YC Showcases New AI & Robotics Startups
Y Combinator unveiled several new companies from its latest batch, including Terranox for AI-driven uranium discovery, Oximy for tracking enterprise AI usage, and Sureform for generating robotics training data. The launches signal a continued focus on specialized, industrial AI applications.
Your first users are more of a search problem than a persuasion problem. You're looking for the small group of people with a burning need that your product can solve, not trying to convince the masses. These early adopters are often already actively seeking a solution and are so hungry for one they'll take a risk on a new, unknown startup. YC General Partner Ankit Gupta suggests a few counterintuitive rules for finding these first believers: charge real money early, as paying customers provide sharper feedback. Use targeted, personal outreach like cold emails or even direct messages; broad approaches like billboards are less likely to work. And launch early, even with an imperfect product, to create a wider surface area for these users to find you. To find these users, go where they already congregate online. This includes niche subreddits, Slack and Discord communities, and industry-specific forums. Engage authentically with these communities by providing value before pitching your product. YC founders frequently cite LinkedIn, Reddit, and online forums as their top sources for early user conversations. Cold outreach is a powerful tool when done correctly. YC Group Partner Aaron Epstein advises focusing on a single, specific goal for each email, such as starting a conversation. Keep the message short, personalized, and focused on the reader's problems, not your own story. Researching your contact and finding uncommon commonalities can significantly increase response rates. A consistent pipeline of discovery calls is built by iterating on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). If you're not getting responses, your targeting may be off. Aim for five to ten sales conversations per week to gather feedback and refine your approach. The goal isn't just to validate your idea, but to find what makes a customer say "hell yes." Don't ask users hypothetical questions like "would you use this?" Instead, focus on their past experiences to understand their real problems. Good discovery questions, according to YC's Gustaf Alströmer, include asking about the hardest part of a process or what a user is currently doing to solve a problem. This grounds the conversation in actual behavior, not speculation. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan emphasizes being relentlessly human and authentic in these early interactions. Respond to every email quickly, and if there's a bug, fix it immediately. This level of hands-on, personal support builds deep trust and can be the difference between a flatlining startup and one that finds its footing.
