CodeCombat YC Application

Winter 2014Active

CodeCombat went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2014 batch as a Education 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 2014
Industry: Education
Team size: 45
Status: Active
Launched: 2013

Founders

Nick WinterFounder/CEO

What CodeCombat does

CodeCombat is a multiplayer programming game for learning how to code. With thousands of schools and millions of students, we are bringing K12 computer science education to everyone, regardless of gender, race, or background. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn. The ultimate goal of CodeCombat is to bring more users into the field of computer programming by making the logic and syntax more accessible and enjoyable to learn. The end game is to educate a whole new generation of computer programmers that started their journey by slaying ogres and defending their castles from oncoming enemy hordes. We teach Python, JavaScript, and other languages directly in the browser. Teachers with no computer science background can get started in five minutes. In a world where all programmers have had to be second-language learners, do you want your students to become native speakers of code? Let's chat about bringing CodeCombat to your school! Find us on Twitter at

CodeCombat's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

CodeCombat, Winter 2014 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

CodeCombat

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Game that teaches computer science to middle and high school kids.

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

We built a multiplayer programming game that teaches kids Python, JavaScript, and other languages directly in the browser. The game uses real code to control characters who slay ogres and defend castles, making coding accessible and fun for middle and high school students and allowing teachers without CS backgrounds to get started quickly.

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

We live in Seattle, San Francisco, and remote locations; after YC the company would be based in the Bay Area to be close to the YC community and investors.

Explain your decision regarding location.

The founders are spread out between Seattle and San Francisco, and remote. We plan to consolidate around the Bay Area after YC for easier collaboration and access to investors.

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 CodeCombat YC application?

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