Upbeat YC Application

Summer 2010Inactive

Upbeat went through Y Combinator in the Summer 2010 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: Summer 2010
Industry: ConsumerContent
Team size: 2
Status: Inactive
Launched: 2012

Founders

David TranFounder/CTO
Mark LinseyFounder

What Upbeat does

Upbeat is a software-powered next-generation PR agency that focuses on media marketing for various companies. The company is a team of software engineers and PR professionals working together to bring the old-school PR industry to the modern world. Upbeat turns story ideas to into something presentable by connecting the best stories to the best storytellers. They also manage email outreach and follow-ups and keep track of pitch's progress with real-time analytics and email updates. And, its software is also an avenue to monitor media opportunities on company's behalf.

Upbeat's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Upbeat, Summer 2010 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Upbeat

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Next generation Public Relations (PR) platform

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

We built a software-powered PR agency that helps companies manage media marketing. Our product connects story ideas to relevant journalists, manages outreach emails and follow-ups, and tracks pitches with real-time analytics and updates. It also monitors media opportunities on behalf of companies to keep PR efforts organized and current.

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

We live in San Francisco, CA, and the company would continue to be based there after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where we already live and where much of the media and tech industries intersect, making it ideal for building and testing our PR software.

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 Upbeat YC application?

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