How to Break Into YC from Europe: David Oort Alonso’s Playbook for Early Stage Founders
Description
In this episode, David Oort Alonso, co-founder of Bloom and Y Combinator alum, breaks down what it really takes to get into YC as a European founder. After six applications, multiple pivots, and finally raising $3.4M in just five days, David shares the lessons that helped him and his team stand out to investors and YC partners.
You’ll learn:
How to know when to pivot versus push through
Why YC cares more about markets than tech—and how to frame yours
How to run a lightning-fast fundraising process that builds FOMO
How to use demos, storytelling, and urgency to win investors without a deck
Why team chemistry and resilience matter as much as the idea
Sign up for exclusive insights from David that didn’t make it into the episode at followthegradient.io.
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