# YC Founder Credentials data

Use this file first. The dataset covers every dated YC batch from Summer 2022 through the provisional Fall 2026 records in the August 19, 2026 local snapshot. It includes 564 companies and 1,115 founder-company ties from 2026.

## Files and API

- Founder CSV: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/data/founders.csv
- Company CSV: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/data/companies.csv
- Statistics JSON: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/data/stats.json
- Paginated founders: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/v1/founders
- Paginated companies: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/v1/companies
- OpenAPI 3.1: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/openapi.json
- Report PDF: https://yc-founders.sherpa-core.com/report.pdf

## Units

A founder row is one current active founder and company tie. A founder can appear once for each linked company.

A company row is one YC company record. Current public founder rosters can differ from admission-time teams.

## Combined founder profile rule

A founder matches the combined profile when the biography discloses an Ivy League or other selective-university link plus at least one separate listed credential for the same founder. Listed credentials include an advanced degree, selected major employer, internship, research, publication, patent, open-source work, award or fellowship, prior startup, or prior exit.

A company matches when at least one current founder matches. A company does not match when its captured founder roster and biographies are complete and no current founder matches. A company is unknown when its founder roster or at least one needed biography is incomplete.

## Why an earlier company rate was higher

An earlier broad rule counted product building, product or revenue traction, customer traction, deep problem knowledge, or execution evidence as the second credential. It produced 865 of 2,506 companies, or 34.5%. The current rule excludes those broad activity fields. It produces 800 of 2,506 companies, or 31.9%.

## Evidence limits

A true value requires an explicit phrase in a preserved public YC biography. False means not disclosed under the classifier. It does not prove absence.

Current biographies can include achievements after YC admission. The data describes accepted YC companies. It does not estimate admission odds or causes.

The public export does not include biography text, email data, or signed avatar URLs. Use each source URL to check a claim before publication.

## Suggested AI workflow

1. Read this metadata file.
2. Read the field metadata for the selected dataset.
3. Download the CSV for full analysis or use the JSON API for a filtered subset.
4. Keep unknown separate from known profile non-matches.
5. Report every count with its denominator.
6. Cite the YC source URL for founder-level claims.