Payload YC Application

Summer 2022Acquired

Payload 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: B2BEngineering, Product and Design
Team size: 3
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2022

Founders

James MikrutFounder
Elliot DeNolfFounder
Dan RibbensFounder

What Payload does

Payload is a developer-first headless CMS and application framework built to finally give developers a better choice in the world of CMS. From documentation to design, Payload is crafted from the ground-up to save engineers time and effort while building the backend and admin panel for websites, native apps, ecommerce, SaaS, and any other product that needs to manage content. Payload is changing the CMS status quo - working to give developers the tools they want to build the CMS they need, all in clean and well-structured code. Learn more at

Payload's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

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

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Payload

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Developer-First Headless CMS and Application Framework

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

We build Payload, a headless CMS and application framework designed specifically for developers. It replaces bulky, opinionated CMSs by giving engineers direct control over their backend and admin panel, saving them time building scalable content management for websites, apps, ecommerce, and SaaS.

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

We live in Grand Rapids, MI, USA, and plan for the company to remain based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We chose Grand Rapids because it's where we live and work as a team. Staying here lets us stay focused and build without distractions.

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 Payload YC application?

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