Mage YC Application

Winter 2019Inactive

Mage went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2019 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 2019
Industry: ConsumerTravel, Leisure and Tourism
Team size: 3
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2018

Founders

Peer RichelsenFounder
Malte DelfsFounder

What Mage does

Mage Market is a real-time 'bid/ask' marketplace. When a bid and ask meet, the transaction happens automagically. No counterfeits or fakes - We are the active middlemen and our experts verify every card before it's being sent to you.

Mage's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Mage, Winter 2019 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Mage

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

The safest way to buy and sell collectibles

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

We built Mage Market, a real-time bid/ask marketplace for collectibles, primarily trading cards. When a buyer's bid and a seller's ask meet, the transaction happens automatically. We act as active middlemen and have experts verify every card before shipping to eliminate counterfeits and fakes. Our platform matches trusted buyers and sellers while preventing fraud.

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

We live in Kiel, SH, Germany, and the company is currently remote. After YC, we would base the company wherever YC requires, likely in the Bay Area to be close to the network and investors.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We started in Kiel because that's where we live, but we'd relocate or be remote post-YC since the accelerator is in Silicon Valley and that's where we best grow the company. Starting remote allows us to focus on product and build initial liquidity with early users.

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 Mage YC application?

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