Camping With Y Combinator

When was the last time you got paid to go to camp? I’ve never had such good fortune, but a select number of folks will, when they’ll move to Cambridge, Mass for the summer to get guidance and work on their startups.

Y Combinator has opened its Funding Drive for 2007, from which selected applicants will scoot on over to Mountain View to present their ideas, products, and work(s)-in-progress to the investment firm’s deep pockets. There, Y Combinator will do further weeding to send some back home and others (the chosen) to Ivy Town.

Those startups destined for a summer stint in Cambridge will be given $5,000 plus five grand per founder. If you’re interested, don’t go thinking you can round up 20 friends as “co-founders” just to make out with a hefty salary for a few weeks. Y Combinator will catch on.

The Funding Drive is an interesting idea. Having “startup support” on hand to guide you through a rough patch, help you get organized for a big publicity push, or just get all your ducks in a row with a little cash infusion are all great benefits to a funded temporary relocation. If you’re willing to work hard to get past the major hurdles in a single season, it couldn’t hurt to fill out an application. Y Combinator is known for helping Kiko, Reddit, and Loopt get on their feet. You could be next.

There’s still plenty of time to send over petition for a spot. Applications are due by midnight of April 2nd. That’s a Monday. And yes, 2007. Y Combinator states on its website that it works in a startup’s favor to submit early, however, so play it safe and send it in a few weeks in advance. Unless, of course, you want to be cocky about it and think you lock a spot even if the auditions were today. The firm will spend about a week vetting submissions for the best, which they’ll ask to join them in California on the weekend of April 21-22. A very nice part of Cali too, I might add. Spring. Warm. Feeling lucky?

Y Combinator assures applicants that they won’t leave you in limbo on the 22nd, though. They’ll decide on who’s going to Cambridge right then and there. Depending on how much promise they feel a company has, Y Combinator will request a 1-10% stake. The average slice taken is 6%. If you accept (who wouldn’t?), they pop open the golden rollerball and write out the amount you’ll need to get going in June.

Read all of the details on Y Combinator’s website. If you throw your hat into the ring, we wish you luck. Unless your startup sucks. Don’t let it suck.