Shield Bio YC Application

Summer 2016Inactive

Shield Bio went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2016 batch as a Healthcare 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 2016
Industry: HealthcareDiagnostics
Team size: 28
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2016

Founders

Fred TurnerFounder/CEO

What Shield Bio does

Shield Bio is a precision medicine company with a proprietary platform that enables reliable nanopore sequencing in under a minute, in a clinical setting. It is focused on bringing 3rd generation or "nanopore" sequencing into clinical use to deliver on the promise of precision medicine. Shield is initially using the technology to improve the treatment of infectious disease and address the unmet clinical need of sepsis, which kills 300,000 people a year in the US alone.

Shield Bio's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Shield Bio, Summer 2016 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Shield Bio

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Nanopore sequencing for clinical diagnostics

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

We are building a nanopore sequencing platform designed to bring real-time DNA sequencing into hospitals. Our product can reliably sequence pathogens in under a minute, helping doctors quickly diagnose infections like sepsis and tailor treatment.

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

We live in San Jose, CA, and after YC will remain based there to stay close to Silicon Valley resources and biotech partners.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Jose is our home and a biotech and tech hub. Being near collaborators and investors is crucial for our work in clinical genomics.

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 Shield Bio YC application?

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