# Y Combinator Founders Scraper (`datacach/yc-founders-scraper`) Actor

Extracts the full Y Combinator founders directory (~13,400) directly from the Algolia backend that powers ycombinator.com/founders. Fast, no browser.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datacach/yc-founders-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [DataCach](https://apify.com/datacach) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media, Automation
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.99 / 1,000 founders

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Y Combinator Founders Scraper

**Scrape the entire [Y Combinator founders directory](https://www.ycombinator.com/founders) — all ~13,400 YC founders — into clean, structured JSON, CSV, or Excel.** This **Y Combinator founders scraper** pulls data **straight from the Algolia search API** that powers the YC website, so it is **fast, reliable, needs no browser, no proxies, and no API key**. Run it on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com) for **API access, scheduling, monitoring, integrations (Zapier, Make, Slack), and one-click exports**.

### What is the Y Combinator Founders Scraper?

The Y Combinator Founders Scraper is a tool that **extracts every public founder** listed on `ycombinator.com/founders`, including **name, current title, current company, batch(es), industry, region, top-company flag, avatar, and the company profile URL**. You can scrape the **full founders directory**, a **specific set of batches** (e.g. `S21`), filter by **role** (e.g. `CEO`, `CTO`), or run a **search query** (e.g. `Brian Chesky`) that mirrors the website's own search box.

Because the YC founders directory is served by **Algolia**, this scraper talks to that **API directly** instead of rendering paginated, JavaScript-heavy pages in a headless browser. The result is a scrape that finishes the **entire directory in well under a minute** — far faster and lighter than a browser-based crawler.

> Looking for company-level data instead? See the companion **Y Combinator Companies Scraper**.

### What can the YC Founders Scraper do?

- 📦 **Scrape the full Y Combinator founder list** — all ~13,400 founders (W05 to the latest batch) in a single run.
- 🔍 **Search by keyword** — mirror the YC search box with a `query` like `Brian Chesky` or `DoorDash`.
- 🏷️ **Filter like the YC sidebar** — by **Top Company Founder**, **batch**, **company industry / subindustry**, and **company role / title**, plus an extra **region** filter exposed by the backend.
- 🤖 **No browser, no proxies, no auth** — talks to the Algolia backend over plain HTTP, so it's fast and resilient.
- 📤 **Export anywhere** — download as **JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML**, or pull results via the **Apify API**.
- ⏱️ **Automate it** — **schedule** recurring snapshots, **monitor** new batches, and connect to **Zapier, Make, Slack, Airbyte, Google Sheets**, and more.

### What data can you extract from Y Combinator founders?

Each founder becomes one structured dataset record. Representative fields:

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `full_name`, `first_name`, `last_name` | Founder name |
| `current_title` | Title at their current company (e.g. `CEO`, `CTO`) |
| `current_company`, `company_slug` | Current company and its YC slug |
| `all_companies_text` | All companies associated with the founder |
| `batches` | YC batch code(s), e.g. `["S13"]` |
| `yc_parent_industries` | Top-level industry of the company |
| `yc_industries`, `yc_subindustries` | Fine-grained industry classification |
| `current_region` | Founder's current country/region |
| `yc_titles` | All titles recorded for the founder |
| `top_company` | Whether they founded a YC "top company" |
| `avatar_thumb` | Profile photo URL |
| `hnid`, `url_slug` | Founder handle / slug |
| `yc_company_url` | Link to their company's YC profile |
| `objectID`, `id` | Unique identifiers |

### How do I scrape the Y Combinator founders directory?

1. Click **Try for free** / **Start**.
2. Leave the input empty to scrape **every founder**, or set a **search query** and/or any combination of **filters** (batch, industry, role, etc.) to narrow the results.
3. Click **Save & Start**.
4. When the run finishes, open the **Output** tab and **download** the data as **JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML** — or pull it via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2).

### Input

Every field is **optional**. Leave everything empty to scrape the **entire founders directory**. Add a search term and/or any combination of filters to narrow the results — they map one-to-one to the filter sidebar on the YC founders page. Filters of the *same* type are combined with **OR**; *different* filter types are combined with **AND** (e.g. `industries: ["Fintech"]` + `roles: ["CEO"]` returns CEOs of Fintech companies).

