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Rejection Emails Starting to Come Out
39 points by DanielBMarkham on March 14, 2010 | hide | past | favorite | 109 comments
I know some of you didn't want HN to make a big deal of it but I thought it at least deserved a post.

Please place your pithy comments here. (And yes, my app was rejected. Or rather, since HN funds teams and not ideas, I personally was rejected for a second time compared to the other teams that submitted)




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.


I mean, really, what makes you think you're different from anyone else?

Probably the same thing that makes you want to start a startup in the first place.


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.


Thats one way of looking at it.

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.

So get to work :)


> 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.


Sounds like you forgot about it, looked the other way, and moved on, right? Did you build out your idea regardless? What happened afterwards?


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.)


How do you know your team is strong? What are your achievements? Strength is a relative thing.


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.


Sounds like you are at a point beyond where YC makes sense.


22 yrs old just finished university.


I think this kinda explains why they don't: http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html

"It's not you, it's someone else." :)

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.


why does it matter?

Isn't it obvious? Presumably if you cared enough to apply, you care enough to hear why you didn't get in.


> Isn't it obvious? Presumably if you cared enough to apply, you care enough to hear why you didn't get in.

It's the opinion of one (smart) group of people who are judging your idea against everybody else that applied.

It's worth something, but your customers' opinions are worth more. Go get those!


So you applied for the validation?


Your non sequitur aside, I didn't apply this round.


I applied soley for the validation. I really dont want to work in Mountain View


You're going to have to get a new account and a fake name if you want to apply again.


Funny. Not going to apply again.


(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.


Well, AMEN.


Since YC is not giving feedback for our proposals, does anyone here know a reliable place to get advice from somebody like YC?


Well.. to be honest, I don't understand why you would apply as an individual (for a second time)!

Getting a team together is no easy task, it requires discipline amongst other things. YC has been pretty vocal about favoring teams than individuals. Put a solid team together and people will notice, not just YC.

Sorry if my comment came out as harsh. there's no sugar coating it.


Part of being a successful entrepreneur is being tenacious. If you fold at the first sign of opposition, I doubt you'll get far.

I don't know this person's particular case but it's possible that he made significant progress on his idea between submissions.


You're absolutely right about that trait. I don't disagree.

What I'm really saying is that just because applying is so quick and easy, it should not be taken lightly. In fact I think the application process should be made a lot more difficult to attract a higher concentration.

Am I the only one feeling like this? I hold Pg and his team to a high regard. A No from him is different than any other No. So of course I would want the highest probability of acceptance when I send my pitch.


I disagree that the application process should be harder (noting that I am not, nor ever will be, an application) since it shouldn't require people to set aside time to fill out an application.

What it requires is people to take time to think their plans through very carefully and summarise them effectively. If you have this summary in your head at all times then the important part of applying will always be easy; any additional requirements would just be makework.


How did you come to the conclusion that the application was done lightly? That's a big assumption.

I also respect PG and YC crew but I don't take a "no" as being so definitive as you do, I guess. There could be many reasons as he states in whynot. Maybe you don't have the right team. Maybe they couldn't see the vision in your answers. Maybe they didn't see the market.

All 3 of those maybes are subject to change imo. In between applications, your team could've changed. The vision might have become more clear with new news from the industry. Perhaps the market is becoming more apparent due to players entering the market.

I think the "one and done" attitude is more likely to be detrimental. Just because you try more than once doesn't mean you're doing it lightly.


If you'd be willing to accept the YC terms, and it's going to take you less time to fill out the YC application than it would to write 2-3 of your typical HN comments, what's one good reason not to apply? Of course you apply.


Not harsh at all -- I upvoted you -- but your comment was easily made and not very insightful.

I already know I don't have a team. I already know the YC deadline. I already know that time stands still for nobody.

Is it better not to apply at all? Did YC say they wouldn't fund any single-founder teams at all?

Do you make do with what you have and move forward, or keep trying to find a founder instead of trying to find a business model? At some point you have to make a decision and run with it, and I'm happy with applying solo.


Fair enough.

Personally I would want to have the highest probability of being accepted when/if I ever apply to YC. Frankly speaking, I don't have the time to wait around for another term if I got rejected. I would dramatically shift my product/process or pitch.

YC is not a late stage venture fund who brings cash to the table. These guys are making a big bet by validating your idea/business. A rejection from YC should make you rethink your business/people/idea.


I'm with Daniel.

