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Y Combinator Fellowship

*** UPDATE for 2016 – This program is no longer 100% equity free, but it’s close. The investment for this program is in the form of a convertible note. The terms state that YC takes 1.5% if the company 1) has an IPO or 2) has a funding event or acquisition that values the company at $100M or higher. So, unless your company has a HUGE exit or IPO, this program will be equity free. ***

Award Amount

$20,000 USD

Location

San Francisco, CA, USA (remote participation is possible)

Length

8 weeks

Benefits

$20,000 USD per team
Direct access to YC partners for office hours
Introductions to YC graduates in a network of over 2000 founders
YC resources such as AWS and Microsoft credits
An all day kickoff conference in Mountain View at the start of the program

Who Can Apply

This program is meant for founders who haven’t raised money from investors or participated in an accelerator
Teams can’t have previously taken money from investors (certain equity free grants are ok)

Selection Criteria

Idea and prototype stage companies
Ideal team of 2-3 co-founders, but will also consider solo founders
Traction and revenue NOT required
Expected that most Fellowship applications will be for software projects or have software component
Ideas that have potential to become a very significant company

Application Process

Written application
In person or video interview with YC partners

Conditions

Your team is NOT required to live in San Francisco, and CAN work remotely
Founders must be willing to work on their ideas full-time
Investment is in the form of a convertible note

Website

YCombinator Fellowship

We went from a free $40k grant to creating a 6-figure recurring revenue business

We went from a free 40k grant to creating a 6-figure recurring revenue business

Hi there, I'm Mike and I'm a co-founder of SimpleCrew.com and CrewFire.com. My co-founder Alan and I now employ 4 team members, generate six-figure recurring revenue, and travel the world working on our startup. The coolest part - we've given up 0% (that's right, zero percent) of our company to investors

Sounds like a dream right?

Here's the secret. We were able to work on our startup for 6 months straight without having to freelance, moonlight, bartend on the side, sell body parts, or do anything else you can think of to pay the bills. We got into an equity free accelerator in Chile, packed our things, then had adventure of a lifetime - all while building our startup. Without this opportunity, we would not be in business today.

Since then, I've been tracking every single equity free accelerator I've ever come across. I now want to share my entire database of equity free accelerators with as many early stage startups as possible, so they can live the same dream. To access my personal database, click here --> List of Equity-Free Accelerator Programs