What is Y Combinator?

“We think founders are most productive when they can spend most of their time building. Our goal is to create an environment where you can focus exclusively on building product and talking to users.” - Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a venture capital firm that invests in businesses. Seed money is the first round of venture capital. While you're getting started, it covers your expenses.

Some businesses may only require initial investment. Others will have to go through multiple rounds. There is no one-size-fits-all solution; the amount of capital you require is determined by the type of business you establish.

Y Combinator's goal is to help you get through the first stage. This usually translates to: bring you to the level where you've created something outstanding enough to raise funds on a broader scale. Then it will connect you with later-stage investors and, on rare occasions, acquirers.

Stripe, Airbnb, Cruise, PagerDuty, DoorDash, Coinbase, Instacart, Dropbox, Twitch, Flightfox, and Reddit are just a few of the firms that have leveraged its launch.   By January 2021, the top YC-backed firms had a combined valuation of more than $300 billion. The company's accelerator program began in Boston and Mountain View, moved to San Francisco in 2019, and has been completely online since the COVID-19 epidemic broke out. In 2012, Forbes named the company as one of Silicon Valley's most successful startup accelerators.

The startup accelerator in the United States was founded in March 2005 by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Tappan Morris, and Trevor Blackwell.

Key Details about Y Combinator

Every year, Y Combinator assesses and chooses two or more batches of startups. The businesses will receive a total of $500,000 in initial money, as well as mentoring and connections. In exchange for 7% equity, the startups will receive $125,000 on a post-money safe and $375,000 on an uncapped safe with a Most Favored Nation ("MFN") provision. Non-profit organizations will get a $100,000 gift. "Office hours," where owners of the company meet individually and in groups, are part of the program. Founders also attend weekly dinners where they are addressed by visitors from the Silicon Valley including successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, etc.

“Twice a year we invest $500,000 per company in a large number of startups,” the Accelerator wrote on its website. “We work intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day, when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience.”

"Make Something People Want" is Y Combinator's mantra. The training prepares founders on how to promote their product, team, and market, as well as how to refine their business model, achieve product/market fit, and scale their startup into a high-growth company, among other things. Demo Day, where businesses demonstrate their business and, in some cases, technology to potential investors, brings the program to a close.

“Y Combinator is occasionally described as a boot camp, but this is not really accurate. We probably get called that because we fund a lot of startups at once. But the similarities end there; the atmosphere is the opposite of regimented.” - Y Combinator

Funding startups in batches works better for everyone. It’s more efficient for us, and better for the startups, who probably end up helping one another at least as much as we help them.

The Y Combinator has a separate program and fund dedicated to supporting and investing in entrepreneurs that have completed the primary accelerator program. The YC Growth Program and YC Continuity Fund are run by the same team and focus on aiding fast-growing firms with 50 or more workers, as well as startups obtaining $20 million to $100 million in Series B funding.

The YC Continuity fund also invests in firms that did not take part in Y Combinator's accelerator program on occasion, but this is not the fund's primary purpose.

Simply fill out an application form to apply to Y Combinator. After which an invitation will be sent out for further evaluation.

The YC program is three months long. Founders attend group office hours per 2 weeks and meet with partners for office hours as much as needed throughout those three months.

Throughout the batch, YC will host a weekly presentation in which a speaker who is a specialist in a certain element of startups will speak. Founders of startups, venture investors, and executives from renown technology corporations are common speakers.