If you only try things you think have a high probability of success, then you're probably not going to embark on being an entrepreneur period. The percentages of success are very low.

Applying to YC was fairly easy and didn't take much time. There's really only upside to it. The only downside is your ego when you're rejected and the remote chance that your idea/startup would be undervalued.

I also disagree with your final notion that YC is THE yardstick for success. If you read their "whynot" post, it's obvious they go through very many applications and really your idea could be skimmed and rejected quite easily. Also, the companies that have come out of YC haven't ALL been successful (no discredit to those that have been).

Lastly, at such an early stage I think entrepreneurs are always thinking through changes in business/people/idea. That's just the nature of the beast whether YC accepted you or not.


I don't think a rejection means anything at all other than you don't fit what YC is looking for. By itself it's not a compelling argument that "you're doing it wrong".

I met with MTV the other day, they can't wait to use my service. And they're just one of the awesome companies that are very excited about what I'm doing ... YC is a missed opportunity but it's just one of many you can find or make for yourself.


> A rejection from YC should make you rethink your business/people/idea.

disagree. it should push you to get market validation so that you don't rely on investors to determine whether you go forward with your business. instead, you decide whether to go forward and how to change by relying on input from paying customers.


Hell if I'd wait until I had everything perfect. It's an imperfect world, I'm an imperfect person and we're going to make this thing work anyway, brother. YC or no YC. People still trade eyeballs and money for value, and single founder guys still come up with successful ways to trade that. A cofounder might be a critical success factor -- and you still might not have one. Guess what? Keep looking and keep moving forward. Waiting for a cofounder and not working on your plan is as stupid as getting a cofounder and waiting for the perfect plan. It's an imperfect world. We get judged on how well we deal with these imperfections and yet still make progress.


keep trying to find a founder instead of trying to find a business model

I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. YET, if you want to go through the YC route, I think finding a cofounder would be more important than finding a business model.


You are correct. And yet you have completely missed the point.

They are not mutually exclusive. And yes, the cofounder is more important.

Today's the deadline and you have a beta product and no cofounder. Do you apply or not? More seriously than this YC stuff, do you stop working on a business idea and execution because you don't have a cofounder? Or do you continue forward, constantly looking for a chance to find one?

EDIT: I see you've edited your comment to include a YET. At this point, seems like you are the one imposing a false choice here: the YC route and all other ways. There are many options and paths and most of them don't require you to pick one or the other.


I like your attitude Daniel. Keep on truckin'!

(Frankly, I have qualms working with anyone who still uses hotmail... haha jk.)


hey guys: I have news for you: Zuckerberg would not have done ycombinator. I think ycombinator is great and all. But to make it in this cruel world as a startup founder, you need to be arrogant enough to be able to say $25,000 is not worth 5% of my company. To be honest, if you are not disciplined enough to moonlight and work on your startup and give away zero equity and actually earn the $6,000 it takes to live on for a few months to then quit your job and build your idea full time, you probably shouldn't start a startup in the first place. no, I have not made it yet; but I'm damn sure I'm right about the above. Thanks for reading. Don't give up.


If your argument for why YC isn't worth it is the whole cash/equity/valuation bit, then you definitely haven't talked to enough YC alumni to get a feel for the real value of the program.

OTOH, if you're saying that those who think they _need_ YC for their startups to be successful should strap on some plums, then 100% agreed. ;)


ycombinator makes sense for 2 kinds of people: 1) people who did not go to stanford/mit/etc. (if you went to those schools and you can't get a meeting with Sequoia, or anyone you want, you don't know what you are doing and should not be an entrepreneur.) 2) first time entrepreneurs who are age 24 and under and thus, do not know what they are doing as entrepreneurs. And thus need guidance.

for both of those subgroups of people, it makes a lot of sense.

ironically, you can only get into ycombinator if you went to stanford or other top university. hahaha... this will get refuted big time by the one or two cases where it is not true; but I'm sure it is largely true.


What are your chances if you went to an Ivy but were a biologist there? ^-^


good. in general with startups its not about what you studied its about where you went.

wow. im very cynical this evening. I shall spare you all my wrath and go to sleep now. I better go to sleep soon or I will have more enemies than Jason C pretty soon...

zzz...


