Helping Founders get into YC
Anyone who knows me knows I love startups. It’s not just the act of starting a business that I enjoy, but helping others build something they want to see in the world. Business building is gruelling. It takes time, energy and emotion. Yet it’s magical. You see the direct impact of your work and feel energized by how your customers feel. In life, there is truly nothing quite like it. It’s a form of creativity like no other.
Since I started working on my first business back in university, I knew I wasn’t the same as many people in my class. Entrepreneurs are a different breed. We are excited by different things and we measure success in different ways than the regular person. I started to move away from the common crowd and find other entrepreneurs. I sought their advice and companionship as I kept building and failing.
During this journey there were a number of moments that impacted my success, and they centred around joining groups of people with the same goal. It started with Next 36, where I found 35 other Canadian students who were just as ambitious as I was. Then it was the Ryerson DMZ — a local community focused on helping Toronto based startups grow. Eventually I joined Entrepreneur First in London and Antler as well and found even more people who I could jive with.
All of these incubators and accelerators gave me communities full of ideas, people, and energy to keep building and growing. When covid hit, I took my learnings and built another company, that was accepted into YC, TechStars, Village Global and a few other less well known accelerators. We chose YC for the brand, the alumni network, and the learnings we heard from many peers. It was my 3rd time applying, after two previous rejections.
Over the last year I have helped dozens of founders apply to various incubators, raise money, gain traction, and build their businesses. Some of these founders have even gone on to become much more successful than I have been and it makes me proud. One of the goals I have had for a very long time is to create a fund that can invest in founders, especially those in the emerging markets. While this is a goal for the future, I have spend the holidays thinking about what I can do immediately to help founders. I thought of a simple idea — a side project helping founders get into YC, TechStars, and other accelerators.
I am excited to announce the launch of www.ycrejects.co
It’s a funny, meme-ified website but the mission is clear. We, myself and a handful of YC, TechStars, and other incubator alumni, want to help you get in. We don’t have hacks or cheap tricks. We just have advice that you could use to better your chances. Whether you have applied and failed, or are applying for the first time, check us out. We promise to reply within 24h and give you the help and support you need to build your company.
If you know of founders looking to get into an accelerator, send them to our website. We’ll help them out!
