Memo YC Application

Summer 2020Inactive

Memo went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2020 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 2020
Industry: B2BEngineering, Product and Design
Team size: 2
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2020

Founders

Richard ShepherdFounder
Peter SaxtonFounder

What Memo does

We all know the attention economy is damaging our ability to focus. Memo is for people that are mad as hell about their time being sold to the highest bidder. Forget laborious old email and hyperactive Slack. We built Memo as the feel-good alternative that will make you love communication again and get back time for what matters to you. Memo's features make every message high value so you can communicate more effectively.

Memo's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Memo, Summer 2020 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Memo

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Modern communication that helps you get focus back

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

We built Memo as a new, less noisy communication tool aimed at engineering, product, and design teams. It cuts out the low-value noise of email and Slack so every message counts, helping users focus instead of being pulled into endless chatter.

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

We live in Exeter, England and the company is based remote. After YC we will remain remote but can connect anywhere globally.

Explain your decision regarding location.

Exeter lets us work without distraction and find time to build without the usual startup hub pressure. Remote fits our team size and customer base well, letting us hire and work flexibly.

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 Memo YC application?

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