YC Application Advice From a 6x Reject

13 points by mikeurbanski 12 years ago | 10 comments

The hard truth: You're not going to get into YC. You're not going to get an interview and your application isn't going to be read in full by anyone who doesn't love you.

You will be rejected.

That might sound harsh, but it's the likely outcome for the vast majority of applicants.

But don't let it phase you. Buckle down, find people that you can rely on, work hard, and you're going to do fine.

Remember, rejection from society is what created the X-Men. (http://pretendmoney.s3.amazonaws.com/x-men.jpg)

staunch 12 years ago |

Well, I've been rejected 4-5 times now (various projects). I'll still keep applying but I'm certainly not relying on it by any means. My last project is still progressing and is an actual business. I can feel myself getting far better with each attempt. I've explored a lot of what not to do. At some point I'll either look good enough for YC or I'll succeed on my own. I'll keep applying so that the YC door is open, at least from my side.

Also, I have become better at dealing with professional rejection as a result of YC. It was one of the few things I've ever "applied" for, really wanted, and not gotten. So that alone was a powerful and useful learning experience.

Keep learning. Keep trying. Keep applying.

mikeurbanski 12 years ago | |

Applying to YC actually forces you to think about the things that you need to do to make a project work.

If you keep at it eventually you become more capable, start to find traction on your own, and you find that you've gained most of the skills that you thought you needed something like YC to teach you.

I spent my 20's grasping for something that was just out of reach, and I'm better for it.

pg 12 years ago |

Were your previous applications under other HN usernames? I only found one rejection for this username.

mikeurbanski 12 years ago | |

Yes, they were usually submitted under one-off accounts. I think that one was 'itemshoppe'.

pg 12 years ago | | |

Ok, I found 4 more by doing a text search for "Urbanski." 2 of them I'd read myself, incidentally.

Why did you ditch mcu? Did you forget the password? I can reset it for you if you like.

guynamedloren 12 years ago | | |

Unless you have a really terrible track record here on HN, that seems like a poor choice...

sharemywin 12 years ago |

My guess one of these items:

1. Market - is it large enough? What's your angle? what has everyone else missed. Do you have evidence or are you guessing? 2. Team - Why you? Experience? Previous success(Have you done something awesome?) Have you gotten any traction? Do you know they right players? 3. Product - People just love the product. Think Iphone or Ipod.

zaguios 12 years ago |

Would you care to release any of the applications you've submitted? I would be curious to see if it's really a quality application that YC overlooked or if there are other reasons you were not accepted.

mikeurbanski 12 years ago | |

If I had to guess why they were rejected I'd say that it's because they're typically:

#1: Consumer focused

#2: Unsexy/unknown markets

Were they wrong to reject them? Probably not. Traditional gaming isn't a market that many take seriously.

I'm still implementing many of the ideas that have been submitted to YC. I'll release the apps and write retrospectives as we push out features in the future.