I think/hope he's talking about the latter, in which case I completely agree. It's especially annoying to hear those people who get rejected say that they'll apply again in the winter. They're basically saying that they intend to make no meaningful progress on their start up in the next six months. YC is a very early stage investor. It should be a one-shot deal for any serious start-up. By the time the next cycle comes around, your start-up should be beyond the stage where doing YC makes sense. If your start-up folds, OK, apply again with something new, but these people actually planning on applying again.


You speak truth python. YC is a good idea when you have your idea, and need some cash/guidance to get started. But once you have customers, even if your not "ramen profitable", you are beyond YC.


Thats hard to say. No startup is ever "beyond" the opportunity of demoing in front of a room of well connected, experienced silicon valley VCs which is one of the perks of YC. Some of us don't live in places where there are VCs who get it.


YC has connections, but in the end its up to you to make your startup successful. With your experience, you should be able to bootstrap yourself into a profitable software business. But this "Italian restaurant" style of a software company doesnt interest many VCs. Most VCs are looking for the next big thing.


Survey for those rejected... might give some insight into how close to the cut teams got.

1. How many questions did YC ask your team?

2. How many views did you get on your video?

3. How many unique visits to your prototype from YC?

4. How many hours before the rejection email did they last visit your site?

Ours:

1. 2 questions

2. 3 or 4 video views

3. 3 prototype visits I think

4. 2.5 hours


1. 0 2. 0 (well, no video) 3. 0 (looking for ip from ycombinator.com) 4. 0

Somehow I'm kind of relieved that I got rejected, as the real fund raising process is kind of distracting the building of the product and business. I sort of used the YC deadline as an external event to set milestone for finishing up the website, which was mostly done now.


I hear you... I burnt out in the weeks leading up to the YC deadline. Then the 2 weeks between my submission and rejection I felt like I was in limbo. I'm looking forward to getting my head down and focusing on my product.

Don't skimp on the video next time... Its the one external thing PG says he'll (definately) look at. If they like your vid, they'll probably visit your site. I put links on the vid page to my site, I'd have to check my logs to see if they clicked them from there.


Well, I looked hideous in video. :) Besides, building the product and business is priority number one, not the funding process.


I had 0 questions so consider yourself loved. :)


1. 1 2. I am a little bummed about this, I have 27 views on my youtube demo, and my only friend who knows about the demo says he saw it some 3-4 times max. Considering I might have clicked some 7-8 times that I checked to see it. It feels like YC def watched my demo more than once. Not sure who many. 27-4-8 = 14. That sounds a lot...What happened ? 3. didn't really open the prototype yet. 4. not sure.

Anyways, I wanted to sell this to MS / Google, or make it bootstrapped and keep the profits myself. Only thing that kind of got me a little too hopeful is seeing a question from Rtm. Well, other ways it is then.


We had something like:

1) 0 ; 2) at least 3 ; 3) 3 (we think) ; 4) unclear


0 questions/12 video views/unknown prototype/unknown but video was watched today


1. 0 questions

2. 7 views

3. we didn't send them a prototype

4. no idea


I got rejected but at this point it doesn't worry me too much, I'm on my way to the top regardless. :)


I was denied ("rejected" sounds so harsh :)). But I'm still moving forward with my idea.

I'd love to meet up with other YC rejects who are looking for a support group-- I mean people to share ideas with. :)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1191553

I'm located in SF. I'm sure there are lots of bright people also looking to partner with others to form a great team.


I don't understand something. YC rejects groups because they have a limited number of slots. They say it's not that your idea is bad, but because they cannot fund everyone. Then they open up the field for late applications. For me, that means that they find my idea bad and they are still looking for good ideas to fill up their roster. Does that make sense, or am I just bitter?


I think they are just keeping the door open for the 'killer' idea & team.


It's just so demoralizing for someone to tell you that you aren't that 'killer idea and team' combo.


True, but funding is tough... Most entrepreneurs get used to hearing 'no', they press on and eventually get a 'yes'.


I wouldn't refer to it a rejection letter, rather understand that they just aren't investing in your company/team at this time.

Maybe do a "Ask HN: How can I improve my team, business model, etc." and we can all crowd-source improve your idea so that another angel group would be interested in investing.


This is an excellent idea, and it's exactly what I'm going to do in a few days.

But rejection is rejection. I wouldn't try to sugar it up too much. Reality is a good teacher.

I used to be a freelance writer. You pitch people, they reject you. When asking girls out, you ask them, they reject you. If you're a salesman, you make friends and offer people help, they reject you.

