# Y Combinator Scraper & Startup Leads API (Companies & Founders) (`kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper`) Actor Scrape all 6,270+ Y Combinator companies, 13,900+ founder LinkedIn profiles, hiring signals, and tech stacks. Fast official API, zero proxy fees, $0.003/record. - **URL**: https://apify.com/kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Kamer Ozkan](https://apify.com/kamerozkan) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $3.00 / 1,000 extracted yc records This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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 & Startup Leads API (Companies & Founders) [![Run on Apify](https://apify.com/actor-badge?actor=kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper)](https://apify.com/kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper) [![Apify Actor](https://img.shields.io/badge/Apify-Actor-blue.svg)](https://apify.com/kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper) [![Pricing](https://img.shields.io/badge/Pricing-$0.003%20/%20record-green.svg)](https://apify.com/kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper) [![Maintenance](https://img.shields.io/badge/Maintained%3F-yes-brightgreen.svg)](https://apify.com/kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper) Ultra-fast, browserless scraper and real-time data API for the complete **Y Combinator** startup ecosystem (`ycombinator.com/companies` and `ycombinator.com/founders`). Extract verified company intelligence, tech tags, team metrics, hiring signals, and founder LinkedIn profiles directly via official endpoints. *** ### Who Buys and Uses This Actor? - **Venture Capital & Angel Investors**: Spot emerging stealth startups before demo day. Filter by cohort, industry (AI, Fintech, Bio), or location to power automated dealflow pipelines. - **B2B Outbound Sales & SDR Teams**: Connect with well-funded founders holding fresh capital. Obtain verified founder LinkedIn URLs and active hiring signals to time your outreach perfectly. - **Executive Recruiters & Talent Agencies**: Track fast-growing YC startups with active job openings (`isHiring: true`) to source high-paying candidate placements. - **Market Intelligence & Corporate Development**: Map tech stacks, market trends, team sizing, and alumni networks across 51 YC cohorts from W05 to W26. *** ### Why Choose This Scraper? - **Simple Pay-Per-Result Pricing**: Priced at flat **$0.003 per extracted record** ($3.00 per 1,000 results). No monthly retainer or recurring subscription required. - **Zero Browser Overhead**: Built on pure, asynchronous HTTP requests with sub-50ms query times. Runs efficiently on only 128 MB to 256 MB RAM. - **No 1,000-Item Pagination Wall**: YC search interfaces cap results at 1,000 records per search query. This scraper automatically partitions historical batches across all 51 cohorts, letting you export the entire 6,270+ company and 13,900+ founder database without missing a single company. - **Deep Social & Founder Enrichment**: Captures founder LinkedIn URLs, X / Twitter profiles, avatar photos, company socials (GitHub, Twitter, LinkedIn, Crunchbase), and active hiring flags. - **Console-Ready Table Views**: Pre-configured visual Apify Console table views with company logos and clickable web links. *** ### Output Modes 1. **Companies (`outputMode: "companies"`)**: Full company profile, funding batch, industry tags, hiring status, team size, and an array of verified founders with LinkedIn URLs. 2. **Founders (`outputMode: "founders"`)**: Individual founder profiles with current titles, company affiliations, cohort batches, and direct LinkedIn profile links. 3. **Both (`outputMode: "both"`)**: Combines company records and founder records in a single dataset with an `itemType` field. *** ### Input Parameters | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `outputMode` | String | `"companies"` | Output format: `"companies"`, `"founders"`, or `"both"`. | | `searchQuery` | String | `""` | Keyword search across company name, one-liner, and description (e.g. `"artificial intelligence"`, `"fintech"`). | | `batches` | Array | `[]` | Filter by YC batch cohorts (e.g. `["Winter 2026", "Summer 2025"]`). Leave empty for all batches. | | `industries` | Array | `[]` | Filter by industry (e.g. `["B2B", "Fintech", "Healthcare", "Consumer"]`). | | `status` | String | `"all"` | Operational status: `"all"`, `"Active"`, `"Acquired"`, `"Inactive"`, `"Public"`. | | `isHiring` | Boolean | `false` | When true, returns only startups with active job openings. | | `topCompanyOnly` | Boolean | `false` | When true, filters to top-tier YC companies (e.g. Stripe, Airbnb, DoorDash, Coinbase). | | `includeDeepDetails` | Boolean | `true` | Enriches company records with founder LinkedIn links, bios, and company social handles. | | `maxItems` | Integer | `50` | Maximum number of records to return. Increase for bulk syncs. | *** ### JSON Input Examples #### Example 1: Active AI Companies Hiring Now ```json { "outputMode": "companies", "searchQuery": "artificial intelligence", "status": "Active", "isHiring": true, "includeDeepDetails": true, "maxItems": 100 } ``` #### Example 2: Recent Cohort Founder Outreach Pipeline ```json { "outputMode": "founders", "batches": ["Winter 2026", "Summer 2025"], "industries": ["B2B", "Fintech"], "maxItems": 250 } ``` *** ### JSON Output Examples #### Company Record (`outputMode: "companies"`) ```json { "id": 