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Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

MY

24 alternatives to My YC Fellowship Application

I build things, coach entrepreneurs, and share what I’ve learned along the way. I’m an entrepreneur, coach, and creator. I’ve started businesses, helped people navigate big decisions, and spent way too much time learning the hard way (getting arrested was a big mistake). This site is where I share w

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. My YC Fellowship Application launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1IW
  2. 2AS

    Got rejected from YC a few times, so I built a site to collect lessons, reflections, and what people would do differently next time. Thought it could be helpful since most founders apply more than once anyway :) Hope it's helpful: https://ycrejection.com/

    2025 · ycrejection.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3
    YC-Tips▲107

    The easy way to implement Y combinator's principles

    2023 · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    What does YC look for in prospective founders?

    2016 · content.libsyn.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Weston discusses making the transition from YC founder to VC

    2015 · content.libsyn.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Very early (idea stage) program for founders

    2015 · ycombinator.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7PT

    I made this for people like myself who keep a list of ideas for apps / startups. I also made it for people who are curious to see what projects others have "in their drawer"... and who may want to have a say in which idea should see the light of day. https://ideas.dynamate.io/ The site allows creators to anonymously showcase their idea: Title. Description text. Maybe some mockups... I've tried to make it so that it's quick and easy to just dump an idea in there that's been sitting on some list of yours for months - and hopefully get some feedback on it. If someone else on…

    2022 · ideas.dynamate.io · its alternatives →

  8. 8FO

    HN, I've been mostly lurking, semi-active on HN for over 4 years. For most of that time, I've been working on my startup, Learndot. I have always wanted to do a "Show HN" post, but I never thought it was ready. We've now finally launched web signup and using a freemium business model. I feel I can now post and offer something to the community (a new app to try out) and hopefully get good quality feedback. Here's the site: http://www.learndot.com Would appreciate any or all thoughts: From pricing/positioning, to design/performance. The app is written in Sproutcore and backed by an API written…

    2013 · learndot.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9WD

    Hey everyone! We spent the major part of the year preparing an idea we had for the YC application. At last minute, we decided not to go through with YC. I mean, we've had our fair shares of failed startups and this was one of those make it or break it scenarios. We took everything we've ever learned and strived to make an app that we were proud of. We spent so much effort into making this app that we couldn't bear stopping short and applying to Y Combinator. (Mind you, there's nothing wrong with YC.) We didn't want to apply to Y Combinator at the last minute because if we had really gone…

    2012 · prsna.me · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Inspiring Entrepreneurs

    2015 · foundersgyan.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11IT
  12. 12IV

    Hey my name is Ivo and I'm a developer and a startup entusiast. My girlfriend was out of the coutry for the weekend and I decided to do something cool like building a startup. I've done a few startups over the years but that's the first I actually released, I would love to hear your feedback on it.

    2024 · craftlynow.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13FA

    I'm a Computer Science student who loves creating things. Even though university is tough, I always make time for personal projects. Yesterday, I launched my first website that aims to help startup founders find their ideal team members and, at the same time, assist individuals in joining projects that align with their skills and interests. There are also a ranking of the most popular startups and some filters you can use to search what you are looking fot

    2025 · stupconnect.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    Hey HN, Founder here. I recently left a job and had a lot of time on my hands so I decided to build an app that will help people navigate the current job market and ensure they are being paid fairly. I wanted to build something that gives the career benefits of LinkedIn without the social feed or self-promotion. Let people privately post about their work, keep track of their brags, and have an idea of where their career gaps are. Maybe help them to realize they are being underpaid so they can make a bit more. Applied to YC on a whim but I'm thinking that's more of a lottery ticket. Mostly…

    May 2026 · proving.app · its alternatives →

  15. 15SO

    Hey HN, I built a new platform called Indie Logs to help founders share their journey in a clear and organized way. Building in public is common now, but it's hard to stand out and share everything properly on places like Twitter. Your updates can get lost, and it's not easy to show the full picture of your good and tough days. There is no real way to present the full story. I built Indie Logs because I saw these problems. It gives you a personal page for all your projects, lets you put updates on your own site with embeddable timelines, and offers over 30 themes to personalize both your…

    2024 · its alternatives →

  16. 16MW

    I created https://foundermeals.com as a weekend project, and as part of an internal competition we do at http://www.freshform.com I love the concept, and I'll be ecstatic if the project is funded and can move forward. But I'm curious if I'm focusing too much on my own insane hunt to find the simplest way to cook, or if that appeals to others. Most people I've told about this respond with, "You're kinda analytical, huh?" or "You think people would pay for that?" or even "...." The thing is, I'm not trying to sell recipes, I'm trying to sell convenience, and I'm not sure I've communicated that…

    2012 · foundermeals.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17BF

    Excited to announce my new project, Rally! It’s a useful community for early-stage startup founders, inspired by Y Combinator’s Bookface. Site: https://rally.socap.ai/ We think many problems that founders have can be solved 10x better through other founders, but there’s no tool/place to do that well and at scale. For example, instead of googling how to launch on PH, reading blog posts, etc., you could ask for an intro to a famous hunter who’ll explain all that and hunt your product. We're building this place + software to make it work really well. What Rally is: • A…

    2024 · rally.socap.ai · its alternatives →

  18. 18AA

    I wanted to share a project I started a few days ago. It's called AngelList Army, and it's a way to volunteer through AngelList. We connect entrepreneurs to volunteers who offer a small amount of time per week to give advice, and perspective. We use all of the same function of AngelList to connect volunteers to startups, so volunteers are listed as advisors, and we do all of the connecting behind the scenes. This was started in response to the overwhelming response I had from entrepreneurs when offering to help out. If you can volunteer a small amount of time per week, please get involved.…

    2011 · angel.co · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    First, what brought me here? After launching various startups, I often questioned decisions, doubted market validation, and more. I thought to myself...there has to be a better way. I initially posed the question on Reddit. Is there a list of curated resources available? If not, I will create one...

    2020 · gumroad.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20IM

    Hi HN, I am a solopreneur in the evenings and a software engineer during the day. In the past, I have created lots of calculators for my web projects and freelancing friends. These were pretty basic, but users always welcomed them. I also used currently available builders, but the problem was that they were either slow, broke on mobile devices, had nonsense page view limits, or were expensive. Some even ticked all those boxes. So I have decided to create my own, with a simple interface, and called it Creative Widgets (if it ever takes off, I plan to add more exciting stuff like charts, etc,…

    2024 · creativewidgets.io · its alternatives →

  21. 21IM

    Today's my 26th birthday. One of my goals this year is to work with lots of new, interesting startups. So, in YC fashion, I'm opening up 26, one-hour "office hour" sessions to any startup who is interested.

    2014 · thauburger.com · its alternatives →

  22. 225Y

    Hey HN, I built this tool that maps out every YC company worldwide. You can zoom into cities, explore clusters, and click to see details like batch, location, and website. Why I made it? I thought it’d be fun to visualise it, using the same infrastructure I already use in my other project: FoundersAround Some things I’m still improving: • Improve performance • More filters (industries, stages, etc). Would love your feedback. https://yc.foundersaround.com

    2025 · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    All your favorite Y Combinator resources in one app.

    2019 · ycombinator.glideapp.io · its alternatives →

  24. 24TO

    LégalEd for the Masses Title links to actual app Here is the demo video to show you around the interface Self funded on scraps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwsPz0mKAU

    2025 · labs.sunami.ai · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →