Can you promote in r/ycombinator?
News and discussion around startups and applying to Y Combinator. In 2005, Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. We invest $500,000 in every startup and work intensively with the founders for three months. For the life of their company, founders have access to the most powerful community in the world, essential advice, later-stage funding and programs, recruiting resources, and exclusive deals.
The short answer
Participate as a helpful community member without promoting your product or company; if you must engage about your project, use approved megathreads and avoid links or asks.
What works here
- General discussion about YC and startups
- Using megathreads for feedback/application discussions
- Helpful, non-promotional answers to questions
What gets posts removed
- Direct self-promotion or advertising
- Posting hiring/co-founder or recruitment requests
- Soliciting surveys, DMs, external groups, or leads
- Unapproved product links or demo asks
Where this comes from
No self-promotion
Rule clearly forbids self-promotion, making promotional/vendor posts disallowed
No solicitation
Rule prohibits soliciting surveys, DMs, or external groups, which blocks lead-generation or outreach
No hiring/co-founder posts
Rule forbids hiring or co-founder search posts and points to an external matching tool instead
Megathreads for feedback
Feedback/application discussions are limited to megathreads, so product feedback requests must follow that constraint
Official rules of r/ycombinator
- 01Read the stickied post at the top of the sub.
- 02Don't be a jerk.
- 03Use the search before making a new post.
- 04Use the megathreads for feedback and application discussions.
- 05No self promotion.
- 06No hiring or co-founder search posts.
- 07No memes, politics, or shitposts.
- 08No solicitation of surveys, DMs, external groups, etc
- 09No unplanned AMAs.
- 10No discussions about VCs or other accelerators.
Based on the community’s official rules, analyzed July 2026. Rules change; the community itself is always the source of truth.
Intoru follows these rules for you.
It finds people in r/ycombinator and hundreds of other communities who are looking for what you sell, and drafts replies that fit each community’s rules, so you help first and never read as spam.
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