240, "name": "Stripe", "slug": "stripe", "website": "http://stripe.com", "one_liner": "Economic infrastructure for the internet.", "long_description": "Stripe is a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet. Businesses of every size use our software to accept payments and manage their businesses online.", "batch": "Summer 2009", "status": "Active", "stage": "Growth", "team_size": 7000, "year_founded": "2009", "location": "San Francisco, CA, USA", "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada" ], "industry": "Fintech", "subindustry": "Fintech", "tags": [ "Fintech", "Payments", "SaaS", "B2B" ], "top_company": true, "isHiring": true, "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/e5ccedd9995f6524b4a0379062eb67f7c991613e.png", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/stripe/", "twitter_url": "https://twitter.com/stripe", "github_url": "https://github.com/stripe", "crunchbase_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/stripe", "founders": [ { "name": "Patrick Collison", "title": "Founder/CEO", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/", "twitter_url": "https://twitter.com/patrickc", "avatar_thumb": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/avatars/240.png", "bio": "Co-founder and CEO of Stripe.", "is_active": true }, { "name": "John Collison", "title": "Founder/President", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbcollison/", "twitter_url": "https://twitter.com/collision", "avatar_thumb": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/avatars/241.png", "bio": "Co-founder and President of Stripe.", "is_active": true } ] } ``` #### Founder Record (`outputMode: "founders"`) ```json { "id": 14210, "first_name": "Patrick", "last_name": "Collison", "full_name": "Patrick Collison", "current_company": "Stripe", "company_slug": "stripe", "current_title": "Co-Founder and CEO", "batches": [ "S09" ], "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcollison/", "twitter_url": null, "avatar_thumb": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/avatars/240.png", "regions": "San Francisco Bay Area", "top_company": true } ``` *** ### Step-by-Step No-Code Integration Guides Connect Y Combinator intelligence directly into your daily dealflow, outbound prospecting, or CRM stack without writing custom code. #### 1. Google Sheets (Live Data Sync) Sync freshly funded YC startups into your Google Spreadsheet automatically: - **Instant Formula**: In cell `A1` of any Google Sheet, paste: ```excel =IMPORTDATA("https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/{DATASET_ID}/items?format=csv&clean=1") ``` *(Replace `{DATASET_ID}` with the dataset ID from your Actor run).* - **Scheduled Sync via Apify**: Go to the **Integrations** tab of this Actor in Apify Console, select **Google Sheets**, and connect your target spreadsheet. New records will append automatically on every scheduled batch run. #### 2. Make.com (CRM & Slack Notifications) Set up automated alerts for newly funded companies: 1. Create a new scenario in Make.com and add the **Apify: Run Actor** module. 2. Select `kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper` and configure your search filter (e.g. `status = "Active"`, `isHiring = true`). 3. Add a **Filter** step: Keep records where `industry = "Fintech"` or `isHiring = true`. 4. Add a **HubSpot / Salesforce / Notion** module: Create new company and contact records with founder LinkedIn profile URLs. 5. Add a **Slack** module: Post high-priority dealflow alerts into your `#dealflow-alerts` channel. #### 3. n8n Workflow (Cold Outbound Prospecting) Automate founder outreach sequences: 1. In n8n, add an **Apify Node** triggered by a schedule (e.g. every Monday morning). 2. Set `outputMode` to `"founders"` with your target YC batches (e.g. `["Winter 2026"]`). 3. Pass the founder list into an email verification node or data enrichment service (Clay, Hunter, Apollo). 4. Auto-enroll verified founder contacts into your cold outreach platform (Instantly, Smartlead). #### 4. Webhooks (Real-Time Backend Push) Send extracted data straight to your custom API or webhook endpoint upon run completion: 1. In the Apify Actor console, navigate to the **Integrations** tab. 2. Click **Add Webhook** and paste your webhook endpoint URL (e.g. `https://api.yourcompany.com/webhooks/yc-leads`). 3. Select the trigger event: `ACTOR.RUN.SUCCEEDED`. 4. Your server will receive an HTTP POST request containing the run metadata and dataset URL as soon as the run finishes. *** ### Automated Weekly Schedule (Recurring Retention Recipe) Do not run scrapers manually every time Y Combinator updates. Set up an automated weekly schedule to keep your pipeline continuously refreshed with newly funded startups and founders: 1. **Open the Schedules Tab**: In your Apify Console, navigate to **Schedules** > **Create new schedule**. 2. **Set Cron Expression**: Choose **Every Monday at 08:00 UTC** (`0 8 * * 1`) to receive fresh deals at the start of every business week. 3. **Select Actor**: Choose `kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper` and configure your target criteria (e.g. `status: "Active"`, `isHiring: true`, `outputMode: "companies"`). 4. **Auto-Sync to Google Sheets / CRM**: Under the Actor's **Integrations** tab, select **Google Sheets** (or webhook to HubSpot/Salesforce). New weekly records will automatically append to your live spreadsheet. 