I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA

Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by johndoe42 on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:32PM (#9239187)

Hello Sam,

First, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

My question is about confidentiality of applications. Today I am working at a YC startup. I (and two other friends) have a project in mind. But what prevents me from applying to YC is the fear that my application would fall in the inbox of our founders. Obviously I would prefer our application to remain confidential until if they we get accepted (which, I understand, is against the odds :)).

How can I ensure that this won't happen? How private and confidential are our conversations with YC partners and team?

I have also heard that YC alumni sometimes help filtering/interviewing the teams/projects that apply. Is this correct?

To be completely transparent, I have heard from 2 persons closed to YC that there is no way our founders won't know that I have applied. So this point really worries me a lot.

Thank you for your answer and again, thank you for taking the time to answer the questions of the HN community.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by sama on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:57PM (#9239363)

We do have some alumni help us review applications. There is a chance the founders of your startup would randomly see your application.

HOWEVER, you should not only start a startup if you get into YC. If you're into this startup, you should be doing it whether or not YC funds you. It's a big red flag for us when people only want to work on a startup if they get into YC.

Also, in general, if you're planning to start a startup at some point, talk to the founders of the startup you're currently working at. They'll generally be very understanding.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by asdfasdfa on Friday March 20, 2015 @03:03PM (#9239958)

Anecdotally, I was rejected by YC and in the following year my startup has grossed over $100,000 and is acquiring new users at a stable 20%+ MoM. Point being YC is a nice-to-have, not a need to have.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by johndoe42 on Friday March 20, 2015 @03:02PM (#9239945)

Thank you Sam for your feedback. I totally agree: YC should not be the only reason for you to start what you want to build. And I had no pb submitting applications to other accelerators. That being said, YC is considered as the best of the best by many :)

In a nutshell, I guess the answer is no, it can not be confidential.

Thank you for your answer and time.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by pquerna on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:55PM (#9239353)

I may or may not of applied to YC before; I decided to tell all of YC founders working at the same company ahead of time for this reason. It can get at least a little complicated when some of them are managers... of people applying.

Most of the YC founders ended up helping us with the application, and it wasn't a big deal, but I fully understand this feeling.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by oplesoptimist on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:38PM (#9239231)

Oh man, I'm in the same situation, and I was kinda trying to not think about it! I'd assumed YC applications were a "safe" place? (No?)

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by treeform on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:46PM (#9239305)

We were in the same situation. But we were completely open with our YC founders and they helped us a lot in getting into YC and with tons of advice. It seems like you are building the relation ship wrong based on some sort of deception. I would think about it.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by johndoe42 on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:56PM (#9239360)

Thank you treeform for your answer. I agree that if this would be possible this would be the best way to go.

Unfortunately all the founders are not the same, and mine are not opened AT ALL to these kind of initiatives :)

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by MangoDiesel on Friday March 20, 2015 @02:56PM (#9239885)

Without knowing much, this does come across as very hypocritical of them to do this to you. It seems like the type of attitude that would be frowned upon by the YC community.

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Re:I Am Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. AMA by pquerna on Friday March 20, 2015 @01:56PM (#9239358)

This works OK when you have direct relationships with the YC Founders -- but when you are only tangentially connected in a big company... It is hard to know where rumors go.

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