3 min read
Juan Andrade
How We Got Into Y Combinator (Part 2)
Rebank were invited to YC but didn't make it past the face-to-face interview. We came back from that no to be accepted into the W19 batch
For Founders
Life goes on
By September, Simon and I had gone without a salary for almost 10 months (even longer for me) so we decided to start working a few days a week to maintain our personal runways. The work was one of many distractions during the second-half of 2018 but we still managed to dedicate time to rebank.
Starting a company means you give all your attention to the pursuit of the next milestone; everything else feels like a distraction. It can feel like you're putting the rest of your life on hold - and after ten months of putting your life on hold you really start to feel it!
The focus paid off though. On the 24th October 2018, four months after we had our first interview, we heard from Y Combinator again. It was time for our second interview 🛫
The lead up to the interview was just like last time. The difference this time was that we had gone through Startup School and knew more Y Combinator alum to get feedback from. We had added Aaron (with his permission) to our product updates email so he knew the progress we were making between interviews.
The final verdict
Lunchtime on the 8th November 2018, we stepped into the interview room where three YC partners were waiting. We knew what to expect this time but the stakes were higher - I had $95 left in my account and Simon had burned through most of his savings.
In front of us was employee no. 1 from Yahoo, the admissions guru at YC, and a former Sequoia-backed founder turned YC partner: not much else stood out about those ten minutes. Two of the partners asked clarifying questions and thanks to our prep we answered them quickly. At the end of the interview we didn't know if we had answered enough questions, or if we had made enough progress since the first interview. At 6PM PST, we heard from Aaron.
Ten months after starting rebank we were accepted into Y Combinator! 🎉
We went to an induction the following afternoon to learn more about the program - we had just under two months to go back home, say our final goodbyes to family and friends, and return to Silicon Valley for Y Combinator W19.
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Juan Andrade
Founder, Caribou
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