we've had our application reviewed by a YC company that would probably derive zero value from our product. the advice was cogent and helpful, both with respect to getting into YC and the company generally.
If you don't mind sharing, may I ask how you knew/ approached these other YC Companies? Perhaps I'm naive, but I suspect a cold-email/ contact won't get me very far, especially since I'm not based in the Bay Area.
We approached a YC founder in our city via cold email.
I think that if you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to get comfortable with writing cold-emails and getting lots of rejection. It's just part of the game. Plus, it's not that cold of an email: you want to do YC and the founder has done YC. You already have a shared interest.
I appreciate the response. I've done my fair share of cold emails, however I find that there's a threshold that I cross above often in which I won't receive a response.
It's tough to build credibility in a few short lines, but I appreciate the "shared interest" suggestion. I hadn't considered that this even counted. Thanks!
I had a personal connection to most, but did a couple out of cold outreach. Be bold, reach out, if you don't get a response, you're still in the same position you were before...and no worse.