Organization:Y Combinator
Contents
Overview
Y Combinator, also known as YC is an American seed accelerator started in 2005 by Jessica Livingston, Paul Graham, Robert Morris and Trevor Blackwell. It seeks out companies in the early stages of their development and helps them to grow by providing resources including mentoring, financial support and connections. Mentors are successful business people and experts in many fields. If a company is selected, they must move to the Bay area and are given $120,000 as an investment in exchange for 7% equity. As of 2017 YC has invested in about 1,450 companies including Stripe, Reddit and Dropbox. The companies that YC has invested in are worth over $80 billion dollars collectively.
Purpose
Y Combinator's motto is "Make something people want". Their goal is to help early stage companies and founders develop their product, strategy, team and business model. They seek to initiate change in the way companies are funded.
Distinct Differences From Other Offerings
The main difference from Y Combinator with other venture firms is that they focus on helping startups develop and expand their ideas working with them instead of supplying a combination of money and help as many venture investors do.
Altough Y Combinator supplies money to the startups, that money is given in order to allow the founders to pay their living expenses while Y Combinator is happening, therefore the money is the smaller component of their help.
Another activity undertaken by Y Combinator is to help f'ounders deal with investors and acquirers'.They teach them to pitch their startups to investors, and close a deal once they have generated interest.
Impact Achieved
Aforementioned, companies Y Combinator has helped accelerate are worth about $80 billion dollars. YC has funded 1,464 companies and 3,000 founders. Aside from their main program, YC has a number of programs open to the public and a few resources on their website. The companies they have been accelerated have made a lasting impact in many communities. Thousands of people have been affected by these organizations. Individuals have become employees, investors and partners. Additionally, many Fortune 500 companies operations have been changed by YC accelerated companies products, namely DropBox and Stripe.
Benefits for YC Founders
YC provides a wide range of benefits to its founders.
One is the possibility to be part of a great community consisting of an Alumni Network with 1,464 companies and 3,000 founders. This enables the founders to get access to knowledgeable people in different working areas. There are also different Meetings, Workshops, Conferences, Dinners and Office Hours with Domain Experts organized for funders.
Another main benefit is the capital that the startup receives (120K), as well as the exposure that Y Combinator gives to all the startups, by publishing their company on its website. This allows the company to be known and exposed to prospect clients as well as possible investors.
This are only part of a long list of benefits available for YC founders. If you want to know more, visit http://www.ycombinator.com/atyc/.
Contact Information
Y Combinator
320 Pioneer Way
Mountain View CA 94041
