YC doesn't have the time and resources to help every startup.

ascendant · on April 11, 2011

This. The OP makes the assumption that all grade "A" startups that apply for a class will get into that class. It seems to me that it's starting to reach a point where it won't scale to keep including more and more people into a class. I'm sure some will be because the ideas or founders aren't the best but in the case of ones that make it to the interview, that's already stating they're ahead of the pack in that sense.

marcomonteiro · on April 11, 2011

I applied for Summer 2011. I'm a single founder - point against. I'm not working on a social networking project or something with mass consumer appeal - point against. It's a fairly trivial product (though a great demand exists) - point against. I'm also older (29) which might not be favorable to YC.

Admittedly I was a little intimidated by a few questions on the application and my video sucked. I've been in real estate for the last few years and am now getting back into software development. Being in real estate though is what gives me tremendous insight into the niche market I'm targeting with my startup. It's impossible to know for sure why I wasn't invited for an interview considering they don't give any feedback. I'd assume they were just more interested in other founders/projects. That doesn't make me a "B" grade startup, I just don't fit the YC criteria (at least right now).

Point being that it benefits YC to bet on projects with huge upside potential. Fewer big hits compensates for massive misses. Isn't that the same strategy that nearly all VC's use?

All in all I'm learning as I go and moving forward regardlessly.

kovar · on April 11, 2011

Similar situation - single founder, not doing social or green, niche B2B market (ediscovery), older (48), out of practice on software engineering, and deep insight into target market.

I applied to YC knowing that I wasn't a good fit. Going through the application process helped me hone my message and also helped me to better organize my priorities.

It's like writing a business plan - you may never really use it (you may not be accepted into YC) but going through the exercise has real benefit.