Exploding Term Sheets Prompt Y Combinator To Sync Acceptance Dates With Competitors

This evening Y Combinator opened up applications for its Summer 2010 round, marking what will be the fifth anniversary of the program, which has funded 171 startups to date. This round is bringing an important change: the program calendar has been moved up by a month, which means that startups will find out if they've been accepted at nearly the same time that they'll hear back from competing programs like TechStars and DreamIt Ventures . The move stems from the growing competition between Y Combinator, which pioneered the startup mentorship model, and similar programs that have sprung up in its wake. Last March, Y Combinator issued an advisory to prospective applicants warning them of exploding term sheet offers from some of these competitors. These exploding term sheets are nullified within a day or two, which forces startups to quickly decide if they'd like to accept the offer. Because Y Combinator's acceptance dates have historically been later than those of some competitors, this led to some startups joining programs that may not have been their first choice.