00:00do you remember those days missing
00:02around with cool ideas after school just
00:05you and your buddy making stuff as you
00:07went life happened but those crazy
00:10dreams of starting something huge never
00:13really left you they're like that one
00:15friend who keeps nudging you to do
00:17something epic and when it comes to
00:18making big moves there is this one place
00:21everyone talks about why combinator or
00:23YC it's where the big names like Airbnb
00:26or Dr bug first kicked off maybe you
00:28already tried to apply to y combinator
00:31or maybe the way to get in isn't clear
00:33to you in both cases today's about to
00:36get real I'm going to cut through the
00:37noise and share the best practices and
00:39the red flags that I've seen across
00:41dozens of startups that I've helped to
00:43get into y combinator in the past couple
00:45of years let's dive in picture this it's
00:474:00 a.m. in Paris everything is quiet
00:50and then my phone buzzes it's a message
00:53from Michael Cel got a minute he text
00:56Michael is the guy who started twitch
00:58and now he was the managing d director
01:00at why combinator not long before my
01:03friend F show and I had 10 minutes
01:05interview with him we put everything
01:07into it but it really didn't go as we
01:09hoped we shared our big idea but Michael
01:12and his team weren't sure we could make
01:14it happened that was tough after that F
01:17and I were just destroyed and needed to
01:20chill and think we put a lot of Hope
01:22into this interview then out of nowhere
01:24Michael takes back and he's like you
01:26have a minute for a call so I hope on a
01:29call with him and he told me that he
01:32systematically asked his badges to
01:34install a tool like ours but they didn't
01:37do it and so maybe we were right maybe
01:40these tools were too complicated and
01:42maybe we were into something and so just
01:44like that they got what we were all
01:47about and we got into y I'm Enzo I
01:49started June a tool to help businesses
01:52understand their data back in 2021 my
01:55friend fero and I took our shot at YC
01:58and that crazy early Mony text Chang
02:01everything since then I've been helping
02:03others try their luck at YC it's tough
02:07not everyone gets in but I've learned a
02:09lot about what makes a good or a bad
02:12application and what to watch for today
02:15I want to share everything I learned
02:16about applying to YC and what I think
02:19can help you get in but first of all is
02:21YC still the place to be is YC still the
02:24go-to in 2024 a few years back YC was
02:30now things have changed you can find
02:32tons of startup advice online for free
02:35and even though the tough times we're
02:37going through it's easier than ever to
02:39get funding when you're getting started
02:41YC has been changing a lot too making
02:43some folks wonder if it's still all it's
02:46cracked up to be there are many reasons
02:48not to apply to YC but let me take the
02:50opposite approach here I think YC is
02:53worth it if one or several of these
02:55points apply to you reason number one
02:57your dream customers are at y
03:00if the folks you want to sell to are in
03:02YC then this is a golden ticket to get
03:05your first fans and get your business
03:07rolling reason number two you need a
03:09food in the U YC puts you on the map in
03:12the states helping you connect with
03:14customers investors and future team
03:16members reason number three you're
03:18starting out if it's your first time
03:20building a startup why is like a
03:22fastforward button for learning it makes
03:25everything from hiring to finding money
03:28way easier reason number four timing is
03:30just right Y is perfect if you've got to
03:33clear directions too early or too late
03:36and it might not be the best speit for
03:37you reason number five you need more
03:39speed Wy teaches you how to move fast
03:43solving problems in a week that might
03:45take others way longer and the last
03:48reason is to up your game being
03:51surrounded by driven people at YC is
03:54extremely inspiring it's a place where
03:57you're building your dream alongside
03:59others doing amazing thing if these
04:01points are relevant for you then YC
04:04might just give your business the Boost
04:06it needs if you see other reasons to
04:07join YC or want to Second high on your
04:09application please let me know in the
04:11comments i' would love to help if I can
04:13okay so now that the value of getting
04:15into YC is out of the way let's figure
04:17out how to get in just a heads up before
04:20we diing I'm not officially tied to YC
04:23obiously so what I'm about to share is
04:25just my take on what makes a standout
04:27application I would definitely advise to
04:30also check out the tips and advice YC
04:32itself puts out getting into YC really
04:35comes down to two steps one fill out
04:38your online application and cross your
04:40fingers to get picked for an interview
04:42two rug that 10 minutes interview when
04:45you get there the written application is
04:47made of three parts the recommendations
