YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

During Y Combinator, partners meet individually with startups to provide advice on their challenges.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

In a typical session, we spend 25 minutes per startup, but today we aim to meet three startups in that time.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Salary Fairy helps users understand their market value by crowd-sourcing salary predictions.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

40% of American professionals are concerned they might be underpaid, which is a significant user base for Salary Fairy.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Currently, users primarily use Salary Fairy out of curiosity rather than for salary negotiations.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Salary Fairy has 9,000 users and is experiencing a weekly growth rate of 10%.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

To create a more efficient job market, Salary Fairy aims to price salaries accurately, similar to how the stock market operates.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Users have reported that Salary Fairy's salary predictions have given them the confidence to ask for higher salaries.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Startups should focus on creating a product that employees love and that helps them understand their market value, rather than trying to cater to both employees and employers simultaneously.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

It's crucial to track how many users return to Salary Fairy after their initial visit to gauge the product's impact on their salary negotiations.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Salary Fairy has a 30% return rate, indicating that users are coming back to the platform after trying it.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Users return to Salary Fairy either to check their salary predictions or to make new predictions, as they earn scores for better predictions.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

40% of users find their salary predictions fair, while 30% feel their predictions are low and another 30% feel they are high.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

As Salary Fairy grows, the goal is to refine predictions by dividing users into more specific categories, such as companies and years of experience.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

To validate salary predictions, users need to find jobs that pay the predicted amounts, as market conditions can change.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Salary Fairy is currently acquiring users through platforms like Hacker News, Reddit, and Product Hunt, but needs to ensure long-term growth strategies.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

It's essential for Salary Fairy to differentiate itself from other salary information sites by being significantly better to encourage user referrals.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Building growth into the product from the start is crucial, rather than treating it as an afterthought after initial user acquisition.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Crowd prediction is a promising concept for Salary Fairy, and the team is optimistic about its potential.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Food that stores can't sell by the end of the day is often wasted due to strict freshness policies, leading to inefficiencies in food distribution.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Many food banks, like Feeding America and City Harvest, face budgetary limitations that hinder their ability to pick up excess food from vendors, resulting in waste.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We're building a marketplace that allows vendors to sell excess food inventory at a discount to users willing to buy it.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Hotel Tonight serves as a metaphor for our service, as it sells excess hotel rooms that hotels can't sell, similar to how we plan to sell excess food.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Our target demographic includes college students and early tech adopters who are interested in purchasing discounted food.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We launched an email proof of concept to test if people would visit stores based on our listings, achieving a 48% open rate and decent engagement.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Items like sandwiches and croissants sold well, while items with consistent availability, like Evergreen bread, did not incentivize immediate purchases.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Location significantly impacts sales; items in residential areas may not sell as well due to lower foot traffic.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We found our initial email list restrictive, as users preferred one email a day, but vendors had varying hours and inventory capabilities.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We're developing a mobile app to enhance user experience with live listings and location-based searches for discounted food.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

It's crucial to focus on specific areas and product types that have shown success, like croissants and sandwiches, to ensure a good user experience.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Currently, we're personally reaching out to local food vendors to sign them up for our service, leveraging relationships with food waste consultants.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We grew our user base from 350 to 2500 through press coverage and word of mouth, targeting college campuses for further expansion.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

The app will primarily be marketed as a source for great food at low cost, with a secondary focus on its social and environmental impact.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Our average discount rate for food is around 50%, with a range of 25% to 75% to ensure customer interest and vendor viability.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

I'm building an app that simplifies how couples share expenses by syncing with credit or debit card transactions, allowing them to easily split expenses through a feed.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

I've been splitting expenses with my fiancé for eight years, and I've experienced the challenges of keeping track of who should pay next, which often leads to awkward moments and conflicts.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We initially tried various methods like mental tabs and spreadsheets, but they were cumbersome. Even using Venmo felt silly for small amounts exchanged frequently.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

Unlike Splitwise, our app links directly to credit or debit card transactions, making it easier to track shared expenses without manual entry.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

The app allows users to sync their transactions, view them in a feed, and simply tap to share expenses, which streamlines the process significantly.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

At the end of the month, the app provides a tab showing who owes what, and users can settle payments through the app, which adds value even if they don't settle immediately.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We decided to focus solely on couples after realizing that our initial broad approach diluted the app's effectiveness.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

During beta testing, we found that couples were the most engaged users, which led us to concentrate on their specific needs.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

It's crucial to understand why couples need this product and how it differs from existing solutions, as many startups have failed in this space.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

We have about 40 beta testers, with around 25 using the app regularly, which indicates a promising level of engagement for an early-stage startup.

YC

Y Combinator Cast

06/20/14

@ Y Combinator

While getting on app stores can help distribution, it may not be the most critical step right now, as we can still acquire users without it.

Office Hours at Startup School NY 2014

Takeaways