boxouse YC Application

Winter 2017Inactive

boxouse went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2017 batch as a Real Estate and Construction company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2017
Industry: Real Estate and ConstructionHousing and Real Estate
Team size: 2
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2016

Founders

Luke IsemanFounder

What boxouse does

Boxouse is the product of curiosity and mishap by Luke and Heather. They build beautiful, sustainable, portable, affordable houses for everyone. Inspired by portable, modular shipping containers and fed up with paying rising rents in San Francisco for non ideal housing they set out to redefine the landscape in which they lived and rethink housing for modern aspirations. Boxouse started on a vacant lot in 2013 and quickly grew into a community of friends who all shared a common goal of experimenting with sustainability and building. They still run all their production out of beautiful Oakland California. Their catalogue offers a variety of houses from minimal to a luxe edition with wheels, solar and full utilities.

boxouse's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

boxouse, Winter 2017 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

boxouse

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

portable, affordable, beautiful smart homes

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We build portable, modular homes that are affordable and sustainable. Our houses come in different editions ranging from minimal to luxe, complete with wheels, solar power, and full utilities. They're designed for people frustrated with high rents and the lack of housing options in places like San Francisco.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live in Oakland, CA, and the company is based here as well.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We chose Oakland because it's where we started building and running production - it's a community where sustainability and experimental building fit naturally.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real boxouse YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from boxouse's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like boxouse would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.