Use Y Combinator Startup Directory with Founders & Jobs with Python

Search Y Combinator's company directory by batch, industry, status, or keyword, and get each company's profile, founders, and open job postings. No login required.

1. Choose the data you need

Review the published README for supported collection modes, examples, and limits. The recipe below uses the current published input definition.

2. Prepare a source-based input

This JSON contains published prefills and required-field defaults. Review every value for your task before running it; it is not a promise of successful collection.

{
  "batch": "S24",
  "companyUrls": [],
  "highlightBlackFounders": false,
  "highlightHispanicFounders": false,
  "highlightWomenFounders": false,
  "includeFounderProfiles": false,
  "includeJobDescriptions": false,
  "includeLaunchBodies": false,
  "includeLaunches": false,
  "includeNews": false,
  "isHiring": false,
  "maxItems": 3,
  "mode": "search",
  "nonprofit": false,
  "scrapeFounders": true,
  "scrapeOpenJobs": false,
  "sortBy": "default",
  "tags": [],
  "topCompany": false
}

Download input.example.json and save your reviewed copy as input.json.

Field	Type	Required	Description
`mode`	string	required	search filters the directory; byCompany fetches the exact companies in companyUrls.
`searchQuery`	string	optional	Free-text relevance search across company names, descriptions and tags (mode=search).
`batch`	string	optional	YC batch. P = Spring, S = Summer, W = Winter, F = Fall. 'any' includes every batch.
`industry`	string	optional	Exact YC industry facet. 'any' includes every industry.
`region`	string	optional	Exact YC region facet. 'any' includes every region.
`status`	string	optional	Company operating status. 'any' includes every status.
`tags`	array	optional	Exact YC tags; any one match is enough. Common tags: AI, B2B, SaaS, Fintech, Developer Tools, Marketplace, Generative AI, Consumer, Machine Learning, E-commerce, Healthcare, Analytics, Hardware, Open Source, Health Tech, Productivity, Education, AI Assistant, Robotics, Infrastructure.
`isHiring`	boolean	optional	Only companies carrying YC's Is Hiring badge.
`topCompany`	boolean	optional	Only companies carrying YC's Top Company badge.
`nonprofit`	boolean	optional	Only companies carrying YC's Nonprofit badge.
`highlightBlackFounders`	boolean	optional	Only companies YC flags as having Black founders.
`highlightWomenFounders`	boolean	optional	Only companies YC flags as having women founders.
`highlightHispanicFounders`	boolean	optional	Only companies YC flags as having Hispanic or Latino founders.
`minTeamSize`	integer	optional	Drop companies with fewer employees. Companies reporting 0 (unknown) are excluded.
`maxTeamSize`	integer	optional	Drop companies with more employees. Companies reporting 0 (unknown) are excluded.
`sortBy`	string	optional	Directory order follows YC relevance; launchDate puts the newest directory launches first.
`companyUrls`	array	optional	Companies to fetch (mode=byCompany). Accepts full ycombinator.com/companies URLs, /companies/<slug> paths or bare slugs.
`scrapeFounders`	boolean	optional	Add each company's founders with title, bio, LinkedIn, X and profile link. Uses the company page already fetched for the record.
`scrapeOpenJobs`	boolean	optional	Add current job postings with salary and equity ranges, experience, visa, skills and remote signal.
`includeJobDescriptions`	boolean	optional	Fetch one extra page per job for its full description, interview process and hiring manager.
`includeLaunches`	boolean	optional	Add Launch YC post metadata (title, tagline, date, votes, link).
`includeLaunchBodies`	boolean	optional	Add the full text of each Launch YC post. Makes records much larger.
`includeNews`	boolean	optional	Add news items linked from the company page.
`includeFounderProfiles`	boolean	optional	Fetch one extra page per founder for previous roles, schools and current title.
`maxItems`	integer	optional	Stop after this many companies. Applied after filters and before detail pages.

3. Start an Actor run

Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment. Python 3.10 or newer is sufficient; this recipe uses no third-party packages.

Execution may incur charges. Review current pricing on Apify. The request asks for a 120-second timeout and a charge limit; these settings are subject to Apify’s pricing and do not guarantee an all-inclusive spending cap.

import json
import os
import urllib.request

# Save the schema-derived example as input.json; review and edit it first.
with open("input.json", encoding="utf-8") as stream:
    actor_input = json.load(stream)

token = os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fbBWIR9F8RcmhmS4l/runs?timeout=120&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.50",
    data=json.dumps(actor_input).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + token, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    method="POST",
)
# This starts a potentially billable run. Do not automatically retry this POST.
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=40) as response:
    run = json.load(response)["data"]
print("Run ID:", run["id"])
print("Status:", run["status"])
# Inspect and download results in Apify Console once the run succeeds.

4. Inspect the actual results

Open the run in Apify Console and wait for a successful completion. Use the published output schema to locate results and the dataset schema to understand declared views. Missing or optional record fields must not be treated as guaranteed values.

One record per Y Combinator company, with batch, stage, industry, status, founders, open jobs, Launch YC posts, news and media.

Questions before you run

Which inputs are required?

The published required fields are mode

What does this guide verify?

The fields, prefills, and schema links are rendered from the published build. This is a usage recipe, not a paid live extraction test. Source availability and collection results can vary.

What if the run request times out?

Check Apify Console before retrying. The first request may already have created a run. Do not automatically repeat a run-creation POST.

Open on Apify Full Actor reference

Generated from source build u3s5u8dLqnytfJXXx and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.