Nothing wrong with being rejected. In fact, it should be a point of pride. Life is a numbers game. You have X rejections to get through to get where you are going. You got rejected. Now you have X-1. The faster you can crank the decrement loop the faster you'll reach your destination (assuming you are learning each time through the loop, of course!)


Out of curiosity, what was your idea?


Presumably it's the same idea he's been talking about for about 6 months now on HN; if you go read his comment backlog, he's been pretty open about it.


EDIT -- Totally re-done for clarity.

You're in a conference. The keynote speaker says something cool. You go to tweet it to your friends -- but it's longer than 140 characters. So you key it into your iPad on my app and choose to share it with your FaceBook and MySpace Friends. Over on FB and MySpace, the longer quote appears and has a link back to my web app where the quote is stored.

You're reading a political or science article. About half-way down, the author makes a really cool point -- all the ideas seem to be coming together and this text just jumps off the page. You highlight the paragraph and enter it into my app, choosing also to share it on Twitter and FB.

You're looking for something pithy to tweet or put on your FB status. You visit my app and read the latest quotes from sources all over the world, sorted and ranked especially according to your tastes. Choosing the one you like the most, you upvote it, make a comment, and choose to automatically email it and post to your status updates.

You're looking for the best of the web today. Visiting my app, quotes from much longer articles and speeches are listed, customized to your tastes. Finding one that looks especially interesting, you click the link and go to the longer article, spending 10 or 20 minutes reading the full text.

Your friend hears something incredible at a news event. He quotes the speaker, links to the video, and notifies you by using my app. You visit his quote on my app, make some comments, and vote it up. Soon you and your friend have made several comments -- other people have also joined in. Your conversation about this quote is saved for you to return to when you like.

Finally, you're reading a book on your Kindle or other device. You find a particularly interesting passage. Quickly you copy it out, tag and save it, perhaps also choosing to share it on your status update. Later on, when you are not at your e-book reader, you can visit the web site and view your quotes -- along with the comments from your social network and other folks who share your same interest.

Does that describe it well enough?


You should figure out your elevator pitch. I would've preferred, "personal blurb aggregator and it's better than Twitter or Tumblr because _____"

I still don't know why anyone would use this when you can do all this using existing microblog services like Twitter, Posterous, or Tumblr and it's obviously already exists in social networks like Facebook and Buzz (status updates with comments).


Sorry Daniel, but I'm going to have to agree with Brice. Strikes me a bit as a solution in need of a problem -- someone might think "I guess it could be useful to have" but I don't know if many would think "I can see this being a core thing I really need to use every day" or would pay for.

I think there could be room for single-use publishing ("I want to store and share something easily, but not make a habit of it like a blog"), but I don't think saving quotes and inspiration in the way you've described will take you places.


I don't disagree.

After all, the entire point is to have a solution to start with, which might just be a personal itch, then pivot the more you interact with customers.

The pivot is key. You and I or a hundred other folks could debate for hours the merits or drawbacks of a particular solution. The key thing here is that there is a direction that is very clear, yet also very changeable. Customer development is much more important than initial vision, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have an initial vision.

EDIT: One of the interesting things I found looking for a partner was dealing with folks and initial visions. Either nobody could agree on one, in which case nothing could get started, or potential partners were so attached to a particular vision that it was going to impeded the required later pivot. It's hard to be motivated about something you know is wrong (to some degree)


Is there space to compete with personal organizers like Evernote, but with a stronger focus on user-sharing? Like Google Reader or Delicious focused not on pages, but snippets of content?


...I still don't know why anyone would use this when you can do all this using existing microblog services...

1) Message length

2) Content preference learning system

3) Niche product


I didn't realize there was a "content preference learning system" in place... Sounds neat, but if it's a differentiating feature, you should probably make that more apparent.


The first sentence must describe your product's essence in ten words or less (it really should be more like five). Cisco didn't talk about tcp/ip, or wires, or routers, or drivers, or a million other things that made connecting distinct networks possible. They said "we network networks". You need to find a way to do this for your product, and if you can't do it after a few weeks of thinking, you need to rethink your product entirely.


Visit the site. The tag line is "Friendfeed for the rest of the internet"

Next you'll tell me the tag line isn't descriptive enough. Fair enough, but it goes to show that these show-and-tell startup games have a lot of room for subjective opinions.

Describing a startup using usage scenarios is not uncommon. Peter had a problem with the old description. I felt that usage scenarios would explain the most with the least amount of fuzziness, so that's how I edited it.


