YCombinator Startup School Forum

Q: Is the Startup School forum still available?

We could not confirm it. The current Startup School pages do not mention a forum, and the forum page did not load for us on 5 Nov 2026. Log in to startupschool.org to check your own access.

Q: Is Startup School free?

Yes. YC says Startup School is completely free. All you need is a device with internet access.

Q: What does Startup School include?

A course, co-founder matching and weekly updates. The course takes about seven weeks at one to two hours a week, and covers MVPs, funding, growth and teams.

Q: How does YC co-founder matching work?

You build a private profile and invite matches. Profiles are only visible to other approved users, approval can take up to a week, and you can send 15 invites a week.

Q: Where else can founders talk to each other?

In other founder communities. See our Startup School forum alternatives.

The founder forum inside YC's free Startup School. Its current status is unclear.

Forum status unclearStartup School is freeY Combinator

Visit startupschool.org ↗Last verified: 5 Nov 2026

Fact-checked

Refael EliyahuMarketing, Startup StashEconomics-trained and numbers-first. He owns content, SEO, and distribution here, and every tools page goes through him before the Fact-checked mark goes live.

FreeStartup School

UnclearForum status

100,000+Co-founder matches

~7 weeksCourse length

The short version

Is the YC Startup School forum still open?

We could not confirm it. Y Combinator's Startup School is live and free, but its current homepage and FAQ do not mention a forum, and the forum search page could not be loaded on 5 Nov 2026.

When YC relaunched Startup School as a year-round program in June 2020, students could talk through a forum, sharing app feedback and advice on topics like valuing a pre-seed startup. Today startupschool.org describes a free online course taught by YC partners, a weekly update tool, and co-founder matching, which it calls the largest such platform with over 100,000 matches made. The co-founder matching rules say the platform should only be used to find a co-founder.

Bottom line: sign up for Startup School for the free course and co-founder matching. If you mainly want an open founder forum, use one of the communities on our alternatives page instead.

What it does

Key features

Free startup course

Talks from YC partners on building an MVP, funding, growth, teams and applying to YC, at your own pace.

Co-founder matching

Create a private profile, review suggested candidates and send up to 15 invites a week.

Weekly updates

A weekly update tool to track your growth and progress.

Founder forum

In 2020, students used a forum to share feedback and advice. It is not mentioned on the current site.

What it costs

YCombinator Startup School Forum pricing (2026)

Plan	Price	What you get
Startup School course	Free	Live. YC says "Startup School is completely free."
Co-founder matching	Free	Live. Profiles need approval, which may take up to a week.
Startup School forum	Free	Unclear. Not mentioned on the current site, and the forum page did not load for us.

Source: startupschool.org and its FAQ on 5 Nov 2026. Startup School has never charged a fee.

Honest fit

Who it's for, who it isn't

Pick Startup School forum if

You want a free startup course from YC partners
You are looking for a co-founder
You want a simple tool to track weekly progress

Look elsewhere if

You mainly want an open founder forum, which we could not confirm exists today
You want general discussion, since co-founder matching is only for finding a co-founder
You want a small, vetted, paid peer group

What people ask

Startup School forum FAQ

Is the Startup School forum still available?

We could not confirm it. The current Startup School pages do not mention a forum, and the forum page did not load for us on 5 Nov 2026. Log in to startupschool.org to check your own access.

Is Startup School free?

Yes. YC says Startup School is completely free. All you need is a device with internet access.

What does Startup School include?

A course, co-founder matching and weekly updates. The course takes about seven weeks at one to two hours a week, and covers MVPs, funding, growth and teams.

How does YC co-founder matching work?

You build a private profile and invite matches. Profiles are only visible to other approved users, approval can take up to a week, and you can send 15 invites a week.

Where else can founders talk to each other?

In other founder communities. See our Startup School forum alternatives.

Keep comparing

Startup School forum alternatives

Startup School forum alternativesOther founder forums to join

Startup founder communitiesOur full community list

Indie Hackers alternativesCommunities for bootstrappers