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Ask PG: Does YC review single founder applications?

2 points by unohoo ↗ HN
PG,

As part of the YC application, I noticed a question asking if I'm the only founder. The answer to that is,unfortunately, yes.

My question is - in that scenario, should I even submit the YC application ? Will it be reviewed ? The rest of the questions that are grouped with this one give me an impression that (a) its unlikely to be reviewed or (b)rejected from get go.

thanks.

PS: I have read your essay about the whys of having a co-founder. And I agree. Its just that I havent found a worthy co-founder yet.

8 comments

[ 51.4 ms ] story [ 740 ms ] thread
davidw
Yes, they do, and accept some of them too, according to comments PG has made here.

What are you working on?

unohoo
a web app for recruitment space
pg
Yes. (http://ycombinator.com/faq.html)
unohoo
thank you. I'd reviewed the faqs, but was looking for a confirmation.
j2d2
Hmm... when I saw this in the app it seemed like a big red flag for not applying.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on what makes a single-founder worthy?

pg
The same qualities we look for in other founders: being smart and effective.

There's a paradox here though: if a single founder were as smart and effective as we'd want, he'd already have found a cofounder and convinced him to join.

So in practice the single founders we accept tend to be people who are good at hacking but not so good at sales.

prakash
Good insight.

Have you seen the corollary in practice in YC applications or in general i.e. If a sales guy/gal is good they can convince hackers to be co-founders?

pg
By definition if a sales person is good they should be able to convince a Woz to join them. The problem is, though, that they tend not to be able to judge Wozzes very well.