Simple Habit is a giant in the wellness world. You've probably seen it, maybe even used it. It brought 5-minute meditations to the pockets of millions, making mindfulness accessible for busy people. But before the massive user base and the big-name recognition, it was just an idea. An idea that got its big break when it was accepted into the Y Combinator accelerator.

This wasn't luck. It was a well-crafted application.

The founder, Yunha Kim, built the app to solve her own problem with stress after selling her first startup. That genuine need is the foundation of this entire document. What follows is the exact application that opened the doors to YC. We're going to break down their answers, show you what they did right, and give you a clear path to follow.

This is more than a YC Accepted Application. It's a masterclass in persuasion.

The YC Application

Here is the application, untouched. Read it, and then we'll get into the strategy behind it.

Company

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

5-minute meditation app. Spotify for meditation.

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We built an iOS app that offers 5-minute meditations for life situations throughout the day. For example, meditations to reduce anxiety before a meeting, improve focus at work, and sleep better.

Meditations are recorded by top meditation teachers from all over the world - we currently have over 100 teachers on our platform and are listened to by [redacted].

Our goal is to build the world's leading platform for mindfulness and meditation content. We want to help millions of people learn to live more mindfully and be more resilient.

Progress

How far along are you?

I started the company in Feb 2016 and launched the iOS app in June 2016. In just 3 months, we are reaching close to 100K downloads on our iPhone app. 5% of sign-ups end up paying for a subscription that costs about $12 a month. [Redacted.] Our week-over-week growth rate is [redacted]. We are currently developing Android - expected release date for November.

Simple Habit has already been featured by Apple 5 times and written about by media extensively.

How long have each of you been working on this? How much of that has been full-time? Please explain.

We've been working on the company for 8 months (since February 2016). We have ~40k lines of code for all our platforms combined.

How many active users or customers do you have? If you have some particularly valuable customers, who are they? If you're building hardware, how many units have you shipped?

Since our launch in June 2016, we've had 85k sign ups. Our weekly [redacted].

What is your monthly growth rate?

User growth rate was 95% last month ([redacted] MRR growth rate was [redacted]).

We're interested in your revenue over the last several months. (Not cumulative and not GMV).

We made [redacted] last month in September. We make [redacted] as of today, so we're expecting to make [redacted] in October.

Idea

Why did you pick this idea to work on? Do you have domain expertise in this area? How do you know people need what you're making?

After graduating from Duke in 2011, I worked in investment banking and later founded my first startup, Locket (eventually I sold Locket to Wish). I raised $3m+ for the company and I became more stressed than ever. I tried lots of stress-relief products at the time: massages, lavender pillows, silent retreats and other meditation apps. Meditation worked best for me, and while I liked the meditation apps currently on the market, I didn't like how most apps were one teacher/personality based. I wanted to be able to browse through different types of teachers and teachings and make meditations bite-sized so busy professionals could use it. I built Simple Habit to really serve my needs.

Since launch, we had thousands of users who suffer from stress, anxiety, depression tell us how our app has changed their lives. Check out our app store to see their raving reviews! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simple-habit-mindfulness-meditations/id1093360165

What's new about what you're making? What substitutes do people resort to because it doesn't exist yet (or they don't know about it)?

In contract to Headspace and Calm who have launched a single 'channel,' we're launching a marketplace - a platform for mindfulness, offering a continuously updated stream of meditation content from a variety of teachers.

We're the first to create a meditation platform that curates content from hundreds of high-quality mindfulness professionals and charge subscriptions for access.

We're also the first to introduce a Spotify-like business model to the meditation space. Mindfulness teachers are paid a portion of our subscription revenue commensurate to the number of times their content is listened to. Users get access to meditation content that is diverse in personality and topics.

Silent retreats and in-person meditation studios are other alternatives, but they aren't accessible to all busy working professionals financially or temporally.

What do you understand about your business that other companies in it just don't get?

There are two things that companies in our space don't get:

1. Our competitors don't get that users experience meditation fatigue from listening to the same voice/personality over and over again. In other words, they start to tune out. Imagine if Spotify or iTunes only carried one band. One's enjoyment of music would diminish over time. Similarly, the effectiveness of meditation on a listener diminishes over time as they get accustomed to the techniques and personality of the same meditation teacher.

2. Our competitors also don't understand that teachers can be a powerful channel for user acquisition. The key to developing this channel is to focus on creating a great experience for meditation teachers. This includes setting up the right financial incentive structure for teachers and building them tools that enable and encourage them to be an evangelist of Simple Habit.

How do or will you make money? How much could you make?

In the US alone, 18M people are meditating (reported by Forbes), and this number keeps increasing every year. Capturing [redacted] of these users is a [redacted] business at our current subscription pricing. However, we consider this just the start of what we can do.

