OrderAhead YC Application

Winter 2011Acquired

OrderAhead went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2011 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 2011
Industry: ConsumerFood and Beverage
Team size: 50
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2012

Founders

Jeffrey ByunCEO, Co-Founder
Henry A. LeeFounder/CTO/Head of Engineering
Ruddick LawrenceFounder/CTO

What OrderAhead does

OrderAhead is a mobile ordering and payments company that enables millions of users to order pickup from thousands of local merchants.

OrderAhead's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

OrderAhead, Winter 2011 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

OrderAhead

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Order ahead for pickup

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

We built a mobile app and platform that lets users order and pay ahead from local food merchants for pickup. Our system handles payments, order placement, and makes the checkout process cashierless for merchants and faster for customers.

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

We live and work in San Francisco, and the company will remain based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where most local merchants and early users are. It's also where the startup ecosystem is strongest for partnerships and hiring engineers.

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 OrderAhead YC application?

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