OpenSea YC Application

Winter 2018Active

OpenSea went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2018 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 2018
Industry: ConsumerContent
Team size: 75
Status: Active
Launched: 2017

Founders

Devin FinzerFounder/CEO

What OpenSea does

OpenSea is your home for trading everything onchain. Founded in 2017, OpenSea pioneered the first non-custodial marketplace for digital assets and has evolved into the destination for the entire onchain economy. Trade tokens, culture, ideas, digital assets, and physical assets across all major blockchains. At OpenSea, you'll be challenged to exceed your own expectations alongside a nimble, talent-dense crew shaping the future of digital economies for millions. Our culture is centered around those who take ownership, are energized by ambitious challenges, and build with urgency.

OpenSea's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

OpenSea, Winter 2018 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

OpenSea

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Marketplace for buying and selling digital assets

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

We built a marketplace to trade non-fungible tokens across multiple blockchains. OpenSea lets users buy, sell, and discover digital assets without giving up custody of their tokens. We handle the complexities of onchain asset transfers so creators and collectors can focus on their digital goods.

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

We live in New York City and work remotely. After YC, we would base the company in New York with remote team members around the world.

Explain your decision regarding location.

New York has a growing crypto and tech talent pool and it's where we built our initial traction and network. We want to stay close to this ecosystem while embracing remote work.

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 OpenSea YC application?

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