This Week in YC 8
Welcome to the 8th weekly series of Y Combinator startup updates!
This Week in YC is an attempt to form major Y Combinator startups changes such as pivots, market expansions, team changes on C-level and metrics improvements into (possibly) valuable insights.
Feedback is indeed very welcome since I’m still on the way to figuring out the best possible representation of such information. Enjoy!
🌐 SaaS
Factored Quality
Flexport for Quality Control
Batch: W20
Changes:
Name:
Before: Workbench
After: Factored Quality
Headline
Before: Workflow software to help CPG brands streamline product development
After: Flexport for Quality Control
Description
Added: We're a platform that let's consumer goods brands book and manage quality control inspectors, internationally
Openland
Messenger for communities
Batch: W18
Summary:
CEO announced new company he’s starting called Superdao (thread)
Yury Lifshits@yurylifshitsI am starting a new company, Superdao to build better infrastructure for DAOs. Follow @superdao_co for updates and learn more below👇2:34 PM · Oct 26, 20219 Reposts · 45 LikesAnd raised a Pre-Seed round
Yury Lifshits@yurylifshitsTo begin our journey, we've raised a preseed round from @shimacapital, @FundamentalLabs, @Lemniscap, @fiftyyears, @datboitom, @brezina, Magic Fund, and Jesse Clayburgh2:34 PM · Oct 26, 20216 Likes
Changes:
Status
Before: Active
After: Inactive
onederful
Dental Insurance API
Batch: W18
Changes:
Status
Before: Active
After: Acquired
💰 FinTech
Fintual
Wealth manager
Batch: W18
Summary:
Userbase grew from 70k+ customers to 75k+ customers
Managed assets grew from $680 million to $750 million
Changes:
Description
Before: We allow people to invest. We manage $680m from +70,000 customers …
After: We allow people to invest. We manage $750m from +75,000 customers …
📚 Education
Careerist
Learning platform for job seekers with job applications automation
Batch: S21
Summary:
Careerist stopped offering Income Share Agreement for their students
Instead, they introduced a “small commitment fee” that’s paid until the student get hired
Changes:
Industry
Before: Education, Income Share Agreements, Robotic Process Automation
After: Education, Recruiting, Robotic Process Automation
Landing Page
Headline
Before: Meet the fastest path to start and grow a high-paying career in tech. Our guarantee: pay no tuition until you get a job
After: Meet the fastest path to start and grow a high-paying career in tech. Pay us nothing but a small commitment fee until you get hired
Kurios
Cohort-based online courses for professionals in Latin America
Batch: S21
Summary:
Kurios removed mention of monthly revenue and its growth month-over-month
Userbase grew from 25 B2B customers to 65 B2B customers
Changes:
Description
Before: ... We have $60k in monthly revenue and are growing 25% per month for the last 4 months. Also, course completion rate is 90% and annual customer retention rate is 100%. We have 25 B2B customers and we up-skill their employees in product management, growth and data analytics, just to start with …
After: ... Our course completion rate is 90% and annual customer retention rate is 100%. We have 65 B2B customers and we up-skill their employees in product management, growth and data analytics, just to start with …
🏥 Health
BrainKey
Brain Longevity Platform
Batch: W19
Summary:
Brain longevity is a main focus now. It includes: brain age assessment, brain age optimization plain and continuous brain age monitoring
Previously, they were making “medical imaging data easy to understand”
Changes:
Headline
Before: We make medical imaging data easy to understand
After: Brain Longevity Platform
Description
Before: BrainKey uses AI to make complex medical imaging data easy for patients to understand. The BrainKey web-based platform makes it easy for physicians to explain medical images to patients. The platform also makes it easy for patients to organize their medical data, view their scans in 3D, and to easily share their data with healthcare providers
After: The BrainKey Platform provides a:
- Brain age assessment
- Brain age optimization plan
- Continuous brain age monitoring
Lion Pose
Clean and clinical skincare for people of color
Batch: W21
Summary:
Lion Pose (previously Oh My Joy Labs) got out of stealth mode
Now they’re doing “Clean and clinical skincare for people of color”
Changes:
Name
Before: Oh My Joy Labs
After: Lion Pose
Headline
Before: CPG brand in Stealth Mode
After: Clean and clinical skincare for people of color
Description
Added: Lion Pose is the only clean and clinically-backed skincare brand targeting people of color (Black, Hispanic, Indian, Asian skin). Our two hero products include a hyperpigmentation serum and zinc-based mineral sunscreen that treat and protect against acne scars and discoloration. Hyperpigmentation affects over 50% of people of color