I don't know, i have the impression that the application is more about thinking how impressive you and your achievements are so far. And I don't see any benefits in this kind of self congratulatory or self disappointment exercise.

YC always said it was more about the founders than the idea, so applying is nothing like doing a business model canvas or whatever. That said, I think it is still very worthy to apply if you think you are a YC-type founder. I just do not buy that applying is an exercise worthy for itself.

Personally, I don't really see it like that at all. I mean they obviously will ask you for past accomplishments so they can see if you have the aptitude, but I don't see it as an application where you solely brag about yourself.

> YC always said it was more about the founders than the idea

I've heard this before. I do believe it's true, but only after the initial idea. They have had some cases where the founders applied with an idea, got accepted, and then found out that their initial idea wasn't going to take off. Now they are really investing in you, the founder, over your idea. The stories of Optimizely (https://soundcloud.com/akharris/startup-school-radio-ep-3-pe...) and Codecademy come to mind.

You can do all those with out applying, even with lottery they tell which numbers wins. If the sharing idea is not an issue why they don't share the winning ones? If sharing the idea is an issue then there is a price you sharing yours then?

You're right, you can do all those without applying, but why not just hit submit anyways? It's not going to hurt you and even if you do get that soul-crushing rejection, who cares? You're going to face a lot more cruel rejections from angels and VCs so you might as well start building up your tolerance. And if you really can't tolerate it then pursuing a startup isn't for you, because it gets much more stressful as you go. This is a good explanation as to why they might reject your app: http://www.ycombinator.com/whynot/

They eventually do share the ideas; just not in the beginning. Some companies announce themselves in the beginning and some don't. Eventually we will hear about them when Demo Day comes around. This is a post listing the recent class: http://blog.ycombinator.com/congratulations-to-the-yc-summer...

This is a compiled list of all the companies that have ever attended YC and their status (though it seems it hasn't been updated yet): http://yclist.com/

Rejections are ok, but the ones with a template email is not! I dont hear anybody being rejected from a VC or an angel with a template based email!

They are getting a huge database to mine. You share your idea, progress and other things, but they dont even get time to provide a feedback! Not even focus on this or that type. Also dont forget stupid show us if we were wrong type sentences.

I don't really know what to think except the sheer amount of applications they receive. They received over 6500 applications for their YC Fellowship program alone and the application was open for only a week. Can you imagine having to write a personalized rejection letter for each application? That would take a much longer time as oppose of sending a template email. Believe me, I would love to hear personalized feedback as much as you, but I get why they can't do it. Angels and VCs don't deal with the volume that YC or TechStar do, so they can afford to personalize their rejection emails accordingly (if you're even lucky to get one in some cases). I found these two links to be particularly interesting:

https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/39kswc/vc_rejecti...

https://medium.com/@bchesky/7-rejections-7d894cbaa084

I haven't heard any stories where YC used their database nefariously and gave away ideas to other founders. This is interesting though, I'll keep this in mind.

Angels and VCs often just stop responding or respond noncommittally. The firm "No" you get from YC is way better than most potential investment deals.

i think thats is the best thing can happen as i would never get such kind of VCs or especially angels money.would love to hear real stroies, any links? i think it is almost equal to you love someone and getting no with no explanation.