Overview

Y Combinator (YC), which started operating in March 2005 in the US, is considered the premier technology startup accelerator in the world. Over 4,000 companies, such as Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Quora, PagerDuty, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch, have been launched through this program. As of January 2023, the collective worth of the leading YC firms exceeded $600 billion.

YC has recently revealed the winter 2023 class list, which features 282 funded startups selected from more than 20,000 applications across the globe. This figure is over 50% lower than the previous year and marks one of the smallest classes in recent years. The decline in the number of startups accepted is likely due to a challenging funding environment.

In the W23 batch, YC observed some notable trends:

• 59% of the batch had applied to YC previously
• 52% of the batch were accepted with just an idea
• 28% of the batch had already raised funds before being accepted to YC
• 77% of the batch had no revenue prior to joining YC
• Only 2% of the batch had a monthly revenue of over $50k when they were accepted
• 86% of W23 founders resided in the Bay Area, whereas in the previous winter batch of 2022, around 50% were located outside of the United States.

The latest YC cohort features several noteworthy themes, including open source, dev tools, and AI. In terms of company verticals, the most prevalent were B2B/Enterprise SaaS (54%), followed by DevTools (17%), Fintech (12%), Healthcare (7%), Consumer (5%), Proptech (3%), Climate/Energy/Sustainability (2%), and Aerospace (1%).

Below are some startups that caught our attention, listed in no particular order. We’ll take a closer look at their name and domain choices.

Namepicks

Scanbase

Scanbase offers an API that enables medical companies to quickly analyze photographs of rapid diagnostic tests and receive immediate results. The startup is led by CEO Jeffrey Lange, a graduate of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design.

The brand name “Scanbase” is well-suited to the company’s area of expertise and focus on machine learning, computer vision, healthtech, telemedicine, and AI. It cleverly combines “scan,” which relates to the startup diagnostic scanning API service, with “base,” which may suggest a foundation or underlying platform that medical companies can build upon to enhance their diagnostic capabilities. Using two related words for a brand name, as seen in the cases of Snapchat and Netflix, can be a highly effective way of communicating a company’s core offering and creating a memorable name. The choice of the domain name, Scanbase.com, is also a clear statement that the company aims to be a top player in its field.

Hadrius

Hadrius is a game-changer for investment managers by automating the ongoing SEC compliance process and eliminating the need for manual reviews, filings, and audit preparation. With Hadrius, compliance teams can save daily hours while maintaining complete control over tasks and flagged items through an intuitive dashboard. This innovative platform streamlines compliance operations and offers investment managers peace of mind, knowing their compliance requirements are being met promptly and efficiently. 

The startup founders have opted for an interesting name, “Hadrius,” which resembles the name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, known for his significant building projects and contributions to Roman society. Hadrian is also known for his efforts to consolidate and organise the Roman bureaucracy, which could be seen as relevant to the company’s focus on automating compliance processes for investment managers. Although the actual reason behind the name selection remains unclear, Hadrius has a strong and memorable sound that, combined with the exact match domain name Hadrius.com, displays a commitment to a solid branding and naming strategy.

Mercoa

Mercoa, founded in San Francisco in 2022, provides B2B fintech companies with a convenient way to offer their customers BillPay and Accounts Payable services. With Mercoa’s drop-in iframe or API, fintech companies can give users a single platform to manage and pay invoices, saving time and streamlining the payment process.

The unique combination of letters in “Mercoa” and the heavy use of vowels creates a smooth and memorable sound, making the name easier to remember and recognise and more likely to stick in the minds of potential customers. Investing in an exact brand match domain, Mercoa.com, along with the strategic choice of name, helps to solidify and strengthen the company’s brand identity. 

Peeba

Peeba, founded by Kevin Cho and Jacky Lai, is an innovative B2B wholesale marketplace transforming how retailers across Asia purchase inventory. As an online platform, Peeba connects verified independent retailers in Asia with unique brands worldwide, offering a one-stop shop for discovering and stocking incredible products. Peeba handles every aspect of the wholesale process, from promoting brands through email and ads to checkout, payment processing, and returns, enabling retailers to focus on growing their business. With Peeba, retailers in Asia have access to a convenient and streamlined wholesale experience.

In 2022, prior to enrolling in Ycombinator, the startup secured $4.2 million in seed funding led by Headline Asia, bringing its total raised to $5.8 million. 

Our mission is to transform how independent retailers discover and connect with unique brands and bring Asia’s B2B wholesale retail supply chain into the modern era in the process

Jacky Lai, co-founder of Peeba for TechCrunch

By securing an exact brand match domain Peeba.com, the startup has made it easier for potential customers to find them online while also establishing a professional and credible brand image.

Teclada

Teclada is a web-based terminal that simplifies remote access for teams and developers. With advanced features like visual autocomplete and AI integration, users can access their computers from anywhere and collaborate seamlessly with multiple users in real-time. Teclada allows multiple users to share terminals, quickly and accurately transforming plain English into advanced command sequences with AI-powered assistance. Access management is secure and effortless with web-based access control, role-based permissions, and sharing by email address. Teclada is the future of remote access and collaboration, enabling teams to work together efficiently from any location.

The Teclada founders made a wise choice by securing the exact brand match domain Teclada.com, positioning their startup for success. In addition to the obvious benefits of making it easier for customers to find them online, having an exact match domain has a powerful psychological impact. By aligning its domain name with its company name, Teclada creates a sense of coherence and consistency that builds trust and reinforces its brand identity. This seamless integration between their name and domain name can be reassuring to customers, as it signals that Teclada is a well-established and reliable player in the remote access and collaboration space. Teclada’s investment in an exact brand match domain demonstrates its commitment to providing a seamless and trustworthy experience to their customers while also making a strategic move that positions them for success.

Highlights

123 companies on the Y Combinator Winter 2023 list have chosen the .com extension for their online presence. The .com extension is usually the best choice when looking for a domain name as it’s most familiar to the end-user and carries much more authority than an alternative extension.

.io is the second preferred choice with 40 companies operating on this extension, followed by .ai with 37 entries. While .io and .ai domains may be less expensive and easier to obtain than some other popular extensions, they may not be as widely recognized by potential customers and may not convey the same level of credibility.

14 companies chose the .dev extension. Launched by Google in 2018, the .dev domain extension was intended to cater specifically to developers and showcase their technical expertise. Since the .dev domain is relatively new, it may not be as widely recognised or trusted by consumers as more established domain extensions. 

12 on the list use the .co domain extension. This extension is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia, but it is also commonly used by companies and individuals as an alternative to the more well-known .com extension.

62 companies secured exact brand match domain names for their brand presence online. Having an exact brand match domain name is a great approach to building trust and credibility online, which are essential for making lasting connections with customers and gaining an edge over the competition.

Dashes are used in 7 names on the list. Adding hyphens is not advised since it adds complexity for consumers who frequently overlook it while typing in a domain name.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

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