Challenge To Accelerators

Wow, tonight I received my first ever invite to apply to Y Combinator. This is a first for them. I'm stunned. I threw my hands in the air with disbelief! Why would they even need to invite my team and I to apply? Y Combinator is the top accelerator in the world and they don't need to advertise or invite past applicants to apply again. They get thousands of applicants each cycle. 

So here it is:

Here is what I think all accelerators should do. Well, MUST DO, if they are cool. Out of all your applicants you should pick one team as a "Wild Card". One team that does not have to be subjected to the "interview" one team that just has that something odd about it. One team that's application may have really sucked. One team that knows, they are only there because they got the "Wild Card". That team knows they have to prove themselves because they didn't pass the application, and they got a free pass on the interview. No team will know who the wild card team is. 

Just do it. Let someone in that you normally would not let in. Each cycle. See what happens. 

Feeling Inadequate For Y Combinator

Just read a lovely article about Y Combinator by Susan Johnson on Medium. Susan talks about being a mom, and being in Y Combinator. She also mentions the fact that she "didn't think she was a candidate for the world class accelerator." She said she thought she didn't look like a YC founder. Well me either Susan! 

Here are my reason's why.
1. I'm too old.
2. I'm too crazy.

If I wanted to get super detailed about my reason's that I think I'm no candidate for YC, I add in the fact my grammar and math skills suck. I curse a bit, and sometimes I chew tobacco. But those are little things they could let slide. The too old and crazy,for sure those things could keep my team out. At least that's what I think. 

Others in my life think the reason I'll be kept out is is the fact my idea is still an idea and not something with some substance. Hmmm, well it does have substance. I've taken it four hundred miles ahead of just an idea in the head in a few short months. Hell, I even have t-shirts and bookmarks, that should count for ground work. ; - ) I also know that my idea hits spoton, on something I read once in a book that some venture capitalist looked for in startups. 

1. A big ass idea.
2. With a big ass market.
3. And big ass founders. (okay our asses are not big.) But we could do squats for you! 

Passdown's is a big ass idea, with the biggest market that exist, every connected person. As for us founders, well were good people who like to be funny and laugh as much as possible.

Eight more days till Wael and I, either get a happy email or a sad email. I got the sad email last year when I applied as a solo founder with a sort of good startup,with an okay market. This year I applied with an entire new startup with my cofounder, Wael. I see Wael as a total YC candidate. With a software engineering masters and a desire to build startups, he's all young tech talent! He is way over one hundred percent in. I sure hope I did my part on the application. I hope we do not get the "sorry we did not pick you email."

As often as us applicants call that email the rejection email. It's not rejection, it's just that other teams had better applications, and ideas. It's a sad place to be in, but I do have experience, so I know I will recover. 

Even still the build goes on. I met a wonderful possible new addition to the Passdown team, Arvin. He is a developer with ton of experience and I'm going to meet him this week. One of the first things he told me is, we don't need YC, we can still build it. Now that's what I like to here. This startup will face many detours, disappointments, and hardships, but if the people building see the vision as a whole, they can take it as far as they want to go. This would be Arvin! I think I'm going to like him when I meet him in person. 

A T-Shirt Printing Factory In Denver

May Passdown Become The

Humanitarian

Factory.

The Place All People Will Live On ~ Forever ~

Starting My Broken Heart For Y Combinator Early : - /

I'm starting my broken heart for not getting into Y Combinator today. Even though the day to receive the news from Y Combinator is not until October 28th. Ugg, had a good talk with a marketing expert today and he point blunt said "You have no chance in hell of getting into Y Combinator" of course he didn't say it that bluntly, he said it in the kindest way possible. 

He could be correct. I told him but Y Combinator says they take startups at all stages and Greg says "but you're not at a stage, you still have only ideology" Wait, what? Maybe true, yet the ideology stage is a stage to me. It takes a ton of work to get it out of your head and start taking the idea somewhere. Wael and I are doing that. You still have to do that part to get it to the place where the industry can call it a STAGE. 