04:50your founder profile and the application
04:54itself getting a thumb up from other
04:56Founders is a big deal because it shows
04:59that folks who have been through YC
05:01believe in you it's also a sign that
05:03you're good at networking which is going
05:05to be very important in the business
05:07world so what makes a solid
05:10recommendation well the person vouching
05:13for you will need to answer a few key
05:15questions let's start with your aen news
05:17handle your aen news handle matters
05:19because it shows if you fit with the YC
05:23Vibe being active on Eon news and
05:25engaging with the community there can
05:27work in your favor the strength score is
05:30crucial you want someone who really
05:32backs you aiming for the top marks avoid
05:35the low end of the scale as a weak score
05:37can drag your application down so pick
05:40your recommander wisely the next bit is
05:42about how they know you YC wants to make
05:45sure the recommendation isn't just
05:47because they're your buddy a high
05:48strength score can be balanced out if
05:50they say I'm a friends of theirs to keep
05:52things fair then it's all about whether
05:54you ask for the recommendation this one
05:57is less critical in my opinion if you've
05:59got a bunch of warm recommendation and
06:02they all say that you've asked for them
06:04it might not look great at June we had
06:07three recommendations and it worked out
06:09pretty well for us next up let's talk
06:12about filling out your founder profile
06:14it might seem straightforward but don't
06:16overlook it here are three parts that
06:19really counts first is your title keep
06:21it clear and direct show that you know
06:24who does what in your team if you're the
06:27CEO make it known that you're the
06:29decision maker they often ask this in
06:32the interview by the way next is your
06:34best hack YY loves the hacker mentality
06:38so share a time where you cleverly solve
06:41a problem even if it's non Tech related
06:43this could be anything that shows your
06:45creativity and resourcefulness my
06:47co-founder for instance made a bot at
06:49the tribute of program y's co-founder
06:53and called it the life of PG stuff like
06:55that can stick in their mind next is
06:57your biggest win here the they want to
06:59see What You're Made Of tell them about
07:02the most awesome thing you've done aside
07:04from your current startup dig deep and
07:07find something that really shows your
07:09potential I talk about joining a startup
07:11and growing it from 50 to 150 people in
07:15just a year my co-founder mentioned how
07:17he built the largest online food recipe
07:21Italy why is all about those folks were
07:24up for a challenge ready to make
07:26something cool happen in this world
07:30and in that club everyone is sharp and
07:32gets to the point so when you're filling
07:34out your form you got to be a bit like
07:37that be Savvy but keep it real show them
07:40you've got it together and throw in a
07:42bit of your personality it's about
07:44making them ND and think yeah this
07:47person gets it all right let's talk
07:49about the form and let me get into the
07:52wids of what feels right and what might
07:54not I'm not going to go through every
07:56question and I'm going to skip the fluff
07:59but but I'm going to rate the MTI parts
08:01from one to three with three being super
08:03key kicking off with who codes why see
08:07really want someone in your team to be
08:09Hands-On with coding early on you've got
08:12to be ready to change things up fast and
08:15that means having someone who coding
08:18like she's breathing so if you're
08:20delegating out the code work and just
08:22sticking stuff together without really
08:25coding it might not fly with them and so
08:28that's a solid three next you need a
08:30co-founder YC is in the known starting a
08:33business is tough going it solo can be a
08:36real slug if you're currently flying
08:38solo it might be time to find your
08:41rightand person YC has been pretty up
08:43front about this one and so it's another
08:45big three next up the one minute video
08:49this part is pure genius for myi in just
08:5260 seconds they get a sneak peek into
08:55your whole vibe they get your ID how
08:58clear you are how you gel with your
09:00cofounder and the energy you're bringing
09:03y's got some pointers on making these
09:05videos and I'll drop a link in the
09:07description but my two cents is to check
09:09out some top-notch applications videos
09:12that you can find on YouTube my personal
09:14faves are door Dash and zenefits and hey
09:18bring your Magic Touch to it just
09:20reading off a script is a noo and
09:23screams that you're not all in so that's
09:26a big deal it's a three moving on to
09:29your company information summing up what
09:31your company does in 50 characters or
09:34less sounds simple but it's key it's
09:37like the first hurdle at YC and if you
09:40can't nail your business down to a
09:41sentence honestly the rest doesn't even
09:44matter so keep it real and clear even if
09:47it feels like you're just scratching the
09:49surface of your big dream YY is just
