YC has become a surprising force in the hard tech world, funding startups building physical products from satellites to rockets to electric planes. In this episode of Lightcone, we go behind the scenes to explore how YC advises founders on their ambitious startups. We also take a look at a number of YC’s hard tech companies and how they got started with little time or money.
Chapters (Powered by –
00:00 – Coming Up
02:42 – YC’s Model for Hard Tech
04:19 – Mindset Shift and Proving Technical Feasibility
08:30 – Examples
21:09 – Evaluating Risk in Hard Tech
22:18 – More Examples
37:12 – Vision Breakdown
44:09 – Mission-Oriented and Prototyping
46:25 – Robotics and Fundraising
47:58 – Outro
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What big, ambitious hard tech startup are you building?
exactly the data i needed, thanks team
Are they well qualified to comment on hard tech companies or are they doing this just because?
nice intro now I understand the hype
As a seed hardtech cofounder I founded this conversation quite iluminated.
Referencing Steve J and the Woz and then referencing 150+ people and saving the world is a typical example of intellectual and academic arrogance.
Not good for society.
Not sure if the Woz would respect that comment as an educator he is.
Cruise car in the thumbnails
No offence but Boom is not a very good example of a successful startup. Its an example of a startup that got good financing. They just burned a lot of money and 8 years later they are still developing. A lot of LOIs prove nothing when it turns out their plane is worth couple of Boeings. There is a reason why Concorde flew only couple of destinations, reason being cost of travel (10k per ticket from London to NY). Its like assumimg there is a huge market for 1 class tickets, there is not and 90% destinations you cant reach in 1 class. Your all acting out like they are next big thing and cant see the obvious, they are the next Theranos. Dont get me wrong its a greate idea but commercially its impossible to achive. Airline companies are on very thin margins and cutting cost on everything, so let's make smaller plane and 10x more expensive, but it is faster!!! Seems like a great idea said no one. I would rather give money to a company that is using new technologies to make a regular plane (e.g. carbon fiber cabin, hydrogen engines or modified engines so they can burn hydrogen, fly by wire, simplified design, planes made by 3d printing, this kind of stuff) so its lighter more efficient and costs half the money of a Boeing or Airbus. These old companies cant do that because they are old tech, huge and cant addapt that quickly to new conditions and new technologies.
Indeed, funding for a prototype is perhaps the most difficult thing for hard tech startups to find. At JetSoftPro, a software development service, we call it "pay for what you don't have". However, the right brief, conducted research and development phase can be a game changer!
Imagine being born in Africa no VC funding just you God and your failing start up i think it's not fair if yc care they should try reach me in Africa so that I may have a chance to pitch my idea
Great episode! finally something for hardtech founders.
This is fascinating!
Another great episode! ✨😉👍
Hope this help:
• LOI (Letter of Intent)
• Sell showcase products
• Build prototype fast
• Show clear path actions
• Work with credentials
• 3D printed scale model
• GOV location demand
• Government grant
• CAD simulation test
• Innovate specific MVP
• Chunk size beginning
• Big Market To Derisk
• Good Excite Storyteller
• Be Frugal and Smart
This is what I'm talking about!
• Hard Tech
• Solo Founder
• Compound Startup
Things that YC always skeptical, guys open up your mind!!! Think no box.
Wow, looks like I've finished this at 4:47 AM without taking a single pause. Loved it!
I actually won a pretty big hackathon with a TEA-making robot :D. For my startup, I'm building something much bigger, cooler and more important
y combinator create a whatsapp option so instead of fill form and procedure directly send a idea , also tell it in next video after added it also single founders with idea dont have experience so help for next steps.
Premises security as a service in SF as test grounds, seasonal farm hands as robots as a service, green energy hydrogen fuel vehicles, deep sea mining.
Folks, more hardware content please, Thank you for this !!
What I would really want to see the panel do is to discuss in detail one specific company let's say Sea Bound and tear down, how the young college graduate went about building their team, day-in-a-life kind of experience but on podcast will be a good video.
The whole thing at 3:00 is all fun and game, the question is how to get into YC at all with 0 money until then? I mean let's take the the rocket ship example: how far would that thing have to be to get into YC? Prototype? LOI? schematics? idea?
@ycombinator hey yc, I’m a young man with big dreams, I have a great idea for a startup that I think could help change lives .. i’ve been trying to learn to start coding to create my mvp but I’ve come to realize the scope of the challenge at hand. I desperately want to pull this concept into creation , I have some money that I had saved for a car and was wondering if it would be wise to instead contract a developer to help produce my vision? – with much appreciation, Noah loyd
10:58 "So you can just literally think things in your brain and then manifest them in reality." andItookthatpersonally.gif
Very interesting to see YC becoming more and more interested in hardware VS software
Perfect timing
Good thing YC is becoming more open… I pitched my space company 6 years ago and it was a no. Guess I’ll apply again….
Very inspiring, thank you!
Maisotsenko Cycle, M-Cycle: Alternative in renewable energy, deep-tech using the power of science to revolutionize air conditioning, heat recovery, water harvesting and the highest impact in sustainability, tackling climate change and potential in energy and power generation, affordable to all.
Andromeda Surgical (YC S23) – autonomous surgical robots. We’ll be on here next time!
Foundation of Search for the AI world
I just invest in asian companies to avoid pre IPO bullshit and the slowness of FNGU
📈
Being someone who is building a hard tech startup, this was a phenomenal & incredibly relevant video.
Keep up the brilliant work, YC!
A friend is starting a company to grow wood in a laboratory instead of cutting trees: New Dawn Bio 🤓
Pretty encouraging!
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) –
00:00 – Coming Up: YC's Focus on Vision
01:32 – Demonstrating Commercial Attraction
02:42 – YC's Model for Hard Tech
03:24 – Shifting Focus in YC
04:19 – Mindset Shift in YC
05:40 – Proving Technical Feasibility
06:37 – Presenting Progress Effectively
08:30 – Example: Boom
11:16 – Example: Cruise
16:43 – Example: Astranis
19:12 – Example: AstroForge
21:09 – Evaluating Risk in Hard Tech
22:18 – Example: Relativity Space
23:38 – Example: Heart Aerospace
25:29 – Example: Remora
26:40 – Example: Seabound
27:50 – Chemistry Example: Solugen
30:00 – Example: K Scale Labs
33:39 – Example: Astro Mechanica
37:12 – Vision Breakdown
44:09 – Mission-Oriented Solutions
45:01 – Prototyping Advancements
46:25 – Robotics Frontier
46:39 – Fundraising Strategy
47:58 – Outro
Being a hard tech founder is simultaneously the most painful and fulfilling thing in the world
On one hand, you know that you are literally going to change the world if you make your company work
And on the other, you're regularly fighting to make the business and the science work (and btw, these two not working is a default setting that you have to manually change 💀 )
Very painful, but very worth it 🙂
This coming from a guy running a bootstraped biotech startup that's trying to make humans biologically immortal.
Good luck hard tech founders !!! Wish you all the best.
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Wasnt Garry out till 12 August?