Inside the World’s Most Famous Startup Accelerator

Oct 9, 2025

Carolynn Levy, Chief Legal Officer of Y Combinator, oversees legal matters for the accelerator that birthed startups like Airbnb and DoorDash. She shares insights on YC's growth to funding roughly 600 startups annually across four batches. The selection process involves evaluating 20,000 applications, emphasizing resilient founders over mere ideas. Carolynn highlights the evolution of Demo Day, now accessible to more investors online, and discusses the unique challenges of legal issues and immigration for founders in today's landscape.

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INSIGHT

YC's Batch Model Scaled Into A Year-Round Engine

Y Combinator runs structured three-month batches where startups receive funding and mentorship before Demo Day.
The program scaled from tiny cohorts to four seasonal batches of ~150 startups each with a lifetime alumni network.

INSIGHT

Human-First Selection And Immediate Decisions

YC personally reviews applications and conducts 10-minute in-person interviews for selected teams.
Interviewees receive immediate decisions and personal rejection notes when invited to interview but not accepted.

ADVICE

Master The Demo Day Pitch

Prepare a concise, memorable pitch for Demo Day since founders present short talks to investors.
Use Demo Day to connect directly with investors and secure follow-up interest after presentations.

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John is joined by Carolynn Levy, Chief Legal Officer of Y Combinator (YC). They discuss YC’s evolution into the world’s most prominent startup accelerator. Some of the famous startups to come out of YC include DoorDash, Airbnb, Stripe, and Coinbase.

Carolynn joined YC in 2012. Since then, the organization has grown from a small early-stage investor to a robust platform funding approximately 600 startups annually.

In 2012, companies were evaluated in two seasonal “batches,” but YC’s growth now requires having four seasonal batches every year. Each batch now includes approximately 150 startups. Each startup receives $500,000 in seed funding and gains access to a network of alumni, ongoing mentorship, and lifetime support through YC’s internal platform, Bookface.

To select the startups, YC evaluates up to 20,000 applications per batch, relying on human review and in-person interviews, where selected applicants receive immediate decisions on whether they will be included in the next batch. The startups included in a batch work on their product for three months. Then, on Demo Day, the founders are given the opportunity to pitch their companies to a room full of investors. That room is now supplemented by online participation for broader reach.

In Carolynn’s opinion, strong, resilient, and flexible founders are the most crucial ingredient for a start-up’s success and more important than the idea for the project itself. YC favors entrepreneurs who are focused on product-market fit and is cautious about early-stage founders who are overly preoccupied with legal formalities. Optimism is crucial in the startup world. This has caused Carolynn to shift her mindset from risk-averse legal training to embracing bold innovation.

As the Chief Legal Officer of YC, Carolynn leads a team of seven lawyers that handle everything from entity formation and investment paperwork to founder breakups and brand protection. Recently, immigration issues have posed additional challenges due to the global nature of YC’s business.

The episode offers a rare inside look at how YC balances legal oversight with startup culture, emphasizing practicality and a deep respect for entrepreneurial vision.

Podcast Link: Law-disrupted.fm
Host: John B. Quinn
Producer: Alexis Hyde
Music and Editing by: Alexander Rossi