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YC Assessment · See What You Get

Is your startup ready for a YC application?

Scored across the five things YC partners actually screen for, not a generic fundability check. Every answer marked as a strength or a gap.

FounderHQ is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Y Combinator.

Sample Report
71 / 100
Strong Candidate
Category Breakdown
Team & Founder-Market Fit
88%
Traction & Growth
52%
Idea Quality / Why Now
79%
Market Ambition
67%
Execution Speed
70%
Full Breakdown (excerpt)
STRENGTH Founding team has direct, relevant experience in this exact problem space
GAP Growth trend is inconsistent month-over-month, no clear driver identified
STRENGTH Can explain the core insight in one sharp, specific sentence
Start Your Real Assessment FREE · ~15 QUESTIONS · 4–5 MINUTES
What YC Is Really Testing

The questions look simple. The signals underneath them aren't.

Your application is revealing more than the answers themselves. These are six signals a reviewer is trying to understand about the company and the founders behind it.

YC Application Support

Choose how much help you want before you submit.

From an expert pressure test to a full collaborative build. Pick the level that matches how far your application has already progressed.

Review + Feedback

YC Application
Pressure Test

01
$ 299 per application

For founders with a complete or nearly complete application who want an expert outside review before submitting.

Best for you if

Your draft is mostly complete, but you need to know what feels weak, unclear, unsupported, or inconsistent.

  • Review of all important application answers
  • Missing evidence and weak-signal analysis
  • Clarity and consistency review
  • Contradiction identification
  • Prioritized recommendations
  • One follow-up review after founder revisions
Pressure Test My Application
Most Popular
Review + Improve

YC-Ready
Application Sprint

02
$ 799 per application

For founders who already have a draft and want FounderHQ to actively improve the application with them.

Best for you if

You have the raw information, but need stronger positioning, answers, evidence, and application-wide consistency.

  • Complete strategic application review
  • Answer improvement and rewriting support
  • Founder and startup positioning
  • Problem and solution clarification
  • Traction and evidence presentation
  • Market and competitive positioning
  • Business model refinement
  • Application-wide consistency
  • Two collaborative revision rounds
  • Final submission quality review
Improve My Application with FounderHQ
Strategy + Collaborative Build

Build Our
YC Application

03
Starting from $ 1,500

For founders who have not started, have incomplete answers, or need deeper strategic help developing the full application.

Best for you if

You need help turning your startup knowledge, founder story, progress, and ambition into one complete application.

  • Founder discovery session
  • Complete application strategy
  • Development of the core startup narrative
  • Founder story development
  • Problem, product, market, and business model clarification
  • Evidence and traction organization
  • Collaborative drafting of the full application
  • Collaborative revision rounds
  • Final submission readiness review
Build Our Application with FounderHQ
Your startup information remains confidential.
Scope and timing are confirmed before work begins.
Package buttons open a reviewable email request.
What We Actually Review

We don't just edit answers. We pressure-test the whole application.

Every answer has to work on its own, but the application also has to hold together as one clear, credible startup story. We review both.

01
Founders
Background, founder-market fit, motivation, credibility, and ability to execute.
02
Problem & Customer
Importance, urgency, customer understanding, insight, and existing alternatives.
03
Product & Progress
Product clarity, real usage, traction, learning, progress, and speed of execution.
04
Business & Market
Business model, market opportunity, competition, differentiation, and growth potential.
05
Narrative & Credibility
Clarity, evidence, consistency, ambition, numerical accuracy, and the complete story.

We do not review each answer in isolation. We examine whether the complete application presents one clear, credible, and convincing startup story.

What You Receive 8 Practical Outputs
The most important issues are ranked so you know what to fix first and what can wait.
Specific guidance shows what each important answer needs to communicate more clearly.
We identify where stronger numbers, customer behavior, examples, or direct learning are needed.
Conflicting claims, changing customer definitions, and inconsistent numbers are surfaced before submission.
Your founder advantage, customer insight, differentiation, and startup potential become easier to understand.
Answers become easier to scan, more direct, and better focused on the signal behind each question.
You receive a practical path for revising, strengthening, and finalizing the application.
Depending on your package, FounderHQ completes a final review before you submit.
200+
YC FALL APPLICATIONS DIAGNOSED
11,000+
STARTUPS DIAGNOSED
180+
FOUNDERS SUPPORTED
$30M+
CAPITAL SUPPORTED
Before You Start

Questions founders ask.

No. FounderHQ is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Y Combinator in any way. This tool is built from patterns in what YC partners have publicly said they screen for, applied to your specific startup.
Yes. No card required, no hidden cost. The score, category breakdown, and full question-by-question report are all free.
The Fundability Assessment scores your business broadly across the five pillars investors evaluate: Opportunity, Economics, Growth, Narrative, and Evidence. This tool is narrower and sharper, built specifically around what YC partners screen for: team, traction, idea quality, market ambition, and execution speed. If you're applying to YC while also raising more broadly, doing both gives you the fullest picture.
It's a self-reported diagnostic, not a prediction of acceptance and not a guarantee. It's built to reflect the categories that actually move the needle in a YC application and interview, not a generic startup quiz.
Nothing you don't choose. Your full report is already on the page and in your inbox. If you want help closing the gaps before you apply, that's what the Fundability Audit is for, but there's no obligation.
You'll get your report by email right away. We may follow up occasionally after that. Never a hard sell, and always easy to opt out.
Start the Assessment
Ready When You Are

Don't apply blind.

Know exactly which of the five areas will hold your application back before a partner reads it. Two ways to close the gap.

Free · 4–5 Minutes
Retake the Assessment
Already have your score? Come back and retake it once you've closed a gap, then compare where you improved.
Start Now →
$299 · Written Verdict
Get the Fundability Audit
A deeper diagnostic on your specific company, with a prioritized gap list before you submit your application.
Book It →
200+ YC APPLICATIONS DIAGNOSED
180+ FOUNDERS SUPPORTED
$30M+ CAPITAL SUPPORTED

FounderHQ is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Y Combinator.

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A strong startup can still look weak when its application is vague, inconsistent, overly promotional, or missing evidence. Complete the free YC Application Readiness Check to identify the areas that may weaken your application before you submit it.

What Does Your
YC Application Actually Communicate?

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