Life & fun · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to We decided not to apply to YC so we could try Kickstarter
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…
I don't have sufficient factual information about what this product actually does to write an accurate summary. The text provided describes the founders' decision-making process and philosophy, but does not explain the… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. We decided not to apply to YC so we could try Kickstarter launched in 2012; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
- 1IW
2012 · guidetoyc.com · its alternatives →
- 2
Curated collection of resources for founders applying to YC.
2017 · its alternatives →
- 3
- 4AS
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 →
- 5
What does YC look for in prospective founders?
2016 · content.libsyn.com · its alternatives →
- 6
- 7
- 8IC
I saw this app youlearn.ai on YC and thought of building it. They are claiming to have 1M+ users with just one feature which is to convert your learning material into summaries, quizzes etc. I gave this a shot and cloned almost most of the features in just 9+ hours of continous vibe coding (with 20% manual though). Now I'm selling this on mvp marketplace. Might probably open source it in future or give it free.
2025 · ai-tutor.mvpwrappers.com · its alternatives →
- 9
- 10IM
I am a non-hacker "idea guy" with zero discernible talent. Like most, the story starts with me doing things the hard way. I dreamt of a tool that would save me countless hours. Like most of my ideas, it was supposed to die in a couple of hours, but this one had some legs.... "If I needed this, surely others did too" kept looping in my head. Could I get this built? Could I build it myself? Nah...too lazy to learn how, but before I did anything, I had to promise myself one thing: No more ideas! If ideas were sit-ups, I would have a six pack instead of this tire. It was a constant mental…
2012 · readwriteweb.com · its alternatives →
- 11PT
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 →
- 12
Emra▲65Hey HN, I'm really excited to share Emra with you. The yc description would be: It's like "Notion meets Lovable". It's a workspace where you build full apps using AI and every app sits on one shared database and service layer. Generated apps are always editable, and (coming soon:) can interact with each other in the workspace. I'm of the opinion that the cost of software will go rapidly to zero (I don't think that's too surprising to any of you), but there will always be room for effort and creativity. Emra is essentially built for the future where every person is a developer. Essentially…
Jan 2026 · emra.app · its alternatives →
- 13
It's as if you're on YC... almost... very nearly... ok, not really.
2015 · twitter.com · its alternatives →
- 14IT
2012 · backspac.es · its alternatives →
- 15
FoundersWall▲35I used to be just a blogger. Now I build internet products, still without code, using AI, design, and taste. I was building in public on X for last 2 months. And honestly, I got tired of how it became performative and started to feel fake. I shipped 2 products. Both failed to get any real traction. I kept sneaking into popular builders’ profiles, hoping to learn how they do it. One thing I kept seeing everywhere, product launch directories. I thought here is the scope. So I started building one. Same UI like the rest. Nothing special. Suddenly one day when it was half built, I realized…
2025 · founderswall.com · its alternatives →
- 16MY
Every batch, many founders get rejected due to basic application mistakes, missing key criteria that YC partners explicitly look for. We learned this the hard way, which is why we built YC Score. Simply upload your draft PDF or fill out our YC-mirrored form. Our AI analyzes your responses against 25 critical factors that can make or break your application, from technical credentials to market validation. For instance, when YC partner Dalton Caldwell notes that teams with technical founders have "5x better odds," you need to know before submitting. YC Score flags these deal-breakers and shows…
2025 · ycscore.com · its alternatives →
- 17
Hi HN! I've been working on a small project called DemandHunt. Basically I aggregated problems in niche communities so that you as an entrepreneur can take inspiration. The background is that I've worked with a number of startups and I've found that many entrepreneurs already have a technology or solution in mind and work backwards to find the people with the problems to solve. This is YC's "Solution in Search of a Problem" problem, and my understanding is that it's typically better to work the other way around so you can build the right solution for the problem you find instead. Thus I…
2023 · demandhunt.com · its alternatives →
- 18
Hey all, We’ve applied to YC three times and got rejected each time. we’ll get there eventually! The main reasons for rejection were: being a solo founder (no co-founder), having no team, an MVP that wasn’t ready, or no traction in place. --- My expertise lies in building software products for startups, unicorn companies, and even governments. Throughout my years in software, I’ve had plenty of exposure to data products. I’ve faced recurring challenges like the lack of data, uncertainty around data handling, or even generating too much data and not knowing how to best utilize it to generate…
2025 · opendatabay.com · its alternatives →
- 19BF
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 →
- 20MP
http://invincibilitee.com Me and my co-founder submitted an app for YC W11, with a web site that would help college graduates figure out what jobs they could get with their chosen degree. We got a rejection email, and already had this as a back-up idea in case we did get rejected. So in the month between rejection and today, we found a printer, found some graphic designers, and got enough done that we felt comfortable with it as a first iteration. I know there aren't so many non-web app startups on HN, but I thought y'all might like to see how 2 guys rebounded from YC rejection.
2010 · invincibilitee.com · its alternatives →
- 21HU
We built this to answer "am I a fit for this role?" after noticing how hard it is to get honest feedback when applying to a YC startup or something else entirely. It's a custom 5-minute challenge that roasts you after. Added a leaderboard for those who want to see how they stack up. Roast us below.
2025 · howuselessareyou.com · its alternatives →
- 22TO
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 →
- 23IV
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 →
- 24MA
Hi there, So a buddy a couple of days ago came up with the idea for a new SaaS product regarding gpt and image generation. We did a quick MVP that barely works, it breaks almost 50% of the time but we still wanted to validate the idea before going all in. We have almost 1k followers on Twitter together. Did a quick post describing the idea with a stripe link in the comments with a 5$ value, no landing page, and no shipped product. In exchange, the buyers become beta users. Around 30 mins later we got our first sale next 30 mins another 5$ and so on. Do we consider the idea validated? The…
2023 · 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 →