We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding.
Please don't take it personally, because most of the proposals we
rejected, we rejected for reasons having nothing to do with the
quality of the applicants. For example, we were very reluctant to
accept proposals with only one founder, because we think starting
a startup is too much work for one person. We also had a higher
threshold for applicants who were still in school, groups where one
or more members planned to keep their current jobs, and groups that
couldn't all move to Boston. We rejected a lot of proposals simply
because we couldn't understand them, or didn't understand the problem
domain well enough to judge them, or because the project seemed too
big to start on only three months of funding. Sometimes we even
rejected good ideas, because another group proposed the same idea
and seemed further along.
We realize this process is fraught with error. It's practically
certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful
startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email
telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes.
I'm sure, it's frustrating if you don't know real reason why they rejected you so I wish you good luck, As we say, "what don't kill you that gives you more power".
Hard to say, I think the reason we were rejected is that we flat out aren't ready and the application made it pretty obvious.
I greatly appreciate Y-Combinator taking the time to review our app, because if I'd accepted "we're not ready" as a reason to not apply at all, then there's a good chance I'd have abandoned the idea of starting a business altogether.
Comments
We're sorry to say we couldn't accept your proposal for funding. Please don't take it personally, because most of the proposals we rejected, we rejected for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the applicants. For example, we were very reluctant to accept proposals with only one founder, because we think starting a startup is too much work for one person. We also had a higher threshold for applicants who were still in school, groups where one or more members planned to keep their current jobs, and groups that couldn't all move to Boston. We rejected a lot of proposals simply because we couldn't understand them, or didn't understand the problem domain well enough to judge them, or because the project seemed too big to start on only three months of funding. Sometimes we even rejected good ideas, because another group proposed the same idea and seemed further along.
We realize this process is fraught with error. It's practically certain that groups we rejected will go on to create successful startups. If you do, we'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email telling us about it; we want to learn from our mistakes.
Thanks,
Y Combinator Staff
as of today I'm out to prove them wrong. wish me luck and good luck to those who have been accepted
I'm sure, it's frustrating if you don't know real reason why they rejected you so I wish you good luck, As we say, "what don't kill you that gives you more power".
Good luck. We're on that path, too.
That's the best rejection letter I've ever read.
Hard to say, I think the reason we were rejected is that we flat out aren't ready and the application made it pretty obvious.
I greatly appreciate Y-Combinator taking the time to review our app, because if I'd accepted "we're not ready" as a reason to not apply at all, then there's a good chance I'd have abandoned the idea of starting a business altogether.
You haven't gotten too many rejection letters then:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejection_Letter
This falls in the not-very-good category of "mass printed letter".