Cheddar YC Application

Summer 2014Inactive

Cheddar went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2014 batch as a Fintech 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: Summer 2014
Industry: FintechBanking and Exchange
Team size: 2
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2014

Founders

Alex FryerFounder/CEO
Brian BrunnerFounder

What Cheddar does

Ditch your bare-bones, high-fee checking account. You deserve free and powerful everyday banking. Nearly 3 out of 4 millennials would rather go to the dentist than listen to their bank. While it's possible that we just really love our oral hygiene, it's more likely that we don't trust or like our banks. It's not hard to understand why. Big banks use big budgets and armies of salespeople and marketers to sell old-school products layered with fees and penalties. Their profits increase when we spend more, overuse debt, and make mistakes like overdrafting. Big banks get away with this because banking is such a vital service. Everyday spending and saving decisions that begin at the checking account ultimately determine whether we'll lead a healthy and secure financial life. What can be done? Bill Gates believes banks aren't necessary for banking. Millennials believe technology companies can make banking better. So let's build a better bank. Cheddar is a new mobile bank account, debit card, and business model to free the world from underpowered checking accounts and evil banks.

Cheddar's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Cheddar, Summer 2014 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Cheddar

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

The Best Mobile Checking Account

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

We are building a mobile bank account with a debit card designed for millennials who hate traditional banks. Our product offers a free alternative to checking accounts loaded with fees and penalties. It helps people take control of their everyday spending and saving without the usual traps big banks set.

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

We do not have a fixed location now, and plan to base the company wherever makes the most sense after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We want to stay flexible given the small size of our founding team and the early stage of the product, focusing on testing and customer acquisition wherever possible.

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 Cheddar YC application?

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