Applications · 10 min read

How to Answer "What Is Your Company?" on the YC Application

Short answer

The 50-character company description field on the YC application is the first thing partners read. Most founders write a tagline. The founders who get interviews write a description. This page explains exactly what to write, why it matters, and shows 40 real examples organized by startup type.

What YC Actually Does With This Field

YC partners use this field to mentally file your company before reading the rest of your application. If they can't immediately understand what you do and who you do it for, they start the next field with skepticism — and that skepticism rarely recovers.

The field is 50 characters. That is roughly 8-10 words. You need to communicate: 1. What the product does (the verb) 2. Who it does it for (the user)

That is it. Nothing else fits and nothing else should try to.

The Formula

[What you do] for [who you do it for]

Everything else — your vision, your market size, your technology — belongs in a different field. This field is purely descriptive.

What "What You Do" Means

The verb matters. Be specific about the action your product enables.

Weak verbs: platform, solution, tool, system, service Strong verbs: payroll, invoicing, inventory tracking, tutoring, connecting, booking, lending

"Payroll" is a verb that describes an outcome. "Platform" describes nothing.

What "Who You Do It For" Means

Be as specific as the character limit allows. The more specific your user description, the more credible your application.

Weak user descriptors: businesses, companies, enterprises, users, people Strong user descriptors: Nigerian SMBs, independent pharmacies in India, JEE students, restaurant owners, US visa applicants, Shopify merchants

Specificity signals that you actually know your user. Vagueness signals that you are still figuring it out.

40 Examples by Startup Type

B2B SAAS

What to write	What not to write
Payroll software for Nigerian SMBs	HR management platform for emerging markets
Invoicing tool for Indian freelancers	Financial operations platform for self-employed professionals
GST compliance software for Indian retailers	Tax optimization solution for small businesses
CRM built for Indian real estate agents	AI-powered CRM for the property sector
Inventory management for independent pharmacies	Smart healthcare supply chain platform

FINTECH

What to write	What not to write
Lending platform for Indian gig workers	Financial inclusion solution for underserved workers
Stripe for Southeast Asian marketplaces	Payment infrastructure for emerging market e-commerce
Credit scoring for thin-file borrowers in India	AI-powered alternative credit assessment platform
Cross-border payments for Indian freelancers	Global money movement platform
Working capital loans for kirana stores	SMB financing solution for retail

EDTECH

What to write	What not to write
AI tutor for Indian JEE students	Personalized learning platform for competitive exam prep
Vernacular coding bootcamp for tier 2 India	Accessible tech education for non-metro learners
Live doubt-solving for CBSE Class 10-12	EdTech platform connecting students and teachers
Skill certification for Indian blue-collar workers	Workforce development platform
English speaking practice for BPO aspirants	Communication skills training application

HEALTHTECH

What to write	What not to write
Teleconsultation for rural Indian patients	Healthcare access platform for underserved communities
Mental health app for Indian college students	AI-driven wellness solution for young adults
Lab test booking for tier 2 India	Diagnostic services marketplace
Medication adherence app for diabetes patients	Smart health management platform
Hospital bed management software for India	Healthcare operations optimization tool

MARKETPLACE

What to write	What not to write
Used car marketplace for tier 2 India	Automotive resale platform
Domestic worker hiring platform for Indian cities	Home services marketplace
Wedding vendor booking for Indian couples	Event management platform
Gig work marketplace for Indian blue-collar workers	Labor marketplace platform
Agricultural produce marketplace for Indian farmers	Farm-to-market supply chain solution

DEVELOPER TOOLS

What to write	What not to write
API testing tool for Indian dev teams	Developer productivity platform
Code review automation for early-stage startups	AI-powered development workflow optimization
Database monitoring for Indian SaaS companies	Infrastructure observability platform
Deployment tool for teams without DevOps	Cloud infrastructure management solution
Log management for Indian fintech companies	Data observability and analytics platform

CONSUMER

What to write	What not to write
Savings app for Indian millennials	Personal finance management platform
Vernacular news aggregator for tier 3 India	AI-powered content discovery platform
Peer-to-peer lending for Indian college students	Social finance platform
Habit tracking app for Indian professionals	Behavioral change and wellness application
Local language entertainment for rural India	Regional content streaming platform

How to Write Yours in 3 Steps

Step 1: Write a full sentence describing what your product does and who uses it.

"We build inventory management software that helps independent pharmacy owners in tier 2 Indian cities track their stock, reduce expiry losses, and auto-generate purchase orders."

Step 2: Strip it to the core.

"Inventory management for independent pharmacies in India"

Step 3: Count the characters and trim if needed.

"Inventory management for Indian pharmacies" — 42 characters ✓

If you are over 50 characters, cut the user descriptor first (make it less specific) before cutting the product descriptor (keep what you do clear).

The Internal Test

Read your description to someone who knows nothing about your startup. Ask them: "What does this company do and who is the customer?"

If they can answer both questions correctly, your description works. If they hesitate on either question, rewrite it.

A Note on "AI-Powered"

Do not put "AI-powered" in this field. In 2025, almost every YC applicant claims AI. The description field is not where you differentiate on technology. It is where you describe your business. Lead with what you do. The AI layer belongs in your product description.

