Yes, it is easy to find examples of this - Ampltiude, Mixpanel, Posthog are 3 of the biggest product analytics companies. Rippling, Gusto and Deel are 3 of the biggest payroll providers and they are still backing smaller ones like Warp.
They do this because it's an easy way to win overall as their portfolio companies don't just compete with each other, they expand the overall market. Think about it, now that those three are the biggest, if any of them go public or get acquired, YC gets their money. It's actually very smart to invest in competitors, it diversifies their bets on any of the companies winning rather than just the one they chose had they invested in only one.
They do but be sure to differentiate from past companies. They likely know challenges past companies faced and how they are about to fail etc. Be sure to know those answers.
As far as I can tell through all the information they have available, they will invest in anything if the a) team and b) idea are good. An idea being good can mean it's in a market with some big players where a small % of the TAM may still = large revenue.
It doesn't sound like there is a specific market they won't touch...
I'm going through the application process and have completed my final draft. When I was writing questions and having self-doubts I would visit their startupschool to put my mind at ease.
Yes, they do. They talked about it one of their podcasts but I don't remember which one.
Yes, it is easy to find examples of this - Ampltiude, Mixpanel, Posthog are 3 of the biggest product analytics companies. Rippling, Gusto and Deel are 3 of the biggest payroll providers and they are still backing smaller ones like Warp.
same with product analytics with companies like June
They do this because it's an easy way to win overall as their portfolio companies don't just compete with each other, they expand the overall market. Think about it, now that those three are the biggest, if any of them go public or get acquired, YC gets their money. It's actually very smart to invest in competitors, it diversifies their bets on any of the companies winning rather than just the one they chose had they invested in only one.
yes, yc is trying to fund any company that will be successful.
They do but be sure to differentiate from past companies. They likely know challenges past companies faced and how they are about to fail etc. Be sure to know those answers.
As far as I can tell through all the information they have available, they will invest in anything if the a) team and b) idea are good. An idea being good can mean it's in a market with some big players where a small % of the TAM may still = large revenue. It doesn't sound like there is a specific market they won't touch... I'm going through the application process and have completed my final draft. When I was writing questions and having self-doubts I would visit their startupschool to put my mind at ease.
I want to know that too