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | Full-text search term (founder name, company, etc.), like the YC search box. |
| `topCompanyFoundersOnly` | boolean | Only founders of YC "top companies" (the *Top Company Founder* toggle). |
| `batches` | array (enum) | YC batches as short codes, e.g. `["S21", "W22"]`. |
| `industries` | array (enum) | Top-level company industry (9 broad sectors). |
| `subindustries` | array (enum) | Fine-grained company subcategories (e.g. `Payments`, `Security`). |
| `roles` | array (enum) | Company role / title (e.g. `Founder`, `CEO`, `CTO`, `Co-Founder`). |
| `regions` | array (enum) | Founder's current country/region (extra filter, not in the site sidebar). |
| `maxItems` | integer | Maximum number of founders to store (`0` = no limit). On the **free plan** this is capped at **10 founders** — see [Free plan vs. paid plan](#free-plan-vs-paid-plan). |
| `maxConcurrency` | integer | Number of parallel requests to the backend (default `10`). |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Optional proxy settings. Not required — the backend has no anti-bot protection. |

Example input — every founder:

```json
{}
```

Example input — CEOs of Fintech companies from the W22 and S21 batches:

```json
{
  "industries": ["Fintech"],
  "roles": ["CEO"],
  "batches": ["W22", "S21"]
}
```

#### Filter values

- **Top Company Founder**: boolean toggle for founders of companies YC flags as a "top company".
- **Industries** (9): `B2B`, `Consumer`, `Education`, `Fintech`, `Government`, `Healthcare`, `Industrials`, `Real Estate and Construction`, `Unspecified`.
- **Batches** (49): short codes `W27`, `F26`, `S26`, `P26`, `W26`, `F25`, `S25` … `S05` — `W`=Winter, `P`=Spring, `S`=Summer, `F`=Fall, two-digit year. Listed newest first, with readable labels (e.g. `Summer 2021 (S21)`) in the Input tab.
- **Subindustries** (59): `Agriculture`, `Analytics`, `Asset Management`, `Banking and Exchange`, `Climate`, `Consumer Finance`, `Healthcare IT`, `Payments`, `Security`, `Supply Chain and Logistics`, … — all 59 selectable from the dropdown in the Input tab.
- **Roles / titles**: the full taxonomy of company titles, ordered by frequency (`Founder`, `CEO`, `CTO`, `Co-Founder`, `COO`, …) — all selectable from the dropdown in the Input tab. These are raw, free-text titles from founder profiles, so the list includes many unusual variants.
- **Regions** (105): every country (`United States of America`, `India`, `United Kingdom`, `France`, …) plus `Unspecified`. Full enum in the Input tab.

### Output example

Each founder becomes one dataset item. You can download the dataset in various formats such as **JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel**. A complete example record:

```json
{
  "id": 43161,
  "first_name": "Martin",
  "last_name": "Daniel",
  "hnid": "martindaniel4",
  "avatar_thumb": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/avatars/b8c0cc5c094d3ffb54643db907288af0e078be13.jpg",
  "current_company": "Carbonfact",
  "current_title": null,
  "company_slug": "carbonfact",
  "top_company": false,
  "url_slug": "martin-daniel",
  "all_companies_text": "Carbonfact",
  "yc_industries": [["Industrials", "Climate"]],
  "yc_parent_industries": ["Industrials"],
  "yc_subindustries": ["Industrials -> Climate"],
  "current_region": "France",
  "yc_titles": ["Founder"],
  "batches": ["S21"],
  "_tags": ["ycdc_public"],
  "objectID": "43161",
  "full_name": "Martin Daniel",
  "yc_company_url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/carbonfact"
}
```

> **Note on founder profile links:** Y Combinator does not publish a standalone public page per founder — founders are shown on their company's profile. The `yc_company_url` field therefore links to the founder's current company on the YC directory.

### Free plan vs. paid plan

| | Free plan | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| **Founders per run** | Up to **10** founders | **Unlimited** — the full ~13,400-founder directory |
| **`maxItems`** | Ignored above 10 (capped) | Honored fully (`0` = no limit) |
| **Search & all filters** | ✅ Available | ✅ Available |
| **All output fields** | ✅ Available | ✅ Available |
| **Exports (JSON, CSV, Excel, API)** | ✅ Available | ✅ Available |

On the **free plan**, every run returns at most **10 founders**, regardless of the `maxItems` value or how broad your filters are. Search and all filters still work, so you can preview exactly the data you'd get — just limited to 10 results. **Upgrade to a paid plan to remove the limit** and scrape the entire Y Combinator founders directory in a single run.

### Why choose this Y Combinator founders scraper?

| | This Actor | Browser-based YC scrapers |
|---|---|---|
| ⚡ **Speed** | Whole directory in **under a minute** via the Algolia API | Minutes — fetches each page one by one |
| 🤖 **Infrastructure** | **No browser, no proxies, no API key** | Headless browser + proxy rotation |
| 🎛️ **Filtering depth** | Top-company, batch, industry, **subindustry**, **role/title**, region | Usually batch / industry only |
| 🔁 **Freshness** | **Live** — reads the YC search index on every run | Live, but slower |
| 🛡️ **Resilience** | Re-extracts Algolia credentials from the live page each run | Breaks when page markup changes |
| 🧹 **Output** | Clean, **deduplicated** structured records | Varies |

### Use cases

- 🎯 **Lead generation** — build targeted lists of YC founders filtered by batch, industry, role, or region.
- 💰 **VC & investor research** — track founders behind each new YC batch the moment it lands.
- 🧑‍💼 **Recruiting & talent sourcing** — find technical or executive founders (e.g. `CTO`, `CEO`) in a given sector.
- 🤝 **Sales & BD** — power CRM enrichment with founder names, titles, and companies.
- 📊 **Market & network research** — map the people behind the YC portfolio across cohorts and regions.
- 🧠 **Datasets for analysis & AI** — get a clean, deduplicated snapshot of YC founders for dashboards or notebooks.

