Summer 2013 Funding
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The application deadline was March 29.
Apply late.
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Y Combinator is now accepting applications for the
summer 2013 funding cycle. It will take place in Mountain View, CA from
June through August 2013.
- If you want to apply, please submit your
application
online by 8 pm PT on March 29, 2013.
Groups that submit
early have a significant advantage because we have more time to
read their applications.
- On April 16, we'll
invite the groups that seem most promising
to meet us in Mountain View between April 26 and 30.
We'll reimburse up to $1100 per group for travel expenses.
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We decide who to fund after each day of interviews.
Yes decisions will include the amount we'll invest and the
percent of the company we'd want for it. We usually invest
$11,000 + $3000n, where n is the number of participating founders,
up to 3 (i.e. 2 founders get $17,000, 3 or more
get $20,000), in return for between 2% and 10% of the company.
The average is 7%.
- If we invest in you, your group is expected to move to
the Bay Area for June through August 2013. (You can of course
leave afterward if you want, but it's a good place
for a startup to be.)
- After you're accepted, we'll immediately get to work
helping you set up your company, if it isn't already.
As soon as your company exists, we'll write a check to it
for the investment. You can spend the money however you want.
- Y Combinator doesn't supply office space. We have space you can use if
you need to, but we expect you to work out of wherever
you find to live. It is no
coincidence that so many successful startups have started this way;
it's the ideal setup for the initial phase.
- During the 3 month cycle we'll have dinners every Tuesday for all
the founders. At each dinner we'll invite an
expert in some aspect
of startups to speak.
- We have regular office hours year round for startups
who want to talk about what they're building, or get advice on dealing
with investors. We also have occasional events at YC.
- During and after the 3 months we introduce startups
individually to people who could help them.
The founders of other YC-funded companies tend to be especially
helpful. There are now about 1000 of them, and they're
usually very willing to give advice or make introductions.
- About 11 weeks in, we organize an event called Demo Day
at which the startups present to later stage investors.
You can of course
seek additional funding from any investor whenever you want.
- YC doesn't really end after 3 months; only the dinners do.
We continue to give advice and make introductions
as long as founders need—and so does the informal
network of YC-funded companies.
How do we choose who to fund?
The people in your group are what matter most to us. We look
for brains, motivation, and a sense of design. Experience is helpful
but not critical.
Your idea is important too, but mainly as evidence that you can
have good ideas. Most successful startups change their idea
substantially.
The ideal company would have two or three founders. We'll
consider those with four or five. We're reluctant to accept one-person
companies, though we have funded a couple.
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