If you want some idea feedback I have no idea what product your pitch describes. Re-read it twice and still puzzled :)


Try it now


how is it different from tumblr?


1) Niched product

2) Better content preference learning system


sounds interesting, when are you launching?


Don't give up guys... "Success is a lousy teacher because it teaches successful people they can do no wrong." -Bill Gross #embracefailure


In the time you were first rejected to the time of the 2nd rejection, you could have done some things to save up the same seed money for yourself, established relationships with angels/VCs through networking, come up with an alternate idea (perhaps the one that was just rejected), or just started working on the idea that was originally rejected. You would have been better off than waiting around and trying to get permission to start something from YC.


That's too bad.

Don't let it get you down though.


Ain't nothing but a thing, my friend. It certainly isn't slowing me down or changing my direction, although I reserve the right to grumble a little bit. After all, I may be determined, but I'm not a robot.


I got rejected, so sad but not depressed. It won't stop us moving forward simply because we believe our product concept and there are many things we could do to get traction.


That's the right attitude.

I'm going to do an ask HN on the biggest success that YC missed out on by rejecting them, it's interesting to see who made it in spite of being rejected.

Edit: Ok, it's up: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1191566


The best description of how to react to a decline I ever read was from Yegge talking about Google interviews (and the large amount of false negatives built into their process).

His conclusion was that while it's fine to feel bad, you shouldn't ever feel meta-bad about it.


Some of my thoughts on rejection, hopefully helpful:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1192204

Of course, I'll happily continue bootstrapping, iterating designs with potential customers, and building a market. Y Combinator is just an awesome way to accelerate parts of the process, not a sole gatekeeper of the startup world.


Hope that didn't sound too sore. Life goes on and in the scheme of things YC is just a little thing.

Having said that, I am reminded of a quote from William Jennings Bryan, who told the story of a man getting kicked out a bar for the third time. The man picks himself up off the street, brushes himself off, and says "I'm beginning to think those fellows don't want me in there" (wink)


I didn't make it either. I still think I have a great idea though, but what really intrigues me are those 60 companies that made it through to the interview round. They must have some insanely great ideas!


Now I only regret that I described some of my ideas in detail. There is no any guaranty it is not gonna be shared with existing yc companies...:(


You might want to read the section "Will you sign an NDA? How do I know you won't steal my idea?" on http://ycombinator.com/faq.html which also refers to the section on the application form which says "Though we don't make any formal promise about secrecy, we will try to avoid disclosing your plans to potential competitors."


Questions: [pre-rejection] 1) Did you have a plan B? 2) If so, what was your plan B and your plans moving forward?


My plan B was just to keep at it and build my business regardless .... the networking was the main opportunity I saw in YC, but I've been in SF the last week and a half busily introducing myself and my platform to the largest names in the casual games industry. I'm leaving SF without YC, but I've got the support and business of 5 (and possibly a couple more) of the biggest companies, and several have made private offers to help fund me through this year.

I'm going back home tonight so I can get back to work finally and just stop meeting people. I find something really daunting about talking to a group of people but fortunately most have been young, technical, and immediately seen value in my platform.


Yep. I have a development road-map. The only thing that YC (or funding) would offer is a chance to move faster down that map. The backup plan had the same customer development steps in it -- it just moves along slower.

The main problem is getting distracted with funding, not finding it. I can always self-fund. People come to me to ask for help with making teams perform a lot faster. Hopefully I've built up a bit of a good reputation and that makes my phone ring. The problem is -- getting involved with other teams takes time and energy away from my own team and startup.


[deleted]


time for a decent username, no? :-)


Can someone post the actual text of the rejection letter. I'm curious what it says.


We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding. Please don't take it personally. The applications we receive get better every funding cycle, and since there's a limit on the number of startups we can interview in person, we had to turn away a lot of genuinely promising groups.

Another reason you shouldn't take this personally is that we know we make lots of mistakes. It's alarming how often the last group to make it over the threshold for interviews ends up being one that we fund. That means there are surely other good groups that fall just below the threshold and that we miss even interviewing.

http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html

We're trying to get better at this, but it's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes.

Y Combinator Staff


Wait, you mean this wasn't the standard one: :D

Are you crazy???


Can someone post the actual text of the rejection letter. I'm curious what it says.


More interesting than the rejection letter - http://ycombinator.com/whynot.html




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