YC Application Do's and Don'ts — A Complete List

This page compiles the most important do's and don'ts across every section of the YC application — drawn from patterns across accepted and rejected applications and from what YC partners have stated publicly about what works and what does not.

DO: Name the product and the specific user in plain language.

*"Inventory management for Indian independent pharmacies"*

DON'T: Lead with technology or adjectives.

*"AI-powered intelligent supply chain optimization platform"*

DO: Make it specific enough that a partner immediately understands what you build and for whom.

DON'T: Use words like "modern," "next-generation," "intelligent," "seamless," "end-to-end," or "platform" — these describe nothing specific.

DO: Describe the problem from the user's perspective with a specific, observable, costly behavior.

*"Independent pharmacy owners in India discover expired stock only when throwing it away. The average pharmacy loses ₹1.8 lakh per year this way."*

DON'T: Open with market statistics from a research report.

*"The global pharmacy management software market is valued at $4.2 billion and growing at 14% CAGR."*

DO: Name a specific user, a specific behavior, and a specific cost.

DON'T: Describe a general industry inefficiency without anchoring it to a real person experiencing it.

DO: Keep the problem description to 2-3 sentences. Brevity signals clarity of thinking.

DON'T: Use three paragraphs to describe a problem that could be stated in one sentence.

DO: Describe what your product does for its user in the first sentence.

*"We replace the notebook with a WhatsApp-native inventory system — no app, no login, no training required."*

DON'T: Describe your technology architecture before describing the user benefit.

*"Our system uses a webhook-based real-time data pipeline to process inventory events..."*

DO: State the outcome the user experiences, not the features that produce it.

DON'T: List features without connecting them to user value.

DO: Be specific about what is novel. If your solution is genuinely different, say exactly how.

DON'T: Claim to be "different" or "better" without naming the specific dimension of difference.

DO: Lead with your strongest commercial metric. Exact number, exact date.

*"₹64,400 MRR as of Monday. 23 paying customers. 89% month-2 retention. All organic."*

DON'T: Lead with vanity metrics (signups, downloads, social followers) if you have commercial metrics.

DO: State every number exactly — not "around 20 customers" but "23 customers."

DON'T: Round numbers. Rounding signals you do not know the exact figure.

DO: Include retention data. It is the most important metric after revenue.

DON'T: Cite engagement metrics (DAU, session length) as if they are equivalent to retention metrics.

DO: Explain what drove growth. *"All 23 customers came from WhatsApp group outreach — 8% conversion rate across 47 groups."*

DON'T: State numbers without explaining what produced them.

DO: Acknowledge weak metrics honestly and explain what you are doing about them.

DON'T: Omit metrics that are weak and hope partners do not ask.

DO: State something non-obvious that you discovered through direct user contact.

*"Every pharmacy software company built for the pharmacist. The actual inventory manager is a family member who has never used a desktop application for work — they live in WhatsApp."*

DON'T: State an insight that is derivable from reading industry reports.

*"The pharmacy software market is underpenetrated in tier 2 cities."*

DO: Connect the insight directly to a specific product decision.

DON'T: State an insight without showing that it changed how you built something.

DO: Make the insight something that requires your specific background or user research to know.

DON'T: State an insight that any smart person could arrive at without talking to users.

DO: State who pays, how much, and how you charge.

*"₹2,500/month per pharmacy, charged monthly, auto-renewed via UPI mandate."*

DON'T: Be vague about who the paying customer is.

DO: State your gross margin.

DON'T: Leave the economics section without a unit economics calculation.

DO: State whether you are default alive.

DON'T: Describe a complex revenue model without explaining how it produces profit.

DO: Name specific competitors. At least two.

DON'T: Say you have no competitors. Every product competes with something — at minimum, with the manual process it replaces.

DO: Acknowledge what each competitor does well before explaining why your user is underserved by them.

DON'T: Describe competitors only in negative terms. It reads as either poor research or defensiveness.

DO: Explain your differentiation in terms of the specific user you serve.

*"Marg ERP requires desktop installation — our user has never opened a desktop app for work."*

DON'T: Describe differentiation as features without connecting them to a specific user need.

DO: Connect each founder's background directly to why they are the right person for this problem.

DON'T: List credentials without connecting them to the specific problem.

DO: Name how long you have worked together, not just how long you have known each other.

DON'T: Be vague about cofounder roles and domain ownership.

DO: Describe a previous conflict you resolved well, if you have one.

DON'T: Describe the founding team as having no tension or disagreements — it signals either a very new relationship or avoidance of hard conversations.

DO: Name a specific operational gap that YC specifically addresses.

*"We need introductions to pharmaceutical supply chain investors in the US and Southeast Asia. YC's portfolio includes 12 companies in this space."*

DON'T: Write "mentorship and network" as your full answer.

DO: Name a specific partner whose expertise is relevant to your company.

DON'T: Describe generic benefits of YC that apply to every startup equally.

DO: Both founders on camera. Real product demo if you have one.

DON'T: One founder only, with the other mentioned in passing.

DO: Record in a quiet, well-lit environment. Audio quality matters more than video quality.

DON'T: Read from a script. Partners can tell and it signals poor verbal communication skills.

DO: Open with one sentence that describes exactly what you build.

DON'T: Open with backstory, mission statement, or market context. Start with the product.

DON'T use jargon: "leverage synergies," "move the needle," "disrupt," "10x," "democratize," "revolutionize"

DON'T make claims without evidence: "We have strong traction" without a number

DON'T use passive voice: "Users are being served by our platform" vs. "We serve 23 paying users"

DON'T write long sentences: If a sentence exceeds 25 words, split it

DON'T repeat yourself: Say each important thing once, specifically

DON'T describe the vision before establishing the evidence: Vision is earned by traction, not assumed by ambition

DON'T apply with placeholder text or unfinished fields: Every field should be complete and specific

DO read every field aloud before submitting — awkward phrasing is easier to catch when heard

DO have someone who has never heard of your company read the application cold and tell you what they think you build

DO verify that every number in the application is exactly correct and matches what you can state from memory

DO ensure both cofounders have read the entire application and can speak to every field

DO submit early — YC reviews applications on a rolling basis and early submission is better than last-minute