YC Launches 'Ashr' to Test AI Agents
Y Combinator launched Ashr, a new startup that tests AI agents with synthetic user data before they go live. The goal is to mimic production environments and catch failures, a critical step as more companies deploy autonomous agents.
YC Partner Michael Seibel advises founders to find their first 10 customers from people they know who personally experience the problem. These initial users shouldn't be "hard-won" but rather people eager for a solution and willing to work with an early-stage, unfinished product. Early adopters are defined by their urgent need for a solution. They are actively, often desperately, trying to solve the problem you're addressing and are willing to use an imperfect product to do so. Your first task is not to convince people they have a problem, but to find those who are already aware and searching for a fix. Before you have a product, go to the online spaces where your ideal users already gather. Spend time in niche subreddits, LinkedIn groups, and industry forums to listen and add value first. Answering questions and participating in discussions builds credibility, so when you eventually mention your solution, you're a community member, not a spammer. YC co-founder Paul Graham's essay "Do Things That Don't Scale" is a foundational concept; startups don't take off on their own, founders make them take off through manual effort. This involves uncomfortable, hands-on recruitment of your first users, a task that can't be replaced by writing more code. The founders of Brex, for example, recruited their first 10 customers directly from their YC batch. For cold outreach, YC Partner Gustaf Alströmer recommends short, plain-text emails that address the customer's problem directly. Include social proof, like mentioning you're in a YC batch or have relevant past experience, and add a simple link to your website with product screenshots. Charging your first customers is a critical validation signal. If a user is unwilling to pay anything, it's a strong sign they don't value the solution or experience the problem intensely enough. Resisting the fear of getting a "no" on price helps you focus only on qualified customers who see real value in what you're building. To build a consistent pipeline, start by defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to focus your efforts. Then, use a mix of outreach strategies, including leveraging your personal network for warm introductions and targeted cold outreach. The goal is to create a repeatable process for identifying, engaging, and qualifying potential users for discovery conversations.
