GoCardless YC Application

Summer 2011Active

GoCardless went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2011 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 2011
Industry: FintechConsumer Finance
Team size: 900
Status: Active
Launched: 2012

Founders

Hiroki TakeuchiFounder/CEO
Tom BlomfieldFounder

What GoCardless does

At GoCardless we believe that bank payments are the best way to pay and get paid. We help businesses collect both recurring and one-off payments, without the chasing, stress or expensive fees. We’re building a global bank payment network that lets people make and collect payments straight from their bank account, across multiple countries and currencies. 75,000+ businesses around the world trust us to power their payments. We enable them to collect payments from 30+ countries, processing over $30 billion each year. Our suite of add-on products are helping businesses face their payment challenges head on. From automatically recovering failed payments, to challenging charge backs and fighting fraud - all without compromising their customer’s payment experience. Our open banking leadership unlocks the ability to make and accept direct bank payments confidently and securely. And our acquisition of Nordigen means we’re also helping businesses make faster and more informed decisions by accessing and generating insights from their customers’ bank account data. We’re also backed by some of the world’s leading investors including Accel Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Balderton Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Notion Capital, Passion Capital, Permira and Salesforce Ventures. We're a global team, with offices in London, Paris, Riga, Melbourne and New York.

GoCardless's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

GoCardless, Summer 2011 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

GoCardless

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

We're building the world's bank payment network.

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

We provide a platform that lets businesses collect recurring and one-off payments directly from customers' bank accounts across multiple countries and currencies. Our product reduces the hassle of chasing payments and cuts expensive fees for businesses. Beyond simple payments, we offer add-ons like recovering failed payments automatically and fighting fraud to improve the payment experience.

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

We live in London, England, and the company is based there and will remain based in London after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

London has a strong fintech ecosystem and access to our early users. We know this market well and have networks here, so it makes sense to build the company where our customers and team are.

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 GoCardless YC application?

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