Tab YC Application

Winter 2015Active

Tab went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2015 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 2015
Industry: ConsumerTravel, Leisure and Tourism
Team size: 9
Status: Active
Launched: 2014

Founders

Mark DattaFounder/CEO

What Tab does

At Tab, we’re revolutionising the way travellers discover, plan and book a trip. The Guide lets travellers find and book anywhere - with helpful recommendations from friends & local experts, rather than bland listings with endless reviews. Planning your trip should be a joy, not a chore! We help people to travel responsibly, by booking direct instead of using traditional booking sites. Travellers get the best price and they help local businesses avoid unnecessary fees. Travel experts, content creators and the friends you always ask for recommendations can use The Guide to showcase their favourite places to stay and things to do. When you book one of their recommendations, you’ll get a discount from the business and they receive bonus credit to say thanks. The Tab platform gives independent tourism businesses the tools to improve their online presence, be discovered, take direct bookings - and also to take payments. Our payment platform is uniquely designed for tourism businesses, handling over 100 currencies natively, and every payment type securely and easily. As travel returns after a difficult period, it’s time for a fresh approach. That’s why we’re building a social commerce platform for tourism - helping to spread the benefits of tourism far and wide, and helping travellers make the most of their precious time abroad. We're headquartered in London, and backed by Y Combinator (the investors behind Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe).

Tab's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Tab, Winter 2015 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Tab

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Travel planning and booking platform

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

We're building The Guide, a platform where travellers get trip recommendations directly from friends and local experts instead of generic listings. Users can discover and book places and activities while supporting local businesses through direct bookings and unique payment solutions that handle multiple currencies.

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

We live and operate in London, England, and would continue to base the company here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

London is a critical travel hub with access to independent tourism businesses and a strong tech talent pool. Being here allows us to build relationships with local experts and businesses vital to our platform.

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 Tab YC application?

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