Modal YC Application

Winter 2016Inactive

Modal went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2016 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 2016
Industry: B2BRetail
Team size: 18
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2015

Founders

Aaron KraneFounder/CEO

What Modal does

At Modal, we build the future of auto commerce for the world's largest auto brands and retailers. Modal's team is full of technology leaders from places like Google, Facebook, Tesla, Paypal, Accenture, and Modal is backed by notable investors like Y Combinator, Peter Thiel, Khosla Ventures, and Ally Financial. To quote Peter Thiel, Modal is "complex coordination" of many different technologies, driving billions of dollars in transaction volume every year. Modal, formerly Drive Motors, was founded in 2015, completed Y Combinator in 2016, and is based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit

Modal's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Modal, Winter 2016 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Modal

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Digital commerce for auto brands and retailers

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

We build a platform that connects the digital storefronts of the world's largest auto retailers and brands, handling complex coordination of inventory, pricing, financing, and transactions. Our product lets customers browse, configure, and buy vehicles online while integrating deeply with dealer networks and manufacturer systems.

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

We're currently based in San Francisco, CA and plan to remain here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco has the engineering talent and proximity to both investors and auto retail clients we need to scale and refine our product.

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 Modal YC application?

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