09:52trying to get the GS of what you do and
09:55make sure your customers will too we
09:57went out with out of the box product
10:01analytics for modern teams that's it it
10:04sounds very basic but it was clear
10:06enough that's another three next is do
10:09you have a website for your company this
10:12is a sneak peek that you're actually
10:13doing stuff not just talking big hackers
10:16get their hands dirty and they try to
10:18get things out there ASAP if you're
10:21thinking about applying but you don't
10:23have a website yet then maybe spend a
10:26day or two whipping one with a NOA tool
10:29like framer or web flow actually I think
10:31it will get you thinking about your main
10:33message and what your product is really
10:35about of course your value proposition
10:37will evolve but that's not really what
10:39YC is drilling into it's about seeing
10:43that you're making moves next is the
10:45demo it is just as crucial as the
10:47website but I think it proves that
10:49you're able to go beyond just talking
10:52and starting building that thing even a
10:54basic demo is better than nothing both
10:56the website and the demo I would write
10:58them at to all right coming up next what
11:02is your company going to make this is
11:04where you get to expand on that 50w
11:06teaser that you dropped earlier you want
11:09to be clear here no beating around the
11:11bush think about adding one sentence to
11:14give a clear picture of what your
11:16product is about then hit them with
11:19three bullet points that really shows
11:21what sets your product apart that would
11:24help to paint the bigger picture of what
11:26you're all about we did something like
11:28that that and trust me Clarity is
11:30critical here they've got to understand
11:32your vision or they might stop reading
11:35at this point and that's why this one is
11:37also a solid three next up the progress
11:40part the question is how far are you
11:43along again this is your chance to show
11:45that you're not just sitting around
11:47you're out there making things happen
11:50depending on what you're building the
11:51myones might be different maybe you've
11:54been talking to users maybe you've got
11:56an MVP and you're running it or maybe
11:58you even got got some pain customers for
12:00your product if you're in a field where
12:02things take a long time to get off the
12:03ground like launching a satellite into
12:05space maybe you've got some patterns or
12:08you've put together a killer team in our
12:11application we share that we built an
12:12MVP that we launch it and that we were
12:15already learning and improving again
12:18this is a big three then how long have
12:21each of you been working on this it's a
12:23bit of a balancing act here if your ID
12:26is Super Fresh it might seem like you
12:28haven't thought it through enough but if
12:30you've been at it for ages then it might
12:32look like you're stuck somewhere between
12:353 and 12 months feels about right
12:37especially in a fast moving field like
12:39Tech please do not lie they will they
12:41will figure it out at June we were at it
12:44for 6 months I would call it a one I
12:47don't think it's the most important one
12:48are people using your product okay here
12:51you really want to say yes if not it's
12:54time to S and change that why is awesome
12:57for speeding things up when you've got a
13:00Direction but if things are still foggy
13:03it's tough having even a few users will
13:07give you a solid start and shows why see
13:09you're onto something that's a solid
13:12three do you have Revenue even if it's
13:16just a bit showing that you can make
13:18money counts a lot it shows your ID is
13:21not just cool but it's actually worth
13:23something keep it real keep it simple at
13:26June we started charging 50 bucks of
13:28month it wasn't perfect but it showed we
13:31were serious this only gets a two last
13:34year over half of the startups that join
13:37YC weren't making any money at the time
13:40they join so it's not the biggest deal
13:42but it matters next are you reapplying
13:46with the same ID or did you pivot if
13:48you're back at it with YC this is your
13:50chance to show how much you've grown
13:52since last time so make sure the changes
13:55are big and real a new audience a new
13:58perks or a new co-founder that's the
14:01stuff you're looking for just tweaking
14:03your startup name is not going to make
14:04the cut that's a one have you
14:07participated in other programs why is he
14:10curious about that as far as I know
14:12they're not worried about sharing the
14:13pie unless maybe it's a major player
14:16like seya Arc and other programs can
14:19actually be a plus our startup got some
14:21backing from a startup studio in Europe
14:24we're not sure if it helped but maybe so
14:27I would call it a one could give you a
14:29little Edge okay so now the idea itself
14:32show that deep connection to the problem
14:35maybe it's your expertise maybe it's a
14:37story that is close to your heart be
14:39genuine and also show you're not just
14:41talking you're doing this is what we did
