Content Strategy Case Study: Y Combinator

YC Mafia

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Today's post is a case study on startup accelerator Y Combinator’s content strategy. In the words of Marc Andreessen, “it’s the best program for creating top-notch entrepreneurs the world has ever seen.”

Let’s see why they have that reputation. First, a quick reminder.

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Ok, time for the good stuff. Let’s dissect Y Combinator.

Y Combinator is the most prominent startup accelerator in the world.

They were early investors in Airbnb, Instacart, Doordash, Twitch, Dropbox, and more. Getting into YC is like getting into the Stanford of startup accelerators.

When a company is accepted into YC, they invest a total of $500,000. YC then works with companies for three months to build out their product and refine their pitch to investors. From there, teams pitch to an invite-only audience of investors on Demo Day.

YC’s brand is absolutely crucial to their business.

  • Without YC’s branding, they couldn’t get startup founders to apply to their accelerator and give up equity in their company.

  • Without their brand, YC couldn’t get investors to come out on demo day either; but because of YC’s prestige, investors know they’re going to see some good startups and hopefully make some good money.

So how did the most prominent accelerator in the world build their content strategy? Let’s take a look.

YC Mafia

What’s the most efficient way to build a brand?

You get your users to do it for you.

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