Universe YC Application

Winter 2018Active

Universe went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2018 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 2018
Industry: ConsumerContent
Team size: 25
Status: Active
Launched: 2017

Founders

Joseph CohenFounder/CEO

What Universe does

Our mission is to empower everyone to build the internet. Universe is a magical new way to build websites - - it’s the first website builder designed for phones. Our app makes it easy for anyone to make a great looking website and start selling online in minutes from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. And we make it as fun as playing with Legos! Give it a try: Explore sites made on Universe: We are a remote-first 20+ person company with people all over the US. We were YC W18 and have raised $17.2MM in funding from Google Ventures, General Catalyst, Javelin Venture Partners, Box Group, and more top investors. We value individual agency and ownership - - which guides our product design and our company’s culture. While other companies offer lots of perks, we prioritize your freedom: work from anywhere, in the way you’re at your best. We believe that an individual’s capacity for growth is far larger than most understand, and we’ve designed an environment to support rapid, continuous learning. Ideas here come from everyone, initiative is respected, and quality matters. We are here to build something special and enduring.

Universe's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Universe, Winter 2018 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Universe

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Design and build websites on iPhone or iPad

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

Universe is the first website builder designed specifically for phones. Our app lets anyone create and manage a good-looking website or online store in minutes, using just their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It's built to be simple and fun, like playing with Legos, making web design accessible without a desktop or technical skills.

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

We're based in New York, NY, USA, but our team is remote across the US. After YC we will continue working remote-first, anchored in New York.

Explain your decision regarding location.

We're remote-first because our team functions best that way. Our culture prioritizes freedom and individual ownership, letting people work where and how they're most productive. New York is our home base, but people contribute from many places.

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 Universe YC application?

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