Article · 10 min read

You can't hack your YC application, but here's what to avoid

Christopher Morton · TechCrunch Free Intermediate

Written by someone who volunteer-reviewed thousands of YC applications, so it tells you how a form actually gets read: fast, by a skimmer who is not from your field and does not need every detail. It is the definitive list of what quietly sinks you, jargon like "revolutionize" and "disrupt," padding words like "basically" and "super," and overthinking, which matters doubly for an Anywhere Founder in India whose domain the reviewer will not know cold.

  • Reviewers are usually outside your field and skim, so explain the basic system plainly and cut every detail that does not help them understand it
  • Corporate jargon (revolutionize, disrupt, synergy, game-changer) and filler (basically, super) are active red flags, not neutral filler
  • Your goal is to earn an interview, not to win a prize, so straightforward and clear beats clever or over-polished every time
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The question it answers

  1. How do I write an accelerator application that actually gets read, and what do I put in the video?

Read with it

  1. This is the actual application that got Basedash into YC (S20), question by question, with the founder's own annotation on why... Basedash Article · 15 min read How to write a successful YC application (with the real answers that got Basedash in) Max Musing
  2. The clearest breakdown of what the founder video is actually for: not a pitch deck read aloud, but proof that you and your... Pilot Article · 8 min read How to Prepare for Your YC Application Video Pilot team
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