- Y Combinator
Infobox_Company
company_name = Y Combinator
company_
company_type =Limited liability company
foundation =2005
key_people =
location =
industry =Venture Capital
products =Investments
assets =
homepage = [http://www.ycombinator.com/ www.ycombinator.com]
num_employees =Y Combinator is a seed-stage
startup funding firm, started in 2005 byPaul Graham , Robert Morris,Trevor Blackwell , andJessica Livingston . Y Combinator providesseed money , advice, and connections at two 3-month programs per year in Cambridge and Mountain View. In exchange, they take an average of about 6% of the company's equity [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/business/businessspecial2/21startup.html?pagewanted=print|title=Running a Hatchery for Replicant Hackers|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=New York Times] . Unusual among startup funding firms, Y Combinator provides very little money—about $5000 + $5000 per founder [Cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/sep2007/sb20070926_620433.htm|title=Y Combinator Inspires Imitators|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=BusinessWeek] . This reflects Graham's conviction that betweenfree software , dynamic languages, the web, andMoore's Law , the cost of founding a startup has greatly decreased [cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2007/sb20071019_378998.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories|title=Planning for a Crush of Startups|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=BusinessWeek] .As of January 2008, Y Combinator had funded 80 startups, the best known of which are
reddit ,Loopt , andJustin.tv . The number of startups funded in each cycle has been gradually increasing. The first cycle in summer 2005 had eight startups. In the summer 2007 cycle, there were 19.Y Combinator was started after Graham gave a talk at his
alma mater ,Harvard (where he earned a PhD in Computer Science), which became, "How to Start a Startup". [ [http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html How to Start a Startup ] ] He suggested founders seek seed funding from "angel investors ", preferably those who had made money in technology. He half-jokingly added "but not me", but, feeling guilty [cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070718/b_ycombinator.art.htm|title=Hungry entrepreneurs eat up Y Combinator's help|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-08-26] , he soon after organized Y Combinator to offer seed funding to startups.Portfolio
Companies that have received funding from Y Combinator include:
References
External links
* [http://www.ycombinator.com/ Company website]
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