Lucy Goods, Inc YC Application

Winter 2018Active

Lucy Goods, Inc went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2018 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: Winter 2018
Industry: ConsumerFood and Beverage
Team size: 7
Status: Active
Launched: 2017

Founders

John CooganFounder
Samy HamdoucheFounder
David RentelnFounder

What Lucy Goods, Inc does

If it isn’t bad enough that smokers don’t realize the scientific facts about nicotine, most non-tobacco nicotine products are poorly designed and unappealing to use. The leading gum is sold like a pharmaceutical drug, with flavoring and packaging to match. Vapes provide a cumbersome, over-the-top experience - with use as tightly restricted as cigarette smoking itself, but more juvenile, conspicuous, and highly addictive. People want, and deserve, a better way. Therefore, we want to deliver nicotine users a superior experience, and at the same time give them a way to transition out of feeling dependent. In a better society, people wouldn’t carry around the sensation that they’re stuck with an involuntary habit. Our mission isn’t to encourage nicotine use among people who haven’t started. Unlike certain vapes or other products, ours isn’t the sort coveted by underage users on social media. Our mission is to alleviate the harm related to tobacco - first and foremost, by switching people away from the most harmful products. So, at Lucy, we take an evidence based view of nicotine. Nicotine’s pleasurable properties make it an inevitable part of modern society. Therefore, minimizing harm in all nicotine products is key, in addition to giving people products and strategies for cessation. We feel that, as 1,300 people are dying of tobacco related illnesses every day in the US, the most important and immediate step toward a better society is giving nicotine consumers products they enjoy using that will cause less harm. Our first product is designed to appeal to smokers and encourage them to switch. And, looking ahead, we hope to secure approval in the future as a clinically proven smoking cessation aid, while continuing to participate in the FDA’s public hearings around how NRTs are best regulated. Our goals are simple: because harm reduction is a better strategy around nicotine delivery than abstinence or prohibition, we want to help improve public health - and reduce its costs - through a superior pure nicotine product.

Lucy Goods, Inc's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Lucy Goods, Inc, Winter 2018 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Lucy Goods, Inc

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Better nicotine experience to reduce tobacco harm

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

We make a pure nicotine product designed to help smokers switch away from harmful tobacco products by providing a more appealing, less harmful alternative. Our product looks nothing like traditional gum or vaporizers; it's crafted to give nicotine users a better experience and eventually aid cessation.

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

We live and operate in Los Angeles, CA, and plan to keep the company based there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We are rooted in LA where our team lives and where we've built key parts of our product and supply chain. Staying here helps us stay close to our operations and user base.

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 Lucy Goods, Inc YC application?

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