Charge Running YC Application

Winter 2021Inactive

Charge Running went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2021 batch as a Consumer 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 2021
Industry: ConsumerHome and Personal
Team size: 3
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2021

Founders

Rory GramanFounder
Julie WallockFounder; COO

What Charge Running does

Charge Running is a community for all runners. We host 20+ live virtual running classes and races per day, where runners join and run together from all over the world through a mobile app. Each class is hosted by a live, certified run coach, that tracks all participants' distances, paces, cadences, and interval summaries as they lead the runners via audio through effort-based run classes. Each runner can chat with the coach and other participants of the run, as well as see in real-time the distance of every other runner, no matter where they run from. This creates an incredibly motivational experience. In addition to our daily lineup of classes, Charge hosts virtual races, partnering with race directors and charities to offer a virtual racing experience, with an in-person feel.

Charge Running's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Charge Running, Winter 2021 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Charge Running

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Live virtual running classes worldwide

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

We built a mobile app that offers 20+ live, coached running classes per day where runners from anywhere join in real-time. Coaches lead groups by audio, track distance, pace, cadence, and intervals, and runners see each other's stats and chat during runs. We also host virtual races that feel like real events by partnering with race directors and charities.

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

We live in Chicago, IL, and work remotely. Post-YC, we would remain based in Chicago with a remote team setup.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Chicago was convenient for us as founders and offers a strong running community. Remote work lets us hire talent without relocating. It's important to stay connected to a real running city and maintain flexibility.

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 Charge Running YC application?

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