Hope is not lost, it just may be delayed until the spring application process opens up, by then I expect to be at a industry acceptable stage, if that is what is needed, then that is what my team is going to do. 

I love Greg. He is a brilliant marketing man and also a entrepreneur. He is working on a smoking killer hardware wearable tech idea himself. In fact, I said, why don't you apply to Techstars? and he said I attempted to fill out the application and I could not even answer half the questions. Hmm, well that doesn't stop me. With his idea, I don't think he needs answers to all the questions. It doesn't take perfection or having all the answers to dangle a brilliant idea to an accelerator, or does it?

Update: I just looked at the Techstars application. No wonder Greg could not answer half the questions, there are fortyeight of them! I can't remember how many Y Combinator has, but I think its less than twenty. I'm never applying for Techstars, I'd probably be able to answer about ten of them. That application looks like a CIA investigation. I like the Y Combinator application. It seemingly ask exactly what they need to know and nothing more. Sure there was few question my team can not answer at this time, and maybe that will keep us out, for now. 

Greg did say that they invest in people first. Wael and I are good people, I do know that. So maybe this whole 'you have to be in a stage' thing is just Greg's thoughts. Hmmm. 

Entrepreneurs are in the idea business. It's our ideas that fuel the startup world. Yes we have to keep taking steps to get it further down that road. We don't have to have all the answers, it's not possible. That's why we seek out help from accelerators, we need them, just as much as they need us. Maybe these unanswered questions we leave on the applications, are the part the accelerators can help us to achieve?

If anyone knows of a hardware engineer who would like to talk to Greg about his wearable tech idea, please contact me. I'm telling you I don't have to be a rocket scientist or a venture capitalist to know his idea is KILLER GOOD. It's not like anything on the market. It's one of those ideas, where the users didn't know they needed it, until they used it found out how useful it is. Truly Greg needs to apply to Y Combinator. Anyone who walks away from his idea would be kicking themselves down the road. I'm happy to know a future millionaire, maybe I can talk him into funding me. ; - ) Of course I'd have to answer all his questions on the application! 

The Waiting For October 28th

Here I am working hard at forcing my brain not to think about it. I have endless work to do on Passdown, so I fill up a ton of time with that, yet, no matter how hard I try not to let my mind wonder what Y Combinator's answer is going to be on October 28th, it still does.

Endless flip flopping of thoughts run through my brain. If you pump your team up and say "We're getting invited" then you seemingly set yourself up for a big heartbreak if the "sorry you didn't make it email shows up".

If you tamp down your wonder with the negative, and keep repeating "you have no chance in hell" well that's just destructive thoughts that no one in life needs. So you are trapped in a waiting hell, some sort of world you don't want to be in, yet you do, cause you want what Y Combinator offers, HELP, and more importantly an environment for your startup to thrive in.

As most of us entrepreneurs know most startups FAIL. So we ought to all be applying for every accelerator we can. Just apply to them all and don't stop. You may never get into any of them, but you certainly won't if you don't apply. 

Suffering I am in this waiting period, but I'm not stopping building, testing, seeking out answers to see if Passdown is worth building. I've had a ton of ideas that never made it past my thoughts. I've also built my last startup without testing. A mistake I had to learn. The thing about Passdown is that, Wael and I kind of don't have to test to see if there is market, as others have already done that for us, like Box and Dropbox. We know people want and desire data storage. We also kind of do not need to test auction services as Ebay did that for us too. The thing about Passdown is, our data storage and auction service is for reason's people have not thought they needed it for. It's the great uncertainty about a startup idea. Do people need it? Do they want it? Will they pay for it? Can't say, but we can see what people have already done and the answer is yes to those. 

We also have some unique 'potential users' responses, and they have been so overwhelming positive. Filled with amazingly great comments about the desire for what we are building. Just wish we had the beta ready for use, so we could put the meat into the fire people are expressing about Passdown. Yes,we'd like to see if they want some dessert with the great dish we are serving. 

