Y-Combinator

Accelerating startup success, one batch at a time

Y Combinator (YC) is a US-based startup accelerator established in 2005. YC’s goal is to help startups take off by providing them with the resources, mentorship, and network necessary to improve their products, acquire more users, and raise more funding.

It has invested in a wide array of sectors, with a focus on FinTech and Payment, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, E-commerce, Digital Marketplaces and Social, Healthcare and Therapeutics, SpaceTech, GovTech and PropTech. Y-combinator provides funding and resources to startups at various stages, including seed, Series A, and growth (Series B/C).

The company hosts two three-month programs per year, one from January to March, and one from June to August. The program is intense, with a focus on startups "all the time." It is designed to bring out the best in founders and startups, and many participants have reported that the 11 weeks leading up to Demo Day were the most productive period of their lives. The participating startups are sorted into four groups, each led by group partners who advise the founders in one-on-one and group office hours.

Office hours are a key aspect of the YC program, with group partners hosting group office hours every two weeks and one-on-one office hours as often as founders want. The program includes a 3-day, in-person retreat in the cohort’s first few weeks to give founders the opportunity to get to know each other, their group partners, and the YC team. Once a week, YC invites an eminent person from the startup world to speak during “Tuesday Talks,” usually successful startup founders. YC helps startups prepare for public launches on sites like Product Hunt and Hacker News and for their first press pitches and interviews.

The YC community can be a source for startups' first 40-50 paying customers, providing valuable early product feedback. Weekly meetups are held throughout the batch to keep in touch with the startups and provide additional opportunities to connect with successful YC founders and other special guests.

YC invests $500,000 in every company on standard terms, with $125,000 on a post-money safe in return for 7% of the company and $375,000 on an uncapped safe with a Most Favored Nation (MFN) provision. Since 2005, YC has invested in more than 3,500 companies, which have a combined valuation nearing $1T. Notable companies that have gone through the program include Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit, Zapier, and many more.