Since launching in 2005, Y Combinator (YC) has invested $100 billions in more than 1800 startups, creating a portfolio of more than 1200 companies. By 2018 15 alum are billionaires, 70 alum are valued at over $100 million, and 3 have made it onto Shark Tank. By all measure, YC is the world’s largest, most influential, and perhaps most beloved accelerator.

Just a quick look at the YC companies would make any investor drool: Airbnb, Cruise, Reddit, Twitch, Coinbase, DoorDash, Instacart, HipMunk, Mixpanel, Scribd, HumbleBundle, Dropbox, the list goes on and on. YC moniker has become a mark of quality across the tech industry, with entrepreneurs proudly putting YC after their name like a professional designation.

YC selects hundreds of startups twice a year for the Winter and Summer batches via an online application process. All ideas at any stage of development are welcome and founders need only be 18 years or older, incorporated in the United States, and have a 10% equity in the company to apply. There are no other requirements other than being able to articulate their brilliant idea. Nevertheless, ever since YC started mass-producing unicorns like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe, it has become INCREDIBLY hard to get in. For instance, in 2015 alone - 7,000 startups applied, and a 106 got in. That’s an acceptance rate of 1.5%. Harvard’s is 5.9%. And if you google “YC” you’ll get tons of articles on “How to get accepted…”, “How to pass the interview…”, etc. And the most common solution you see in such materials is “Talk to YC alumni, this is the best possible data you can get”. The network of YC alumni is really powerful, and their willingness to support, mentor, & fund each other to success.

That’s why we invited YC alumni for a fireside chat where we will figure out:

• How to apply and be prepared

• What is YC startup school and how it can be helpful

• How to hack the YC interview

• What’s inside

• What are the outtakes from YC

Please meet:

Yurij Riphyak, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at YouTeam (YC W18) - a platform for building remote dev teams. Tech entrepreneur, product designer and behavioral economist (LSE). Mentor of Y Combinator Startup School.

Yuriy Zaremba, CEO & Founder of AXDRAFT

Allan Grant, Co-Founder of Hired and Talkable.

Save the date: Aug, 6 (Tuesday)

Venue: Yaroslavska 58, Sigma Software office

Tickets are available here:

The event is produced in partnership with YouTeam & Sigma Software Labs

With a support of TechUkraine