mail spam folder a few minutes ago (try a search for "in:spam ycombinator.com").
While I'm a little bit disappointed not to get an interview logistically this wouldn't have been the best time in my life so I'm not too down about it. (I think that's realism rather than justificiation. :) )
All the best to everyone whether you got an interview or not. And, like everyone else says keep going. My plans for world domination will continue just at a slower pace. :)
Oh, BTW, I'm possibly going to be in the Bay Area sometime in July/August anyway and would be keen to meet up with YC/HN people then (I'm in New Zealand currently).
P.S. In case you're wondering, I haven't heard if the team of Bright Bunnies got an interview independent of me. :D Don't forget to check out the blooper reel if you missed it and need a laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ouOkNeBS4
why does it matter? they're not the experts on your business - you are. unless they're buying your product, keep calm and carry on - the best validation comes from customers.
(I didn't apply this round) but things like that might give you some insight. Mostly on whether it's worth applying again. If they say there #1 reason is 'no cofounder' you'll get one and apply again later. if there #1 reason is 'not our kinda product' then you won't apply again. There reason could even be "I don't get it" and you realize your pitch may be the reason to blame.
No feedback is not really helpful to anyone. All anyone knows is they were rejected for potentially arbitrary reasons.
If you're applying to YC, chances are you are a first-time entrepreneur or a "little guy." It's simply hard to get the attention of experienced folks like those that run YC. Every bit of feedback counts, so it's definitely valuable to get feedback, especially considering the time put into one's app.