Yes my team is going to be heartbroken for a period of time if we do not get invited. I've experienced it a few times already, but my cofounder Wael has not ever. Wael is so excited, pumped and positive. I will be so heartbroken for him. I will be heartbroken for humanity too, cause I know my team needs an accelerator to bring this good to the world. We need the environment to thrive in as so many other applicants do. The competition right now is all the other teams. As much as I wish them the best of luck. I hope my team smokes them! 

Founder Worries About Y Combinator

The only reason I can think of that Y Combinator would not accept Passdown into their program is me. I could be to crazy for them. Oh there is probably a long list of reason as why startups do not get accepted into an accelerator and YC points out "Because, paradoxical as it sounds, there often is no reason."
Now that is the hardest reason to swallow, NO REASON. : - ) 


I found that I'm starting to get worried about getting rejected again, and my team has not even submitted the application. I think the worry this time around is not so much for me, but for my cofounder Wael. He is so excited about this possible opportunity and if we get rejected, I think he will be a bit sad.

Yes, I kind of am wired a bit on the wild side. Aren't all of us creative people? My lawyer said  "recognize that it will come down to whether they want to take a chance on you given that your background is a bit different than many of the other apps." Yep, but it is my different background that gives me the ideas to think up startup ideas.

However different my background is, I sure hope my teams application does not hinge on that fact alone. I would be in great distress if I was the reason my team does not get selected. Surely the judgement of YC would not rest on a persons life path. Even though YC says "The people in your group are what matter most to us."

Okay then, I should be fine as long as they accept crazy people into their program. 

Almost Finished Filling Out My Y Combinator Application!

After applying a year ago to Y Combinator as a solo founder, I'm humbled to find myself applying again. I have joked about a tradition I wanted to implement with YC. I had thought that I should apply every year until the age of ninety. Surly in all those years I would come up with a killer startup idea!

I had no idea that my mind would come up with another idea, and that life would bless me with an incredible cofounder. I really wasn't planning on applying because this new startup is ever so fresh. The thing is, I knew the application process was open. So why not apply? It doesn't matter where you are at with your build to YC.

This year, I have two points better towards getting in. Yep, I do have a pretty sweet idea, that is making people get all sparkly and magical when they hear about it. I also have an incredible technical cofounder. 

We have the application filled out, and we are just finishing up the video. That's the part I hate. I'm just not a video queen. At least not when it comes to me being in the video! it's not as awful as I thought it would be. Hopefully I won't get to many demerits for it.

I think more treps should just take the leap and apply for accelerators, often. Even if you find yourself being a solo founder. You gain experience in the process and you gain a ton of experience getting rejected. Since I didn't make the cut last year, I'm not feeling like it's the end of world. Sure I'll feel a bit bad if my team does not make the cut, yet I have experience at this now. So it won't be nearly as sad as last year. Maybe for my cofounder, but I'll be there to comfort him, cause I already know that path.

You get stronger and wiser with each rejection. Practice it often, this will help your startup journey.

I like this fence, it's like two cofounders with different skills, woven together in strength, building a great company. : - )

 

Yeah, I'm Applying To Y Combinator..Again

Last year when I applied to Y Combinator, I had all these ridiculous superstitions. The first one was, "don't tell anyone" as if that would somehow jinks me from getting in.

A year has gone by and so has the startup I applied for. I have a brand new startup and it's so very new and crisp. It's hardly out of my brain and it's wowing people. I have spoken about this reaction I am getting to this startup as a reaction like no other startup I have built. I have said that it seems to make people get this sparkly look in their eyes and a magical expression on there face. 

As a trep building failure after failure, this is a very odd place for me to be standing. Is it I have figured out how to sell people? Or is it that I have been blessed by the startup gods to create something people will want? Yeah, they might not know they want it, but when a person experiences the awe of it, they, usually, SPARKLE. It's really weird to me. Cause I've always lived in the world of rejection. The world of people wrinkling their forehead at me. This startup does not have that effect at all. It's an effect I have never seen.

