# Y Combinator Startups, Founders & Hiring Leads Scraper (`jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper`) Actor

Extract YC companies, batches, founder LinkedIn/Twitter profiles, websites, hiring status, and team sizes.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Bhavadharini](https://apify.com/jaiveda) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## 🚀 Y Combinator Scraper: Startups, Founders & Hiring Directory

> **Extract YC-backed startups, batches, founder LinkedIn & Twitter profiles, verified websites, hiring status, and team sizes in seconds.**

***

### 💡 Why This Y Combinator Scraper?

Y Combinator is the premier startup accelerator in the world, having launched tech giants like **Stripe, Airbnb, Coinbase, DoorDash, Scale AI, and Reddit**.

YC startups raise significant funding ($500k+ on day one) and have active budgets for software, recruiting, and agency services. This Actor gives you direct access to this high-value ecosystem:

- 🎯 **B2B Outbound & Sales Prospecting**: Pitch high-growth, newly funded startups looking for dev tools, legal, marketing, and SaaS solutions.
- 👔 **Executive & Tech Recruiting**: Filter specifically for companies marked **"Is Hiring"** to source candidate placements and partner with founders.
- 💼 **Investor & VC Deal Flow**: Discover newly funded startups across recent batches (*W25, S24, W24*) before they hit mainstream headlines.
- 🔗 **Founder Social Profiles**: Automatically enriches company records with **founder full names, job titles, LinkedIn URLs, and Twitter profiles**.
- ⚡ **Lightning-Fast & Reliable**: Directly connects to public search endpoints. Extracts **hundreds of companies in seconds** with zero anti-bot blocks.

***

### ✨ Key Features

- **Founder Enrichment**: Pulls founder names, bios, and direct links to their personal **LinkedIn and Twitter/X accounts**.
- **Batch Filtering**: Target specific batches (e.g. `W25`, `S24`, `W24`, `S23`) or pull all historical companies.
- **Hiring Signal Filter**: Isolate companies that currently have active open job openings (`isHiringOnly: true`).
- **Keyword & Industry Search**: Query by theme (*"AI"*, *"Fintech"*, *"Healthcare"*, *"DevTools"*, *"SaaS"*).
- **Company Metadata**: Team size, locations, company stage (Early, Growth, Public), full descriptions, and logos.

***

### ⚙️ Input Configuration

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | Example / Default |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `query` | String | No | Search keyword for companies or technologies | `"AI"` (or leave empty for all) |
| `batch` | String | No | Filter by YC batch (e.g. `W25`, `S24`, `W24`) | `""` (all batches) |
| `isHiringOnly` | Boolean | No | Filter to only startups with active job openings | `false` |
| `extractFounders`| Boolean | No | Enrich records with founder names and LinkedIn/Twitter URLs | `true` |
| `maxItems` | Integer | No | Maximum number of startup records to collect | `30` |

#### Sample Input (JSON)

```json
{
  "query": "AI",
  "batch": "S24",
  "isHiringOnly": true,
  "extractFounders": true,
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

***

### 📊 Sample Output (Dataset)

Every scraped company record is saved with rich, clean structure in your Apify dataset:

```json
{
  "companyName": "Stripe",
  "slug": "stripe",
  "ycProfileUrl": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe",
  "website": "https://stripe.com",
  "oneLiner": "Financial infrastructure for the internet.",
  "longDescription": "Stripe is a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet...",
  "batch": "Summer 2010",
  "status": "Active",
  "stage": "Growth",
  "isHiring": true,
  "teamSize": 7000,
  "yearFounded": 2010,
  "location": "San Francisco, CA, USA",
  "industry": "Fintech",
  "subindustry": "Fintech -> Payments",
  "tags": ["Fintech", "Payments", "B2B"],
  "companyLinkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/stripe",
  "companyTwitter": "https://twitter.com/stripe",
  "companyCrunchbase": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/stripe",
  "logoUrl": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/...",
  "founders": [
    {
      "fullName": "Patrick Collison",
      "title": "Founder/CEO",
      "bio": "",
      "linkedinUrl": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/",
      "twitterUrl": "https://twitter.com/patrickc",
      "hasEmail": true,
      "avatarUrl": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/..."
    }
  ],
  "totalFoundersFound": 1,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T00:30:00.000Z"
}
```

***

### 💼 High-Value Use Cases

1. **Cold Outbound to Funded Founders**:
   - Filter the latest YC batch (`W25` or `S24`).
   - Export founder LinkedIn URLs and reach out directly with tailored B2B service packages.
2. **Headhunting & Recruiting**:
   - Filter by `isHiringOnly: true` and `industry: AI` to build target accounts for placement candidates.
3. **Market Mapping & Tech Trends**:
   - Analyze which startup categories YC is funding most heavily to spot emerging software trends.

***

### 🔗 Integrations & Export Formats

Export your datasets in any format directly from the Apify Console or API:

- **CSV / Excel** (Ready for sales teams & Apollo/Instantly/Clay import)
- **JSON / NDJSON** (For developers, webhooks, and data pipelines)
- **Automations**: Trigger via **Apify API**, **Webhooks**, **Make**, or **Zapier**.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Keyword to search YC companies (e.g., 'AI', 'Fintech', 'SaaS', 'DevTools', or leave empty for all).

## `batch` (type: `string`):

Filter by specific YC batch (e.g., 'S24', 'W24', 'W25', or leave empty for all).

## `isHiringOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Filter to only companies that currently have open jobs.

## `extractFounders` (type: `boolean`):

Enrich each company with founder names, titles, LinkedIn URLs, and Twitter profiles.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of startup records to collect.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "AI",
  "isHiringOnly": false,
  "extractFounders": true,
  "maxItems": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing YC startups, batches, founder profiles, socials, and hiring status.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jaiveda/yc-startup-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/e0PBKC5EUYXHQ4lfG/builds/f0jHISgm141N6eequ/openapi.json