Metal YC Application

Winter 2023Active

Metal went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2023 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: Winter 2023
Industry: B2BFinance and Accounting
Team size: 17
Status: Active
Launched: 2023

Founders

Taylor LoweFounder
James O'DwyerFounder
Sergio PradaFounder

What Metal does

Metal is building the world’s most powerful intelligence platform for private market investors. We support deal teams throughout the investment lifecycle - from market research and sourcing to diligence and post-close. Top-tier funds like Berkshire Partners and Clearlake Capital already rely on Metal to move faster and make smarter investment decisions - and we’re just getting started. If you're excited to transform how private investors work, collaborate, and make decisions, we’d love to meet you.

Metal's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Metal, Winter 2023 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Metal

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Institutional intelligence for private equity

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

We are building a platform that helps private market investors manage the entire investment lifecycle. Our product supports deal teams with market research, sourcing, diligence, and post-close workflows. It combines data, collaboration tools, and AI-driven insights to help funds move faster and make smarter decisions.

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

We live in New York, NY, and plan to keep the company based there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

New York offers direct access to top-tier private equity firms, our initial customers. Being physically close lets us build strong relationships and deeply understand their workflows.

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 Metal YC application?

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