According to research by IBISWorld, the meditation and mindfulness industry ranked in nearly $1 billion in 2015. The space is growing very rapidly. More than 22% of employers currently offer mindfulness training for their workforce. However, meditation and mindfulness is just the tip of an iceberg. We believe there are a LOT of ways to monetize a large audience of people who trust our company to guide their activities around their health. We'd like to take on larger market of mental health, stress relief and health & wellness which is a trillion dollar industry.

Equity

List any investments your company has received. Include the name of the investor, the amount invested, the premoney valuation / valuation cap, and the type of security sold (convertible notes, safes or stock).

After launch, I've taken on [redacted] additional investments into the company as a convertible note at a [redacted].

Curious

What convinced you to apply to Y Combinator? Did someone encourage you to apply?

Y Combinator has an incredible network of entrepreneurs and mentors - many of whom have used Simple Habit and directly fall into our target audience. Being part of YC would be an impetus of growth in terms of learning from the community and attracting the best talent. I'm at Stanford GSB right now and I'd happily consider dropping out for YC.

How did you hear about Y Combinator?

So many of my friends have gone through Y Combinator and they rave about it. Founders of Gusto, Flexport, Weave, Muse, Experiment, Tenjin, Innerspace, ProductHunt, Memebox.

General advice

• Be as concise as possible. 1–2 sentences is best.

• For any answers that require more than a couple sentences, the first sentence should act as a TL;DR.

• Heavily optimize for clarity. Reviewers shouldn’t need to read a sentence twice, or look anything up to understand your answers.

• Avoid marketing-speak and jargon.

• Assume the reviewers have little-to-no domain knowledge.

• Each answer should make sense on its own. Reviewers may not read every answer, and they may not read them in order.

• Be honest. No need to exaggerate you answers, YC accepts companies of all stages and backgrounds.

• Improving your company is a better use of your time than improving your YC application. Write your application, then get back to work.

Quick Takeaways

So, what can you steal from this for your own application? Plenty.

• Nail the One-Liner: "5-minute meditation app. Spotify for meditation." It's brilliant. The first part is literal, the second is a perfect analogy that explains the business model. You get it instantly.

• Show Real Numbers: They don't just say "we have users." They say "100K downloads" and "5% of sign-ups end up paying." Concrete numbers prove you're not just dreaming. Numbers build trust.

• Solve Your Own Problem: The founder's story isn't just fluff; it's the "why." She was a stressed-out founder who needed a better, more diverse meditation tool. This shows deep understanding of the user because she is the user.

• Define Your Enemy: They clearly name Headspace and Calm. Then, they explain exactly how they're different (platform vs. single channel). This shows market awareness and a sharp strategic mind. Don't be afraid to name competitors.

• Reveal a Secret Insight: The idea that meditation teachers could be a user acquisition channel is a powerful insight. It shows they understand a dynamic other companies miss. What's your secret?

• Signal Strong Commitment: The founder states she would "happily consider dropping out" of Stanford GSB for YC. This isn't a casual application; it's a top priority. YC wants founders who are all in.

The Final Word

This application is not just a form that was filled out. It's a strategic document engineered for one purpose: to get a "yes." It's direct, packed with proof, and built on a genuine story. It wastes no words.

Your job isn't to copy Simple Habit's answers. It's to copy their approach.

So, what's your next step? Don't just keep reading Y Combinator Application Examples. Open a blank document. Start writing your own answers using these principles. Be brutally honest about your progress. Sharpen your one-liner. Find the "secret" you know about your industry. Build your case, number by number, insight by insight.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How important are user numbers? What if I'm pre-launch?

They are very important if you have them. They are the best proof. If you're pre-launch, you must prove demand in other ways: a waitlist with thousands of sign-ups, compelling user interview results, or a history of building successful products. You have to replace traction with evidence.

2. Simple Habit's founder had a previous exit. Is that a requirement for YC?

Absolutely not. It helps, as it shows experience, but most YC founders are first-timers. What's required is a deep understanding of the problem you're solving. The founder's past experience just gave her a great story and insight into the problem. You need to find your own source of authority.

3. They redacted their revenue. How should I handle sensitive numbers in my own application?

You should not redact anything in your actual application to YC. Be completely transparent. This public version is redacted for privacy, but the YC partners saw the real numbers. Hiding your metrics is a red flag.

4. The application is surprisingly short and direct. Should I add more detail to mine?

No. This is a feature, not a bug. YC reviewers read thousands of applications. They value clarity and brevity above all. Get to the point. Your first sentence should always be the most important one. Think of it as a TL;DR for every answer.

5. How did they prove people needed this before they had 100k users?

The founder's personal story is the first piece of evidence. She was a power user of competitor apps and knew their failings firsthand. For your own idea, you need to show you've done the work. Talk to potential users. Live their problems. The best proof is showing that you need what you're building.