Extern YC Application

Winter 2017Active

Extern went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2017 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 2017
Industry: ConsumerJob and Career Services
Team size: 30
Status: Active
Launched: 2016

Founders

Matt WilkersonFounder/CEO

What Extern does

At Extern, we’re solving the experience gap. Extern created the remote Externship, a skill-building work experience that is easier for students to access, and easier for companies to run, than an internship. Our mission is to help anyone discover and launch their career through professional experiences available anywhere at any time. Since 2020, we’ve created and powered Externships for over 50,000 students on behalf of companies from Fortune 500s to startups. After spending $100K on average for a 4-year degree, graduates find that almost 40% of entry level jobs on Linkedin required 3+ years of work experience. Internships are how many college students get this kind of experience, but the demand for good internships outstrips the supply. Internship programs are difficult to scale, they favor students who already have social capital, and they’re time-consuming for employers to run. Externships are short, online, project-based work experiences that employers can offer to hundreds of students using less resource and employee time than it would take to support an intern. Extern makes the complex process of running an Externship completely turnkey with software and industry experts which in turn makes professional experience more accessible to more students. By making work experience more accessible, Extern is driving the rapid mobility and upskilling needed for a new economy. We envision a world where anyone can access work experience as a form of education - no matter their background, experience, or socio-economic status. Come join our movement to reshape work, education, and credentialing for future generations with the Externship. Extern was born out of a pivot from Paragon One (W17) which initially focused on providing students with a career center-as-a-service platform, connecting them with industry professionals to receive career coaching and guidance. Backed by Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, Launch Fund, University Ventures, and Learn Capital.

Extern's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

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

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Extern

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Professional Experience Anytime, Anywhere.

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

We built a platform that creates and powers remote externships: short, project-based work experiences students can do online for companies. Our product makes it easy for employers to run these at scale while helping students get real professional experience without traditional internships' barriers.

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

We live in San Francisco, CA and the company is based here as well, though we operate with a remote-friendly team.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where the company started and where we have access to talent, investors, and customers. We also support remote work to include a broader team and student base.

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 Extern YC application?

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