I didn’t know how much had stacked against me when

[rifat28dddd]

That’s probably not what you’d expect a tech founder to say, but it’s true—even if I couldn’t see it at the time. For years, I pounded on the front door of the world’s leading startup accelerator and they wouldn’t let me in.

But if Y Combinator hadn’t rejected me on my first attempt—or my third, or my sixth—I wouldn’t have been ready for everything they threw at me when I did get accepted. And I don’t know if I’d be the entrepreneur I am today.

Here’s everything valuable I learned from my five-year odyssey, including what it took to get in on the seventh try.

Why Y? How Getting Into Y Combinator Can Change Everything
Y Combinator is the gold standard of startup accelerators. The iceland telegram data concept is simple: startups apply and, if selected, are put into Y Combinator’s version of startup hyperdrive. Initial funding, mentorship, support, help with networking—the works.

Legendary tech behemoths have emerged from YC: Airbnb, Coinbase, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Twitch, Reddit, and Stripe all went through the YC accelerator program. It’s the startup Ivy League. Who wouldn’t want in?

Unfortunately, I arrived in Silicon Valley.

First, I was young. I was in my early twenties, which isn’t necessarily unusual for startup founders, but I was the clueless kind of young. I didn’t have any tech background, experience, or skills—just a wild dream of making it into YC someday, somehow.

I was also an outsider. As a European immigrant new to the U.S., I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have a network of tech insiders I could ask for mentorship or a foot in the door. Hell, I didn’t even speak English very well. I would need to build everything from the ground up—not just my startup, but my entire life.