Twitch YC Application

Winter 2007Acquired

Twitch went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2007 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 2007
Industry: ConsumerContent
Team size: 2000
Status: Acquired
Launched: 2012

Founders

Justin KanFounder
Emmett ShearFounder
Kyle VogtFounder

What Twitch does

Twitch is the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers. More than 100 million gamers gather every month to broadcast, watch and chat about gaming. Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of live and on-demand distribution for leading video game broadcasters including casual gamers, pro players, tournaments, leagues, developers and gaming media organizations. Twitch is leading a revolution in the gaming community, working to create a participatory experience that transcends gameplay. Learn more at

Twitch's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Twitch, Winter 2007 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Justin.tv (later Twitch)

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Live video streaming for anyone.

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

A platform for live streaming video to an audience in real time, with chat. We start with a single round-the-clock lifecast and open it up so anyone can broadcast their own live channel. The long-term product is the backbone for live and on-demand video for creators and communities.

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

San Francisco, USA / San Francisco, USA.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco has the video infrastructure and consumer-internet talent we need, and it is where our early community and investors are.

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 Twitch YC application?

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