Five Days from an Idea to a YC Application
Maximilian Arnold Co-Founder, Ontora
Max has been taking things apart since he destroyed his father's computer as a child: Lego Mindstorms robots, RC planes his grandmother painted, robotics workshops for refugee children that he ran for seven years. At CODE University in Berlin the side quests kept coming. Second place in a Telekom XR challenge as the only all-student team among three hundred entries. An agency building software for wind farms that ended after nine months when the client bought a competitor. A Stanford exchange he helped turn into a partnership for the whole university. Then a startup tour to Stockholm he half-accidentally ended up running, a decision in a hostel to build something with Leon and David, and a YC deadline five days out. This conversation is about those five days, about what the YC process did to the idea, and about why working in San Francisco feels different to him than working in Berlin.
Why this episode matters
Most YC stories get told from inside the batch, once it has all worked out. This one starts five days before the deadline, with three people locking themselves into a university building and a plan that had existed for a few weeks.
Key moments
- 00:34
Side quests into a main quest
What Ontora actually builds, and the first technical memory he has: destroying his father's computer.
- 07:25
Three days before the deadline
He was going to study robotics in Darmstadt, until his mother cried and until he found out CODE existed.
- 12:20
Opening the door to Stanford
He calls the partnership the most selfish thing he could have done. Up to twenty CODE students a year now go on a scholarship.
- 22:04
The trip he ended up running
He agreed to help a bit with a startup tour to Stockholm, ended up in the driver's seat, and the founding team formed on the way.
- 30:08
Five days to the deadline
The application was meant as an exercise to sharpen the idea. Then they looked up when it was actually due.
- 35:18
One day to prepare
Mock interview after mock interview, a co-founder with a fever of forty, and an idea that changed again during the interview itself.
- 42:01
The call in the bus lane
No rejection email, then an unexpected call from Tom at YC. He pulls over to take it.
- 44:07
What YC actually does
How hands-off the programme really is, and why working in San Francisco feels different to him than working in Berlin.
- 53:31
Launching before it was ready
The first inbound demo requests, and the first time the voice agent got a real reaction out of a customer.
- 61:04
What happens to the work
Where he wants to take Ontora, and how he thinks about companies where AI takes over more and more of it.
Best quotes
“I've spent my whole life doing side quests. And now all of those side quests have turned into one big main quest.”
“I got to know one university three days before the deadline. That was CODE. And it was life-changing.”
“Honestly, we were pretty delusional and confident.”
“Leon had a fever of forty, which obviously wasn't great. But we thought, okay, maybe a seven percent chance we get in.”
“Hey Max, this is Tom from YC. I'd like to talk to you for a second.”
Founder lessons
- 01Side quests only look random from the outside. Pick the ones with people worth knowing in them and the rest sorts itself out later.
- 02You can put a YC application together in five days, but only because of the years you spent building things before that.
- 03Say yes to organising the thing. Max agreed to help a bit with a trip to Stockholm, ended up in the driver's seat, and that is where the founding team actually formed.
- 04Getting into YC takes an enormous number of decisions away from you. Early on that is most of what it does.
- 05San Francisco is not about America. It is about being somewhere nobody shuts the laptop at four.
Resources mentioned
Work with Maximilian
