Garry Tan Reveals His Secret to Getting into Y Combinator Startup Accelerator
If you’ve ever wanted to apply to Y Combinator, here’s some inside information on how the iconic accelerator chooses companies from someone who knows best: Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y Combinator.
A Rare Opportunity to Get Inside YC’s Selection Process
The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. hosted Tan for a one-on-one interview with Teresa Carlson, a General Catalyst board member. It’s widely known that Y Combinator accepts less than 1% of the applications it receives — the last batch was whittled down from 27,000 applications, Tan said. Cohorts these days tend to be around 250 companies.
What is the ‘Secret Sauce’ to Getting Accepted into YC?
Carlson wanted to know what the "secret sauce" is to getting accepted into Y Combinator. Tan replied that it’s one of the few places where you don’t have to know anyone to get in. Anyone can go to the website, apply and submit a one-minute video.
YC’s Application Process
YC’s 14 partners read the applications to understand a few things: Who is the applicant’s potential customer? What have the founders built in the past? Top applicants then go on to answer a handful of questions from the partners.
"So many venture capitalists are taking meetings, week-to-week, and saying ‘no, no, no, no,’ and then maybe a few times a year saying, ‘yes,’" Tan said. "YC turns that on its head."
Founders Who Create Markets
One of the things YC is looking for is founders who can create markets. They see a technology no one has envisioned yet. Tan used Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong as an example of someone who created a market.
"When I first met Brian, he was still working as an anti-fraud engineer at Airbnb," Tan said. "He had read the Satoshi Nakamoto white paper, and had an idea."
"He said, ‘Nobody believes this yet, but I believe it, and I want to work on software that would manifest this crazy idea that you could have a sovereign cryptocurrency,’" Tan continued.
"This was a very fringe idea at the moment, but that’s what we’re looking for — a fringe thing," he said. "A new technology that deeply technical people are obsessed with, and one that goes on to touch all of society."
The Importance of First Principles Thinking
Tan also explained that YC partners look for founders who are first principles thinkers. By that, he meant that they not only believe in a new idea but also understand the necessary steps toward building it.
"It’s not enough just to recognize a new thing," Tan said. "You have to understand some of the steps toward building it and have a plan to validate that what you built is solving the problem you originally set out to solve."
The Current State of YC’s Application Process
In the current application process, applicants are asked to submit a one-minute video explaining their idea. The 14 partners at YC then review these videos and choose which companies to invest in.
Conclusion
Getting accepted into Y Combinator is a rare opportunity for startups. By understanding what YC looks for in its applicants and following the application process, founders can increase their chances of getting selected.
As Tan said, "YC turns that on its head." It’s not about knowing someone or having connections. It’s about having a great idea and being willing to put in the work to make it happen.
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