Coin YC Application

Winter 2013Acquired

Coin went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2013 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: Winter 2013
Industry: FintechConsumer Finance
Team size: 11
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2012

Founders

Kanishk ParasharFounder/CEO
Karthik BalakrishnanFounder/CTO

What Coin does

Coin is a consumer electronics and financial technology company bringing simplicity and security to payments. Through the Coin developer program, wearables makers now have a turnkey solution for integrating secure payments into their devices (e.g. fitness trackers, smartwatches, jewelry). Follow the company on Twitter @coin or learn more about the Coin developer program at Coin 2.0 smart payment device Coin 2.0 is a secure smart device that has the form factor of a credit card, but it holds your cards in one - including your credit, debit, gift and loyalty cards. Coin 2.0 lets you swipe or tap your cards at millions of merchants across the USA. Coin 2.0 has 80%+ compatibility, partly because we use cutting-edge technology that has not yet been integrated into all point-of-sale systems. We encourage customers to carry a “backup card” given the wide variety of sales registers in the USA. While Coin 2.0 shares the same form factor as a credit card, it features enhancements such as an electronic display and a single button to allow for simple switching between different cards. With over-the-air updates, Coin 2.0 adapts to evolving payment technology, offering future-ready ubiquity in a small and powerful package. Coin's security features also keep your information safe. Auto-unlock means that only you can use your Coin 2.0 while Last Known Location helps you find your Coin 2.0 in case of loss or theft. Coin 2.0 is designed for use in the USA. To verify identify, a Social Security Number is required. Website: Video:

Coin's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Coin, Winter 2013 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Coin

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Mobile wallet that works everywhere credit cards do

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

We make Coin 2.0, a credit card-sized smart payment device that stores multiple cards - credit, debit, gift, loyalty - in one. It lets users tap or swipe at most US merchants' terminals. The device has a display and a button to switch cards, auto-unlocks for security, and reports its last known location if lost. Over-the-air updates keep it compatible as payment tech evolves.

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

We live in and operate out of San Francisco, CA, and plan to keep the company based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where the payments ecosystem, tech talent, and wearables makers are concentrated. Being here lets us work closely with partners and users.

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 Coin YC application?

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