I was at my day job today and I ran into Myra whom was the first person to light up and announce "I want to be a part of Passdown." Here she was again so lit up, tell me about your presentation! I told her how explosive perfectly it went, and she looked me dead center in the eye again and said "Cause this is supposed to be" "it's supposed to be" 

In a weird way I think "I wish I knew what she knew" cause to me Passdown seems like all my other ideas, just some desire to make the world better,a passion built in me. Just something I chase, like I always have. 

Yet, Passdown is breaking down paths on it's own. Blasting into life, it is. When I change the website, when I figure out how to say it to the masses. When people fully can walk in the light of what Passdown is. Yeah, they will be like Myra, and so many others. It's something for all of us. It's something amazing, that will impact the world. I do know that. The thing is I have the failure list on me. What if I can't reach people, and show them how cool Passdown is? What if I fail at the traction part? What if this beautiful baby dies, cause I didn't know how to be a successful entrepreneur? These thoughts haunt me as I pursue on.

I am in the process of applying to Y Combinator. I would like it if I could turn in my application right now, but I'm fine tuning. I want to present Passdown in the best possible light. Yes, they want to know about me, blah! It's Passdown that carries the shine. It's Passdown that makes people sparkle. I'm just the vessel it chose to deliver it. And I want to deliver it best I can, for you. Cause if Passdown gets built all people will enjoy it's gift. All people will be grateful. I can't rush, on building this gift for you. 

Therefore I am not worried about jinxing this years application to Y Combinator, with weird ritual fantasy's my mind creates. My team has the same chance as any team. I do believe that the people of Y Combinator read every application. None of us are trash to them. They give every idea respect. If your team and my team are not chosen. Go forth and keep building, cause a different path awaits! There is always a path, even if it's not the one you wanted to go down.

Personally I started a thing on my blog about Y Combinator, I thought I should apply every year to Y Combinator until I'm 90 years old. It think this will be a good thing to blog about. "The woman who applies to Y Combinator every year, and never gets in" Then finally when she is 90 she gets in. Now that's a story! 

Why Not? I learn something about myself and others each time I apply. Lets keep a good thing going ~ I'll let you know the day I hit SUBMIT. : - )

Rejected From Y Combinator And I'm Happy. : -)

That's right, I received my rejection email, as I like to call them, from Y Combinator at 1:15 AM. November 5^th, 2013. Yes this year has sucked for me, so why not go out with a big REJECTION! I'm sure 2014 is going to be better.

Truly I am happy, because I had no chance in HELL of getting into the best incubator in the country. Still I took the chance, because I believe in my idea, and who couldn't use some help building their startup? Especially a long shot solo founder like me.

You know what, if you are building a startup, a TON of rejections is part of the deal. Actually I find that I get stronger with each rejection, and I also believe that with every rejection I get, that in return I will get two blessing. In fact yesterday my morning email had my first blessing all ready waiting for me, as if it knew what was coming down the pipe later.

Yep, there it was a wonderful email filled with congrats and encouragement from one of the rising stars in the Photography and Video industry Joe Morahan. Check out his site, his work will floor you. He was encouraging me for another reason, nothing to do with Y Combinator. In fact Mr.Morahan, was also the one who gave me encouragement when I was first starting out my build, and I had no idea what I was doing. He is the one who gave me hope, and guidance. It made me feel so good, that he took the time to congratulate me on a small achievement I had done for DigiThin. He was able to share in my joy, because he could see that I had hit a certain milestone, one that he hit a long time ago. It also brought him joy to be able to share his kind words with me. So that is blessing number one, I do not know what blessing number two will be, but I'm looking forward to it.

Now For all you hundreds and hundreds of other rejected Y Combinator applicants! Stand Strong, do not feel one bit bad that you did not make the cut. As hard as it is to not take it personal, or to think something is wrong with your idea, or that maybe you are a complete idiot, your not. Your on the right path if you believe in your idea. In fact we should start our “Rejected From Y Combinator Wide Spread Incubator club” ourselves. Why not help each other out? Were all bumping into walls and stumbling down this path to building our great companies, why do alone? If anyone wants to start something, we have one thing in common, well two, Rejected from Y Combinator and were building startups. Email me jana@digithin.com