Vest YC Application
Vest went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2015 batch as a Fintech 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
- FintechAsset Management
- Team size
- 50
- Status
- Acquired
- Launched
- 2014
Founders
Karan SoodFounder/CEO
Jeff ChangPresident & Co-Founder
What Vest does
Vest, on a mission to bring wider access to financial derivatives and other institutional investment strategies, manages investment products worth $50+ billion (as of 9/30/25). Backed by private equity, the firm has a strategic partnership with Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE), and First Trust, a global asset manager. Vest created Target Outcome Investments in 2013, which target a defined return profile, with an allowance for a specific level of risk, at a particular point in time. Today, Target Outcome Investments are available as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unit investment trusts (UITs), collective investment trusts (CITs), and customizable managed accounts / sub-advisory services. The firm was launched and backed by preeminent venture firms such as Y-Combinator (Airbnb, Reddit, Dropbox), Payment Ventures (MicroVentures, CardFlight) and First Round Capital (Uber, Mint, Square). See more at
Vest's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
Vest, Winter 2015 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
Vest
Bringing wider access to financial derivatives.
We build investment products that give broader access to financial derivatives and institutional investment strategies through Target Outcome Investments. Our products target specific return profiles for a defined level of risk at a set time horizon. They are available as mutual funds, ETFs, UITs, CITs, and managed accounts.
We live in McLean, VA, and the company is based there, with a remote team spread out as well. We would maintain this base after YC.
McLean is where we started and built our initial products with our founding team. This location allows us to stay close to key financial markets and partners, while our remote model lets us tap talent across the country.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real Vest YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Vest's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Vest would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was Vest in?
Vest was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2015 batch.
Who founded Vest?
Vest was founded by Karan Sood, Jeff Chang.
What does Vest do?
Bringing wider access to financial derivatives.
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of Vest's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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