The Y Combinator Experience

Added 03/02/10 at 22:00 pm // Y Combinator // View Comments

It has been more than six months since we (DailyBooth) presented at Y Combinator’s Demo Day.  Since then we have raised a seed round of funding from a prominent group of investors.  With Y Combinator now accepting applicants for their next group of companies, I feel now is the perfect time to start blogging (beginning with an entry on DailyBooth’s experiences with Y Combinator).

First off, if you are thinking about applying, but you’re hesitant for whatever reason (because they take a chunk of equity, for example), I believe you should really consider where you want to take your company.  Whenever equity is involved (investment, advisory shares, a new founding team member, option grants, etcetera) you should always consider one thing: Are the people (or money) involved going to increase the value of the company by at least the amount of equity you’re giving up?  For us, it was obvious before we were even accepted that any equity provided to Y Combinator would be worth it for the future of DailyBooth.  After our experience with YC, this statement is even more true now.

Let me explain:

I don’t even have a degree, let alone one from MIT or Stanford.  I have approximately two quarters left at The Ohio State University, which has been deferred for now.  I grew up in Ohio, and Jon, my cofounder, grew up in the UK.  We had no connections to the Silicon Valley investors or any investors for that matter.  Without a doubt, if we were not accepted into Y Combinator, we would not be where we are today.  Y Combinator helped put us in front of Ron Conway which in turn put us in touch with many of our other investors.  For us, Y Combinator was significantly about the connections that were made possible throughout the whole process.

Y Combinator is not all about the connections.  Most people would agree that the chances of success with a startup is a long shot.  But that success is ultimately determined by the determination of the founders and their ability to morph their company.  As PG would say, startups don’t die, the founders quit.  However, not quitting is easier said than done.  Being part of a startup community helps tremendously and Y Combinator provides that community.

When you’re accepted into Y Combinator you are part of a community of 172 startups, that take every opportunity to help one another.  Being part of this community is invaluable.  Six months after our session of Y Combinator ended, the founders of S09 regularly meet, and I would consider us a close group of friends.  It just so happens, that we are all startup founders.  Belonging to a close group of startup founders is a major barrier to quitting.  I actually live with people from two other YC startups: WePay, which helps groups collect money and the other whose still in stealth mode.

I’ve really only skimmed the surface of what Y Combinator actually is and the value they add.

  • tonybordonaro
    Thanks for the insight you are able to give us ...I love DB and try to learn from the users what they are looking for ...thanks again
  • Thanks for sharing ryan! Ive always thought very highly of YC. This post makes me want to be apart of it that much more! As soon as I get an idea im applying for sure!
  • Great first post, Ryan. I'm excited to see more of your thoughts and experiences with DailyBooth.
  • Sweet post ... I'm fired up to hear more about your experience. Our app went in Monday ...
  • I am jealous of the Y Combinator Experience. To rectify this I have submitted my application. I don't have a degree from MIT either, and this blog post has helped me remove some of my concerns. Thanks Ryan.
  • Not a problem.
  • Josh
    Excellent Post. I really think I'm going to apply in 2011! Sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity / experience.
  • Very interesting post, especially on the eve of the application deadline to S10!

    When you applied, DailyBooth had already launched. How was your experience in YC different than the other startups in the class, who may not have been public or been as far along as you? Do you feel that having the site out there beforehand was an advantage during the application process?
  • As aberman said, It was definitely an advantage.
  • aberman
    definitely an advantage, IMO
  • Hey Ryan,

    I am a current OSU student who is talking with a YC company about interning with them this summer. They've received further funding and would be helping pay some of my living expenses. At the end of your post you mentioned that you still live in the area with some other YC companies.

    Would you have any leads for a place to stay with like-minded people in any sort of "hacker house" kind of environment (that I wouldn't find from a Craigslist ad)?
  • I know there are hacker houses around, but I really have no idea where they are. I personally would not want to live there as I would likely find it more of a distraction than anything else.
  • Maithreyi
    Hi! We are getting ready to submit our application soon. Any last minute advice?
  • I plan to write another entry on what I think you can do to increase your chances. But unfortunately, part of that requires time and preparation before applying which you simply do not have now.
  • I would venture to say that DB would have made it anyway, but YC certainly did accelerate the process. Regardless, congrats on your success and keep up the hard work!
  • Parker
    Curious questions... how did you and Jon meet? What was the state of DailyBooth during the application process? What do you think made you guys stand out above the rest?
  • Jon and I met through an online community which we were both actively involved in. Since then, we hung out in an IRC channel with a few others and talked nearly everyday about our projects and just life in general.

    We were launched and slowly starting to grow. We publicly launched in the middle of February '09 and applied to YC in March.

    I actually think that we were already launched and starting to gain traction helped us a bit. I think it also significantly helped that we happened to hit on one of their ideas (http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html).
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