5. **Team Alerts**: Connect Slack integration to ping your `#dealflow` or `#sales-leads` channel every Monday morning with the newly extracted startups. This automated recipe transforms one-off data exports into a continuous, hands-off dealflow engine for your investment or sales team. *** ### Pay-Per-Event Pricing Value Proposition | Item | This Apify Actor | |---|---| | **Pricing Model** | **Pay-Per-Event ($0.003 / record)** | | **Cost for 1,000 Startups** | **$3.00 flat** | | **Cost for 10,000 Records** | **$30.00 flat** | | **Proxy / Bandwidth Fees** | **None (no proxy needed)** | | **Memory** | **Browserless, 128 MB RAM** | | **More than 1,000 results** | **Full 51-batch partitioning** | | **Founder LinkedIn URLs** | **Included in every record** | Zero recurring subscription fees. You only pay for the exact volume of startup and founder records you extract. *** ### Developer Quickstart & Organic Search Engine Keywords Target high-intent search terms: `y combinator companies scraper github`, `yc founder dataset`, `y combinator api`, `yc dealflow scraper`, `scrape y combinator`, `y combinator linkedin extractor`. #### Python Quickstart ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient ## Initialize client with your Apify API token client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN") ## Configure scraper input run_input = { "outputMode": "companies", "searchQuery": "fintech", "status": "Active", "isHiring": True, "maxItems": 50, } ## Run scraper actor run = client.actor("kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) ## Fetch and print results for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(f"{item['name']} ({item['batch']}) - {item.get('website')}") ``` #### Node.js / JavaScript Quickstart ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN', }); const input = { outputMode: 'companies', searchQuery: 'artificial intelligence', isHiring: true, maxItems: 50, }; const run = await client.actor('kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper').call(input); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); console.log(`Retrieved ${items.length} YC companies.`); ``` #### Direct cURL Command ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/kamerozkan~yc-companies-founders-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"outputMode": "companies", "searchQuery": "ai", "maxItems": 50}' ``` *** ### Frequently Asked Questions **Does this scraper require residential proxies?** No. All requests query direct structured API endpoints without browser automation or aggressive bot challenges. You incur zero proxy bandwidth expenses. **How do you handle YC pagination limits?** The Y Combinator web frontend caps search queries at 1,000 items. This Actor automatically partitions requests across all 51 historical cohorts (W05 to W26), allowing you to extract all 6,270+ companies and 13,900+ founders without data truncation. **Can I extract only founder profiles?** Yes. Set `outputMode` to `"founders"` to extract individual founder records containing full names, current roles, company slugs, and verified LinkedIn URLs. **How up-to-date is the startup data?** Data is fetched live during every run directly from Y Combinator directory indices. As soon as a startup launches on YC or an existing company updates hiring status, your next run captures the latest changes immediately. *** ### Support and feedback - Found a bug or missing a field? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab of this Actor. We reply within 48 hours and ship most fixes within a few days. - Have an idea for a feature? Issues are the fastest way to get it built. - If the Actor saves you time, a short review on this page helps other users find it. # Actor input Schema ## `outputMode` (type: `string`): Choose whether to extract company profiles, founder profiles, or both. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Keyword search across company names, one-liners, and descriptions (e.g. 'artificial intelligence', 'compliance'). Leave empty for all. ## `batches` (type: `array`): Filter by specific YC batches (e.g. \['Winter 2026', 'Summer 2025']). Leave empty for all batches. ## `industries` (type: `array`): Filter by industry (e.g. \['B2B', 'Fintech', 'Healthcare', 'Consumer', 'Industrials', 'Education']). Leave empty for all. ## `status` (type: `string`): Filter by company operational status. ## `isHiring` (type: `boolean`): Filter to only companies that currently have open job positions. ## `topCompanyOnly` (type: `boolean`): Filter to only Y Combinator top valued companies (e.g. Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase, DoorDash). ## `includeDeepDetails` (type: `boolean`): Enrich companies with direct founder LinkedIn and social profiles, founder bios, and company social handles. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of records to return. For zero-config trial runs, defaults to 50. ## Actor input object example ```json { "outputMode": "companies", "searchQuery": "", "batches": [], "industries": [], "status": "all", "isHiring": false, "topCompanyOnly": false, "includeDeepDetails": true, "maxItems": 50 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): Default dataset containing extracted company and founder profiles. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-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 kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,kamerozkan/yc-companies-founders-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 ` 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/Gh9QGZyjheDKshRJQ/builds/ElsKOOdwEtRiUbm7M/openapi.json