### Automate and integrate the YC founders scraper

Run the Actor on a **schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) to capture every new batch of founders automatically, and connect the results to your stack through [Apify integrations](https://apify.com/integrations):

- 🔧 **Make** & **Zapier** — wire YC founder data into 5,000+ apps and multi-step automations.
- 💬 **Slack** — get run notifications and fresh-founder alerts in your channels.
- 🏬 **Airbyte / Google Sheets / Google Drive** — pipe datasets into your warehouse or spreadsheets.
- 🔗 **Webhooks & REST API** — call the Actor from **Python**, **Node.js**, or any language via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2).

### FAQ

#### Is it legal to scrape Y Combinator founders?

This Actor collects only **publicly available** information that Y Combinator itself exposes through its public website and search index. You are responsible for complying with Y Combinator's Terms of Service and applicable laws (including data-protection regulations such as GDPR) when using the data. This tool is independent and **not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Y Combinator**.

#### How many founders are in the Y Combinator directory?

The directory contains roughly **13,400 founders**, from the very first batch (Summer 2005) to the latest cohort. On a **paid plan** this Actor can return all of them in one run; the **free plan** is capped at **10 founders** — see [Free plan vs. paid plan](#free-plan-vs-paid-plan).

#### Does this scraper include emails or phone numbers?

No. It returns only the **public profile data** YC exposes through its founders search index — name, title, company, batch, industry, region, avatar, and links — **not** private contact details such as emails or phone numbers.

#### How do I scrape only one YC batch of founders?

Set the `batches` field to the batch code you want, e.g. `["W24"]`. You can select multiple batches and combine them with industry, role, or region filters.

#### Can I export Y Combinator founder data to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Every run produces a dataset you can download as **JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML**, or retrieve programmatically through the **Apify API** and integrations like **Google Sheets, Zapier, and Make**.

#### Will it break if YC changes its website?

The Actor reads the Algolia credentials live from the page on every run, so a credential rotation won't break it. If YC changes the underlying index structure, please report it via the **Issues** tab.

### Support

Found a bug, or need a custom field or a tailored YC dataset? Open an issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab — feedback and feature requests are welcome, and custom solutions are available.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Optional full-text search term (founder name, company, etc.), exactly like the search box on the YC founders page. Leave it empty to return the whole directory (optionally narrowed by the filters below).

## `topCompanyFoundersOnly` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, returns only founders of companies YC flags as a "top company" (the "Top Company Founder" toggle on the site). When disabled (default), all founders are included.

## `batches` (type: `array`):

YC batches to include, using the short codes shown on the site (e.g. "S21" = Summer 2021, "W22" = Winter 2022, "F25" = Fall 2025, "P26" = Spring 2026). Options are listed newest first. Leave empty to include all batches.

## `industries` (type: `array`):

Top-level industry of the founder's company (the 9 broad sectors YC groups companies into). Leave empty to include all. Use "Subindustries" below for finer-grained categories.

## `subindustries` (type: `array`):

Fine-grained category of the founder's company (e.g. "Payments", "Security", "Healthcare IT") — the subcategories revealed by "See all options" under Industry on the site. Leave empty to include all.

## `roles` (type: `array`):

Founder's title at their current company, matching the "YC Company Role" filter (e.g. "Founder", "CEO", "CTO", "Co-Founder", "COO"). These are raw, free-text titles taken straight from founder profiles, so the list is long and includes many inconsistent or unusual variants. Leave empty to include all roles.

## `regions` (type: `array`):

Founder's current country/region. Not shown in the site sidebar, but exposed by the backend and included here for convenience. Leave empty to include all regions.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of founders to store in the dataset. Set to 0 (default) for no limit — this returns the entire matching selection, up to the full directory of ~13,400 founders. Free plan is capped at 10 founders regardless of this value; upgrade to a paid plan to remove the limit.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Number of parallel requests sent to the Algolia backend. 8-16 is fast and polite; lower it if you hit rate limits.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional proxy settings. Not needed for this Actor — the Algolia backend has no anti-bot protection — so you can safely leave it disabled.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "Brian Chesky",
  "topCompanyFoundersOnly": false,
  "batches": [],
  "industries": [],
  "subindustries": [],
  "roles": [],
  "regions": [],
  "maxItems": 0,
  "maxConcurrency": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "query": "Brian Chesky"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datacach/yc-founders-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "query": "Brian Chesky" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datacach/yc-founders-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "Brian Chesky"
}' |
apify call datacach/yc-founders-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=datacach/yc-founders-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/d5WDQTGQfiuuRDLyW/builds/1w2tTN7be5x572nJl/openapi.json