14:43with our application that's a big three
14:46who are your competitors this is your
14:49chance to show you really get your
14:52Market break it down here show the
14:54direct competition and how they're
14:56missing the mark for hour application we
14:59mapped out the market and pinpoint where
15:02each player fell short this bit is a two
15:05it's important but you will learn and
15:07adapt as you go the question also ask
15:10what's your secret Source here share
15:13that one thing you've figured out that
15:15others haven't like Airbnb insight about
15:18students needing affordable authentic
15:20places to stay this Insight are Game
15:23Changer and so they get a so three how
15:25will you make money so keep it simple
15:28again lay out your business model in one
15:30line again that's a three the Run model
15:33can sync your startup and on the
15:36contrary you can innovate with a great
15:38pricing structure now let's cycle the
15:41second part of the question how much
15:42could you make this one is about Market
15:44sizing and it's often a bit of an
15:46estimate W he knows that they just want
15:48to see how you approach a problem for us
15:51we say June pricing starts at 99 bucks
15:53per month per workspace we aim for 1,000
15:56workspaces in 12 months
15:59which would bring us to 1.2 millions of
16:01annual recording Revenue we're targeting
16:04500,000 small and medium businesses with
16:07a monthly budget of 2,000 bucks for
16:10analytics which makes it a 12 billion
16:13Market in fairness I think this one is a
16:16one next how do users find your product
16:20this is your go to market strategy a
16:23fantastic product won't go far without a
16:25way for people to discover it and to buy
16:28it you can name two or three channels
16:30here that's enough until your series a
16:32in our application we mention inbound
16:35channels like SEO or co- marketing
16:37because we knew they worked in our
16:39industry and they match or self- serve
16:41product approach this one is a three
16:44simply because without a go to market
16:46you don't have a company finally if you
16:49track user engagement and retention
16:51where are there this question is recent
16:53we didn't have it in 2021 ideally you
16:56want to have a user retention at 3 three
16:58or 6 months it shows that people are
17:00sticking with your product which is a
17:02good sign for future monetization
17:05anything above 30% on the timelines I
17:08mentioned is really strong if you
17:10measure retention choose the right
17:12frequency for your product if it's a
17:14social media app aim for daily retention
17:16if it's an accounting software used
17:18weekly go for weekly retention and so on
17:21and so forth a bit of self-promotion we
17:23built a tool called jun. to actually
17:26measure the user retention out of the
17:27box so you can check out this question
17:29gets a one many startups don't have this
17:31data yet and that's okay okay now let's
17:33wrap up with the equity section this
17:35section is about making sure that your
17:37cap table isn't messed up so YC wants to
17:41make sure they're not investing in a
17:43startup with complicated ownership
17:45structures if youve work with our
17:47accelerators which is totally fine you
17:49should have a good reason for wanting to
17:51join YC and this is where you can
17:53explain it YC also wants to understand
17:56your mindset are you raising and
17:57spending a a lot are you more on The
17:59Frugal side historically YC has leaned
18:03towards frugality but it depends on your
18:05business of course this one gets a score
18:07of one only but the wrong answer can
18:09hurt you finally let's cover the other
18:12and curious categories okay so the
18:15question I ask you if you have other
18:16idas you would like to apply with this
18:18one is a big tricky and there is no
18:20right or wrong answer it's a chance to
18:22show your company culture are you quick
18:25to drop an ID or are you fully committed
18:27to the one some of the biggest YC
18:30success stories were pivots like deal or
18:32brecks that used to be a VR company we
18:35choose to go with none we're very
18:37bullish with June again this one gets a
18:40score of one it's not critical but it
18:43reveals your mindset last question what
18:45convinced you to apply to YC this is
18:47your opportunity to show that you're
18:50already part of the YC community and
18:52know what you're getting into mention
18:55any friends or event related to YC that
18:58pushed you to apply we mentioned that
19:00some friends went through YC encouraged
19:02us so that's a wrap on the application
19:04breakdown it's a lot to think about but
19:07remember to be honest and concise in
19:09your answer and good luck with your YC
19:12application this is just the first step
19:14if you want to know how to nail the
19:1510-minute interview with YC please check
19:18the next video if you found that video
19:20helpful don't forget to hit that like
19:22button and the subscribe to the channel
19:25your super means the world and it's what
19:27pushes me to make more videos like this
19:29one see you in the next video take care
