At Y Combinator, we invest in founders at the idea stage, understanding that it may take over a decade to see if their concepts are viable, so short-term valuations are less critical.

Many people mistakenly believe that traction or revenue is necessary to apply to Y Combinator, but that's not true; a significant portion of funded companies only have a founding team and an idea.

The foundation of Y Combinator was based on the idea that it was becoming easier to build startups without needing massive capital or large teams, a trend that has accelerated with AI.

Young founders often come into Y Combinator expecting to go from the first line of code to a million dollars in annual recurring revenue in just a couple of months. When that doesn't happen, they can feel distraught. It's important to set realistic expectations to help you win.

It's a misconception that being too far along in your startup's development disqualifies you from applying to Y Combinator; many successful applicants have raised significant funding before joining.

Many successful founders funded by Y Combinator had little to no online presence in the early stages of their companies, and focusing too much on establishing thought leadership can distract from what truly matters: making your company work.

If hard tech founders can establish a habit of operating efficiently during Y Combinator, it can lead to long-term success in their ventures.

It's a myth that you need to be far along in your startup journey to apply to Y Combinator; many successful companies started with just an idea when they applied.

Successful hard-tech founders focus on minimizing the size of each fundraising step, making it easier to achieve milestones necessary for raising the next round of funding.