Hipmunk YC Application

Summer 2010Acquired

Hipmunk went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2010 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: Summer 2010
Industry: ConsumerTravel, Leisure and Tourism
Team size: 51
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2012

Founders

Adam GoldsteinFounder/CEO

What Hipmunk does

Hipmunk is making travel planning simple and delightful. The site and mobile apps save you time by comparing top travel sites so you don't have to. The unique display makes it easy to visually compare results and choose what's best for you. Hipmunk brings in travel options ranging from commercial flights to trains to charter flights and accommodations ranging from large hotels to home and apartments rentals through Airbnb and Homeaway. Users can find less agonizing flights with the innovative flight search “Agony” sort, as well as the best hotels and home rentals with the hotel search “Ecstasy” sort. Hipmunk is one of TIME Magazine’s “50 Coolest Websites,” TIME Magazine’s “50 Best Smartphone Apps,” Travel + Leisure’s “Best Websites of 2012,” Budget Travel’s “Top 10 Most Useful Websites,” and Inc.’s “Best Booking Website.” Co-founders Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman were named to Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s “Top Tech Entrepreneurs,” Forbes “30 Under 30” and Inc.’s “30 Under 30” lists. The company launched in 2010, is based in San Francisco, and has funding from IVP, Ignition Partners, Y Combinator, SV Angel, Webb Investment Network, Quest Hospitality Ventures, and several angel investors.

Hipmunk's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Hipmunk, Summer 2010 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Hipmunk

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Flight and hotel search made simple

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

We built a travel search site and mobile apps that compare flights, hotels, and home rentals from multiple top sources. Users can quickly find options that minimize the usual travel search agony by sorting results with unique metrics like our "Agony" sort for flights and "Ecstasy" for hotels. We prioritize saving users time and making comparisons visual and intuitive so they can pick the best option without sifting through chaos.

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

We live in San Francisco, and Hipmunk will be based there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where we live and where the travel tech community, potential investors, and talent are concentrated. Staying here lets us iterate quickly and hire people familiar with travel and consumer tech.

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 Hipmunk YC application?

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