HackerRank YC Application

Summer 2011Active

HackerRank went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2011 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 2011
Industry: B2BRecruiting and Talent
Team size: 300
Status: Active
Launched: 2012

Founders

Vivek RavisankarFounder/CEO
HarishankaranFounder

What HackerRank does

At HackerRank, our mission is to change the world to value skills over pedigree. Thousands of companies use our AI-powered platform to hire next-gen developers based on what they can do - not just what’s on their resume. From hiring to upskilling, we help teams identify and grow technical talent at every stage of the developer journey. Over 26 million developers have joined the HackerRank Community to learn and certify their skills, practice interviewing, and discover relevant jobs.

HackerRank's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

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

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

HackerRank

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Change the world to value skills over pedigree

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

We have built a platform that helps companies hire developers by testing their coding skills directly, rather than relying on resumes or reputations. Our product lets companies run coding challenges, screen candidates based on their actual technical ability, and helps developers showcase their skills through practice and certification.

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

We live in Santa Clara, CA, and the company will be based here after YC as well.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Santa Clara is a tech hub with direct access to our enterprise customers and developer community. It helps us recruit talent and connect with the companies and developers who use HackerRank.

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 HackerRank YC application?

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