What Happens If You Get This Wrong

A bad 50-character description does not automatically kill your application. But it starts the reader with a question — "wait, what does this company actually do?" — and that question is a tax on every answer that follows. A strong 50-character description starts the reader with confidence. Every subsequent answer confirms what they already expect.

Start confident.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is the 50-character field on the YC application?

It is the very first descriptive field partners read after your company name and URL. You have 50 characters — roughly 8-10 words — to describe what your company does and who it does it for. It functions like a mental filing label. Partners use it to set context before reading the rest of your application. Getting it right means they start reading with the right frame. Getting it wrong means they start reading with a question they are now trying to answer.

Can I use an analogy like "Stripe for X" or "Airbnb for Y" in the 50-character field?

Yes, and it works well when the analogy is immediately clear and the reference company is universally known. "Stripe for Southeast Asian marketplaces" communicates payment infrastructure + emerging market + multi-vendor in 5 words. The risk is using analogies to companies that are not well-known globally, or using analogies that are too broad. "Uber for X" where X is an obscure vertical tells a partner very little. Use analogies only when they genuinely compress a lot of accurate information into a short phrase.

Should I mention my technology (AI, blockchain, etc.) in the 50-character description?

Generally no. Technology descriptors in this field tend to dilute the user and product signal without adding useful information. In 2025, nearly every applicant mentions AI somewhere in their application. Mentioning it in the 50-character field costs you characters that could describe what you actually do and who you do it for. The one exception: if your technology is the product — for example, "LLM fine-tuning infrastructure for enterprises" — then the technology descriptor is also the product descriptor and belongs there.

What do YC partners do if they cannot understand the 50-character description?

They keep reading, but with a disadvantage — they are now trying to infer what your company does from subsequent fields rather than confirming what they already understood. This creates a reading experience where the partner is playing catch-up instead of nodding along. Every field that should be building confidence is instead building basic comprehension. You can survive a confusing 50-character field, but you have made the rest of your application work harder than it needs to.

How is the 50-character company description different from the longer product description field?

The 50-character field is a label — purely descriptive, no explanation needed. The longer product description field (approximately 150 words) is where you explain the product, name the user's workflow, and describe the measurable outcome. Think of the 50-character field as the subject line and the product description field as the email body. The subject line should be enough to convey the core idea. The body is where you support and expand it.

Is it better to be specific and narrow or broad in the 50-character field?

Specific and narrow wins every time, even if it makes the company sound smaller. "Inventory management for Indian pharmacies" sounds more niche than "pharmacy software" — and that specificity is a feature, not a bug. It signals that you know exactly who your user is, which is more credible than a broad description that could apply to many companies. YC funds specific solutions to specific problems. Your 50-character field should reflect that precision.

What if my startup does two things — how do I fit that in 50 characters?

Pick the primary thing. If you genuinely do two distinct things for two distinct users, you have a positioning problem that the 50-character field is exposing, not causing. In most cases, one use case is the core and the other is secondary or downstream. Lead with the core. "Payroll and compliance software for Nigerian SMBs" tries to say too much and ends up over the character limit anyway. "Payroll software for Nigerian SMBs" is cleaner, more credible, and leaves room for the compliance angle to emerge in the product description.

Do YC-funded companies in the same sector tend to use similar descriptions?

Yes, and that is useful data. Companies in the same sector cluster around similar vocabulary — "for [geography] [user type]" patterns appear consistently in funded applications. Studying how successful companies in your sector described themselves reveals both the vocabulary that works and the differentiation angles you can use. The YC-Insights company database covers 5,000+ companies with descriptions you can filter by sector to see these patterns directly.

Should I include my company's legal name or brand name in the application?

Use whichever name you go to market under — typically your brand name. The legal entity name matters for the legal paperwork later, not for the application evaluation. If your legal entity is "Pharmatrack Technologies Private Limited" but you operate as "MedStock," use MedStock. Partners are evaluating the business and the founders, not the legal structure. Make sure your brand name and your URL are consistent with each other.

How do successful YC companies typically describe themselves versus failed ones?

Successful applications tend to use specific, outcome-oriented language: what the product does, a measurable result, a named user type. Failed or rejected applications tend to use aspirational, category-level language: what the company wants to become, broad market descriptors, technology adjectives. The pattern holds across sectors — the most funded applications read like clear descriptions of something that already exists and works, even when the company is very early stage.

Can I change my 50-character company description between applying and the interview?

The description in your application is what partners read before your interview. If your company has meaningfully pivoted between application and interview, you should address that change explicitly in the interview rather than expecting the old description to be accurate. Minor wording changes don't matter. A fundamental shift in what you are building is something partners will want to understand — explain it proactively rather than hoping they don't notice the inconsistency.

What is the difference between how B2B and consumer startups should write this field?

B2B descriptions tend to name a specific business user and a specific workflow: "Accounts payable software for Indian SMBs." Consumer descriptions tend to name a specific person and a specific behavior or outcome: "Savings app for Indian millennials." The formula is the same — what you do + for whom — but consumer descriptions often benefit from naming the behavior or habit rather than the category, because the category is less precise. "App that helps Indian millennials save automatically" is more specific than "savings app for Indian millennials" and still fits within 50 characters.

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An independent resource · Not affiliated with Y Combinator · Last updated 2026-02-01