YC Startup School Forum Alternatives for Founders

Y Combinator's Startup School still runs and is still free. What it no longer lists is a forum. The site now describes three things: a self-paced course that takes about 7 weeks at 1 to 2 hours a week, co-founder matching with "over 100,000 matches made", and a weekly update tool for tracking growth. The FAQ mentions no discussion board, and startupschool.org/forum returns an error.

So the options depend on what you used the forum for. If you came for open questions and feedback from other founders, the free communities below cover it. If you came for a co-founder, Startup School's own matching tool is still the biggest option, although it limits you to 15 invites a week. If you want a smaller, vetted peer group, the paid picks are worth a look.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Indie Hackers

Most of what the Startup School forum offered, open threads where founders ask each other things, now happens on Indie Hackers. The front page carries a daily Build Board of build-in-public posts, Partner Up listings from people looking for co-founders and collaborators, and founder case studies, some locked to IH+ subscribers.

The tone is different from YC. Many members are bootstrapping and care about revenue more than fundraising. Stripe bought the site in 2017, and on April 5, 2023 the founders said it was independent again. Our Indie Hackers alternatives page covers more communities of this kind.

Best for: Founders who want an open forum for questions, progress posts and finding collaborators.

Pricing:

• Free to read and post
• IH+ subscription opens some case studies; price not published

Watch out for:

• Fundraising and accelerator advice is thin, because much of the community is bootstrapping.
• Partner Up is a board, not a matching system. There are no profiles to filter by skill the way Startup School matching works.

Official site: Indie Hackers.

Hacker News

Hacker News is the forum Y Combinator runs itself. Ask HN threads take open questions, and Show HN is where you post something people can try. Both are free.

The readership is technical, so Show HN works best for developer tools and products people can try in a browser. The Show HN rules ask you to be around to answer comments, which turns a post into a live feedback session.

Best for: Technical founders who want blunt feedback from engineers and the YC community.

Pricing:

• Free; the Show HN guidelines list no fee

Watch out for:

• The Show HN guidelines rule out landing pages, fundraisers, blog posts and sign-up pages, so an idea with no product yet has nowhere to go but Ask HN.
• Threads fall off the front page within hours, and there is no way to follow a founder's progress over months.

Official site: Hacker News.

Reddit founder subreddits

For a quick answer to a narrow question, such as how to split equity or where to incorporate, subreddits like r/startups and r/Entrepreneur are the busiest public places to ask. They are free to join, and old threads stay searchable.

Many subreddits allow self-promotion only on set days. An Indie Hackers list collects those days for the bigger founder subreddits.

Best for: Founders who need a fast answer to one specific question.

Pricing:

• Free to join and post

Watch out for:

• Moderators remove posts and ban for promotion. One founder wrote on Indie Hackers that r/startups banned him after his post reached the top of the month.
• Anyone can answer, so advice from people who have never run a company sits next to advice from people who have.

Official site: Reddit founder subreddits.

MicroConf Connect

MicroConf Connect is a paid community for bootstrapped B2B SaaS founders. Membership includes 400+ conference talks and a quarterly Ask Rob Anything session, and there are no revenue minimums to join.

The Connect page prices it at $49 a month or $499 a year, with a 30-day refund window on both. The paywall keeps the group smaller and more focused than a free forum.

Best for: SaaS founders who plan to grow without venture money.

Pricing:

• Monthly: $49
• Annual: $499, which the page says saves $89
• 30-day refund window

Watch out for:

• Applications are paused until November 17, 2026, so new members have to wait to join.
• It is SaaS only. Hardware, consumer and marketplace founders will find little aimed at them.

Official site: MicroConf Connect.

Founders Network

Founders Network is invite-only peer mentoring for founders, and it takes no equity. Members are grouped by stage: Launch (pre-revenue to $10K revenue, up to $100K raised), Scale ($10K to $1M revenue, $100K to $3M raised) and Lead ($1M+ revenue, $3M+ raised), as the Founders Network homepage sets out.

Stage groups solve a problem the open forum had: a first-time founder and a Series A CEO need different advice, and here they are not in the same thread.

Best for: Founders with some traction who want a vetted peer group at the same stage.

Pricing:

• Annual membership; dues depend on your companies' funding or revenue
• Membership is by application; price on request

Watch out for:

• Membership is by application, with a monthly committee decision, and the price is on request, so you cannot compare dues before you apply.

Official site: Founders Network.

WIP

WIP is a small community of makers who log what they ship every day and meet in weekly video hangouts. The homepage counts 3,854 makers, and new members join by invitation from an existing one.

It suits founders who used the Startup School weekly update for accountability more than for discussion. A daily log in front of peers keeps a side project moving.

Best for: Solo makers who want daily accountability more than advice.

Pricing:

• Membership by invitation from an existing member
• Pro: paid upgrade with streak freezes, private projects and API access; price not published

Watch out for:

• Without a member to invite you, there is no clear way in.
• The community is small, so expect a handful of replies to a question, not dozens.

Official site: WIP.

GrowthMentor

When a forum thread is not enough, GrowthMentor books you a call with someone who has done the job. It lists 750+ vetted mentors, and the GrowthMentor pricing page sells unlimited calls, one at a time, for $75 a month.

The yearly plan gives three months free and lets you hold three calls at a time.

Best for: Founders stuck on marketing or growth who want an expert on a call this week.

Pricing:

• Monthly: $75, unlimited calls one at a time
• Yearly: 3 months free and three calls at a time; yearly total not published
• First-call guarantee: refund if you ask within 14 days

Watch out for:

• There is no free trial. The refund covers only the first call.
• It is mentoring, not a community, so you will not meet founders at your own stage.

Official site: GrowthMentor.

Product Hunt

Product Hunt fits the stage after Startup School, once there is something to show. Launching is "100% free to use", you do not need a hunter, and products compete for Product of the Day on the homepage. The launch guide covers the rules.

Comments on launch day work as a burst of user feedback, which the old forum offered only slowly.

Best for: Founders with a working product who want a day of feedback and early users.

Pricing:

• Free to launch

Watch out for:

• It is a one-day race. Company accounts are not allowed, and a launch competes with everything posted that morning.

Official site: Product Hunt.

How to choose

When to stay with Startup School

Keep using Startup School for its course and for co-founder matching. No free alternative here matches over 100,000 matches made, and the Startup School FAQ keeps profiles visible only to approved members. The rules also keep it focused: using the platform to hire or sell can get you removed. Use one of the communities above for the discussion part.

Frequently asked questions