YC Co-Founder Matching Founders

Item	Your number
Cost to join	$0^[2]
Invitations per week	15^[1]
Invitations in four weeks	60 at most^[1]
Approval	Up to 1 week^[1]
Close work before deciding	2 to 4 weeks^[1]
Startup School course	About 7 weeks at 1 to 2 hours a week (7 to 14 hours)^[3]
Admission boost	None; matching does not improve YC admission^[1]

What it gives you

Free access to a large claimed pool, open to solo founders and to teams without an idea. The homepage lists 3,200 active profiles in San Francisco, 3,000 in New York City and 2,900 in London. Those figures are undated, and “active” isn’t defined. You can filter profiles by preference and attend in-person meetups in San Francisco and New York City. ^[2]

What it costs you

No money. The cost is time. Approval can take a week before you invite anyone, and a match needs 2 to 4 weeks of close work before you decide. The cap works out to 60 invitations a month at most. YC publishes no reply rate, so you can’t put a success figure on those 60. ^[1]

Your first three months

In month one, sign up, wait for approval, fill in every profile field, and build a list of people whose profiles fit your filters. In month two, send up to 15 invitations a week and hold a first call with each person who accepts. In month three, take the strongest match into 2 to 4 weeks of close work, and keep your other outreach running in case it doesn’t work out. ^{[1] [2]}

Growing a team beyond the first match

A match is a starting point, not a team. Put roles, equity and vesting in writing before you build together. Founder stock usually vests over 3 to 5 years, usually monthly after a 6- or 12-month cliff. YC’s documents page lists SAFEs and side letters only, so the co-founder agreement has to come from elsewhere. ^{[6] [5]}

Protecting yourself

Assume approved members can see your profile, and keep contact and identity documents out of the first messages. YC’s terms say members are solely responsible for interactions, so the risk of a bad partner is yours. Read the privacy summary before you add your email and LinkedIn details. ^{[4] [2]}

Finding people beyond YC

For an adviser or investor alongside a co-founder search, Omnitwine’s AI can suggest eligible members who fit, and it is free. ^{[7] [8]}

Should you use it?

Yes, if you want a co-founder and can spare a week for approval and a few weeks of work. No, if you need a hire, want an admission boost, or can’t accept that the service publishes no success rate. Use it as one channel alongside your own network, not as your only one. ^{[1] [2]}

Y Combinator Co-Founder Matching for Founders

Your numbers on YC Co-Founder Matching

Cost to join

Invitations per week

Invitations in four weeks

Approval

Close work before deciding

Startup School course

Admission boost