YC Insights.

Practical, No BS, YC insights
(Not affiliated with YC)

Newsletter -

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

I spent weeks reading everything YC has ever published about what they look for.

here are 9 things that would have changed how I thought about the application

[Francis Santora 🎌 @FrancisPSantora]

When I started investing in startups in 2021, the standard was 3x year-over-year growth. If you could show that, you were fundable.

Those days are over.

The standard today is 10x year over year.

For any other than the fastest-growing companies today, another round may not be there.

Stop assuming another round will be there. Whether they know it or not, many startups today have raised all the venture capital they ever will.

Money is concentrating into a handful of extremely high-growth startups.

I see it every day. A $50 million Series A at $500 million, not a $10 million Series A at $50 million.

That $50 million going to the fast-growing company means four other traditional Series A’s didn’t happen. That leaves those slower-growth companies out in the cold.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Tips to write Cold emails that gets replies…

[Nick Abraham @NickAbraham12]

Lavender analyzed 28.3 million emails to find out what gets replies.

Here’s what they found:

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Know what you've learned.

Before your YC interview, be ready to explain:

- What you've shipped
- What customers taught you
- What you've changed because of it

“We have a big vision” isn't enough.

Show how reality has shaped what you're building.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Know why you're building this.

YC wants to understand:

- Why this problem matters to you
- What you know that others might miss
- Why your team can solve it

“We're passionate about our startup” isn't enough.

Show what gives you an advantage beyond enthusiasm.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Know your competition.

YC expects founders to understand:

- What alternatives customers use
- What those products get wrong
- Why customers might switch

“We're better than our Compitator” isn't enough.

Show what you've learned about the market that shaped your product.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

@titovdev Yep, Only hire when a specific job is already breaking. Vague roles just burn the money faster

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Don’t raise a seed round if you hate

• a valuation you now have to grow into
• 18 months of runway that still has an end date
• investors who want monthly numbers, not vibes
• hiring the first two people the round was for
• the month the product goes quiet because you’re fundraising
• being known for the round before you’re known for the user
• the chance that “we’ll raise when we’re ready” was just delay

You can stay small and owned.

Raise when the money makes the company faster, not when the silence gets uncomfortable.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Know your numbers.

YC interviews last 10 minutes. Be ready to explain:

- Your current revenue
- How fast you're growing
- What drives that growth

“We're growing fast” isn't an answer.

Know the numbers, the trend, and what's causing it.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

@WeirdlyWiredAj Primarily runway. Early capital often backfires, CB Insights shows 70% of failures “run out of cash”

Startup Genome: 74% fail from premature scaling.

Product first > safety-net raise.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

YC is good at picking founders. If you want to apply, these are the traits worth developing. Read the essay.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Here's something I wrote about what YC looks for in founders: https://t.co/zXWErQqTmt

To the extent YC is good at picking founders, these are therefore also the qualities founders should cultivate.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

@WeirdlyWiredAj Most founders raise too early. Product first

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Know your customers.

YC wants founders to understand:

- Where users come from
- Why they try the product
- Whether they come back

“Our users love our product it” isn't enough.

Know who uses your product, why they chose it, and what keeps them coming back.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

This is why YC still says “make something people want.” AI makes the supply side nearly free, the scarce skill is the empathy to connect it to what people actually care about

[Anish Acharya @illscience]

One of the concepts I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is that AI dramatically changes the supply-side economics of creating content, software, games, etc., but doesn’t necessarily change consumer demand.

Consumers have always been interested in sex, money, and status at a base level. Perhaps a more generous view is self-expression, community, and experiences that move them forward on their personal hero’s journey.

I think a real challenge for consumer founders is connecting these supply-side miracles to latent consumer demand.

True customer empathy is very rare, and so much of software is an act of self-expression rather than an act of creating utility or joy for the customer. Founders love the software they make because it tells their story, but customers are interested in their own stories.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

This is what "make something people want agents to do" looks like.

[Raphael Schaad @raphaelschaad]

My OpenClaw has scheduled airport transfers
My Instinct has renewed my driver's license
My Muse has purchased birthday gifts
My Dot has hired us an infant sleep coach
My Folk has looked for unclaimed money

And it all fricking works.

Folks, we truly made rocks talk 🤯

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

The 3 questions to ask yourself every Monday morning:

- Is my startup meaningfully better than it was last week?
- What's the one thing I'm avoiding that I know I need to do?
- What would I do differently if I had 50% less time this week?

The answers to these 3 questions will run your company better than any framework.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

The difference between raising from strength vs. desperation:

Strength: "We're default alive. We're raising to accelerate what's already working."

Desperation: "We need this round or we shut down in 4 months."

Investors can tell within 5 minutes.

The terms you get: completely different.

Be default alive before you raise.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

The cash management mistake that surprises first-time founders:

Revenue ≠ Cash.

Enterprise customer signs $100K annual contract. Pays quarterly.

Month 1: you have the contract. Month 1: you have $0 in cash.

Invoice on signature. Collect upfront when possible.

Cash in bank is the only metric that keeps you alive

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

@ifoundaim Still the best antidote to default dead...

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

The seed round mistake that ends companies quietly:

You raise $2M.

Immediately hire 6 people.

Burn rate: $150K/month. Runway: 13 months.

Month 10: revenue is $8K MRR. You're default dead.

The $2M felt like permission to scale.

It wasn't.

It was runway to find what to scale.

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

Vishnu Krishnaprasad got into YC on his 15th attempt as a solopreneur. He just shared the actual YC application that worked.. worth reading if you’re applying solo.

[Vishnu Krishnaprasad @an_engineer_log]

https://t.co/5AMnmIdqiZ

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

@Ryanrz Point is the raise isn’t permission to staff up before you know what works