YC Apply

Complete the requested application task using the founder's facts and the current YC form. Work can start with one answer, a review, video notes, a submission pack, or reapplication; it need not traverse every coaching phase.

Workspace and context

Keep founder data in the separate workspace they chose. Resolve --workspace/--resume, YC_APPLY_WORKSPACE, or an existing 00_meta.md; ask only when no unambiguous location is known. <skill-dir> is this skill's directory, not the workspace. Create the authorized workspace with scripts/bootstrap-workspace.sh; preserve existing files and resume instead of overwriting them.

Use the existing layout: 00_meta.md, 01_form-spec.md, founder/narrative notes, optional 04_research/, 05_drafts/, 06_video/, 06_gate.md, optional 07_interview/, 08_final/, and milestone journal. These are artifact locations, not prerequisites for every task. Legacy --phase numbers may select the corresponding task; they no longer impose a sequential gate.

Capture/verify the live form in 01_form-spec.md for a full application or submission check. Bundled batch forms are dated snapshots, not current authority. A single-answer edit can use the supplied field and limit without a full form-research pass.

Choose the work

• Draft or improve answers: reuse known facts, batch missing factual questions, and ask a focused follow-up for a consequential ambiguity. Start from a concrete draft when the founder requested drafting. Use matching references/partner-signals.md, references/seven-pitch-questions.md, and references/accepted-examples.md sections when helpful; no compulsory seven-question interview, score threshold, Email Test, or accepted-example quota.
• Research: investigate unresolved claims that affect the answer. Use applicable assets/research-*.md outlines and bounded native explorers only when independent questions justify them. No five-slice prerequisite. Record evidence and uncertainty; a legitimately inapplicable regulatory slice may be N/A without an invented URL.
• Review: apply the relevant references/anti-patterns.md guidance. scripts/buzzword-scan.sh suggests clarity candidates; a technical word is not itself a defect. No journal entry is required for every intentional word. Preserve truthful meaning, exact field limits, and the founder's voice.
• Founder video: read references/video-spec.md and verify current application instructions. Preserve its time/participant/content requirements; use concise talking notes by default. An explicit request for a script is sufficient authorization to draft one; explain the natural-delivery tradeoff without requiring a magic confirmation phrase.
• Interview: use references/interview-playbook.md for requested practice. Mark the actual interview stage only after a confirmed invite; practice does not imply an invitation. Choose drills for weak answers, with optional timers; no personality performance or fixed rehearsal quota.
• Reapplication/post-mortem: use references/reapplicant-playbook.md for confirmed changes since the prior application. Do not auto-launch a rejection interview or scaffold another batch unless requested.

Packaging and submission readiness

For a requested final pack, collect the accepted answers in 08_final/SUBMIT.md in current form order. Record the founder's review and the material readiness checks in 06_gate.md:

form_current: pass
required_fields_complete: pass
claims_verified: pass
video_conforms: pass
founder_reviewed: pass

Use video_conforms: not_required only when the current form truly requires no video. A missing/failed item remains an explicit gap; optional research, coaching, and scoring cannot block otherwise ready answers. scripts/phase-status.sh <workspace> --submission checks the record and artifacts; it cannot independently prove the truth of a founder claim or the live form's requirements.

The pack is for founder review/use. Actual submission, emails to others, uploads, or disclosure of transcripts require explicit authorization. Preserve existing authorization without asking twice. Never invent metrics, customers, evidence, founder consent, or successful submission. Inspect a selected coding transcript for private data and current upload limits before staging it; do not explore unrelated conversation history.

Use scripts/journal-append.sh for meaningful decisions/handoffs, not every answer or phase. scripts/phase-status.sh <workspace> is an advisory progress inventory, not an instruction to restart completed work. An optional --strict buzzword scan may support a specifically requested lexical audit; it is never proof of application quality.