Notebook Labs YC Application

Summer 2022Inactive

Notebook Labs went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2022 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 2022
Industry: B2B
Team size: 3
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2022

Founders

Nathaniel Masfen-YanFounder
Solal AfotaFounder
Dhruv MangtaniFounder

What Notebook Labs does

Notebook solves the Web3 identity problem by using Zero-Knowledge to provide both anonymous proof-of-humanity and credential aggregation. Notebook initially verifies users’ identifying information to ensure that each person has just a single Notebook. Neither Notebook, nor any other company knows the link between a user’s personal information and their Notebook. Once a user’s Notebook account is created they can begin proving their humanity and aggregating their credentials across wallets. Notebook can be used to increase the safety of DeFi, governance, and airdrops. With Notebook, creators and communities can run Sybil-resistant airdrops, DAOs can verify the humanity and aggregate the credentials of participants, and lending protocols can build credit scoring systems to offer lower-collateralized loans.

Notebook Labs's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Notebook Labs, Summer 2022 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Notebook Labs

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Decentralized, anonymous, and accountable identity on Web3

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

We built Notebook, a decentralized identity platform that uses Zero-Knowledge proofs to verify humanity anonymously and aggregate credentials across crypto wallets. It prevents Sybil attacks on DAOs, airdrops, and DeFi lending by letting users prove they are unique humans without revealing personal data.

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

We live in Stanford, CA, and plan to base the company here after YC, leveraging local tech networks and talent.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We're based in Stanford where the founders currently live and work. Being close to Stanford's ecosystem gives us access to the crypto and Web3 community and prospective partners.

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 Notebook Labs YC application?

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