How to get into Y Combinator.
Free video course and AI application grader to make your Y Combinator application as strong as it can be.
Taught by YC W23 founders, with a guest interview from YC’s CEO.
The intro, from Parth & Jason
Your instructors · Pair AI, YC W23
Garry Tan
CEO of Y Combinator
The CEO of Y Combinator on how applications are read from the selection side.
Level up from idea to interview.
Five modules, 23 videos, in the order the real application happens.
5 modules · 23 videos · 1h 52m on camera
- 1Module 1How YC Works and Who Gets InWhat accelerators actually do, who should apply, and how referrals and references work before you write a word.4 videos · 16 min
- 2Module 2How to Pick the Right AcceleratorThe major programs compared, how the SAFE works, and a close look at Y Combinator itself.3 videos · 9 min
- 3Module 3How to Write a Winning YC ApplicationEvery application question, one video at a time: what it tests, the common mistakes, and how to write an answer that holds up.13 videos · 43 min
- 4Module 4How to Make a Winning YC Application VideoThe two videos YC asks for, the founder intro and the product demo, and how to shoot each one so it strengthens your application.2 videos · 30 min
- ★The last stepHow to Ace the YC InterviewHow the interview really runs, what partners push on, and how to answer with the specificity they reward.1 video · 14 min
Not a blog post. The whole application, from the inside.
batchstack / inside
The unfair advantage
Real admitted YC applications
Read real applications that got in, annotated line by line. Not summaries. The actual answers.
Straight from the source
A guest interview with YC’s CEO
Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, sits for a guest interview in the course. Hear how the person who decides actually thinks.
Guest interview · Garry Tan
Taught by people who got in
Founders who got into YC
Every video is taught by Pair AI’s founders, Parth and Jason, who applied and got into YC (W23).
Parth Detroja
YC W23
Jason Goodison
YC W23
Know before you submit
A free application grader
Paste a draft and get specific, line-level fixes in seconds, across the five dimensions that make an answer land.
Read on five writing dimensions.
The whole path
5 modules, start to interview
23 videos take you from “should I apply?” to a submitted application and the interview.
Never miss it
Your deadline, always live
The next YC batch, counted down from one verified record, so you never miss the cut-off.
Explore this →Founders who took it, in their own words.
I genuinely think Uncapped is the single greatest resource for any founder who wants to get into a top accelerator program like Y Combinator…… it's important to democratize this information so founders half way around the world — like myself in Australia — can have the same odds of acceptance as founders who grew up in Silicon Valley.
Bob Criner
Co-Founder & CEO, Stralis Aircraft · YC W23
This course is easily worth paying a couple thousand dollars for given how many critical insights it contains…… I genuinely cannot believe it's free.
Charles Weill
CEO, CreatorML · YC W23
If you are a first time founder, this course will be the difference between getting into a top accelerator program or not.…
Nicolas Raga
CEO, Clearest Health · YC S23
Start the free course today.
5 modules · 23 videos · ~112 minutes · no credit card
Frequently asked questions
01Is the course really free?
Yes. Completely free, no credit card, lifetime access to every video and to the application grader. There is no paid tier and nothing is held back.
02Why is it free?
In the founders’ words: “Both Jason and I come from low-income households and were the first in our families to go to college… If we were to charge for this course, we would be financially gatekeeping it from founders like ourselves who need it the most.”
03Who teaches the course?
Y Combinator alumni who went through YC as founders (Pair AI, W23). It is independent of Y Combinator and not endorsed by it. You are learning from people who got in, from the applicant’s side.
04What will I learn?
The whole accelerator application: who should apply, the written application question by question, the founder video and demo, and the interview, with real admitted applications and a guest interview with YC’s CEO.
05Is this course helpful if I don’t want to join a startup accelerator?
Yes. Most of what it covers, from what you are building to what the traction actually shows, are questions any founder should be able to answer about their company. Working through them sharpens how you position yourself to customers, employees and investors, whether or not you ever apply to a program.
06Is this affiliated with Y Combinator?
It’s independent. The instructors are YC alumni who went through the batch themselves (Pair AI, W23), and Garry Tan appears as a guest interview.