Le Tote YC Application

Summer 2013Inactive

Le Tote went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2013 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 2013
Industry: ConsumerApparel and Cosmetics
Team size: 201
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2013

Founders

Rakesh TondonFounder/CEO
Brett NorthartCo-Founder & President

What Le Tote does

Le Tote is the leading online fashion service, providing women access to an unlimited, personalized closet of everyday apparel. Its highly analytical, data-driven approach to retail aims to fundamentally transform the next generation of commerce. Leveraging more than 2B customer data points, the proprietary style and personalization engine is fully powered by algorithms, and supported by custom-built, end-to-end technology and logistics solutions. Le Tote has customers across 48 states in the U.S. and recently launched in China. The company has seen over 300% growth year over year for the past 2 years and has raised more than $60M from top-tier venture capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, Y Combinator, Azure Capital and Sway Ventures.

Le Tote's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Le Tote, Summer 2013 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Le Tote

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Subscription for women's apparel & accessories

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

We built an online subscription service that gives women access to a rotating closet of everyday clothes and accessories. Our product uses data and algorithms to personalize the items each customer receives, making it easier for them to refresh their wardrobes without buying or returning items manually.

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

We live and work in San Francisco, CA, and plan to keep the company based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco offers the talent, investor network, and tech ecosystem we need to build a data-driven fashion business.

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 Le Tote YC application?

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