Formal YC Application

Summer 2020Active

Formal went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2020 batch as a B2B 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 2020
Industry: B2B
Team size: 10
Status: Active
Launched: 2020

Founders

Mokhtar BachaFounder

Formal's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Formal, Summer 2020 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Formal

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Take control of your data in real-time.

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

We built a cybersecurity platform that gives businesses real-time control and visibility over their data. Formal helps security teams monitor data use and detect risks as they happen, rather than after the fact. It's designed for enterprises who need to act quickly to secure their sensitive information.

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

Our team is distributed across San Francisco, New York, and remote locations. After YC, we plan to continue based in these hubs to stay close to key customers and talent pools.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We operate from multiple cities because our users and security teams are spread across the U.S. Being in San Francisco and New York lets us connect directly with enterprise clients and maintain flexibility for our remote team.

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 Formal YC application?

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