The most brutal and funniest YC application roasts of the month, picked by AI from hundreds of submissions. Updated on the 1st of every month.
Sep 1 – Oct 1, 2026
“You are a solo non-technical founder using AI tools to build a product you do not understand, with no co-founder and no clear plan to recruit one.”
Real demand signal from 50 weekly searches, but you need a technical co-founder and paying merchants in 30 days or this stays a WhatsApp concierge service.
Why featured: Calls out solo non-technical founder building what they don't understand—surgical precision.
“This is a pitch deck with no users, no revenue, no product, and a solo founder who has never scaled a company.”
Strong market thesis and credible crypto-native founder, but zero execution proof and missing every metric that matters.
Why featured: 'Pitch deck with no users, no revenue, no product'—devastating completeness of failure list.
“Manual fulfillment requiring the founder to physically visit stores and send WhatsApp messages cannot scale beyond dozens of queries.”
Real demand validated in underserved market, but needs technical cofounder to automate inventory sync and prove unit economics.
Why featured: 'Physically visit stores and send WhatsApp messages cannot scale'—kills the core model.
“Zero revenue and no proof retail managers will pay $500/month for insights they currently get by standing on the floor.”
Rare execution speed shipping solo in 60 days, but needs first paid contract and a co-founder who can actually sell.
Why featured: 'Insights they currently get by standing on the floor'—eviscerates the value proposition.
“Solo part-time founder betting on speculative AI agent traffic with zero revenue, no paying customers, and no full-time commitment.”
Working MVP and three pilots show real learning, but must prove one paying customer and go full-time now.
Why featured: 'Part-time founder betting on speculative traffic'—exposes lack of commitment and proof.
“Zero revenue and no proof retail managers will pay $500/month for insights they currently get by standing on the floor.”
Rare execution speed shipping solo in 60 days, but needs first paid contract and a co-founder who can actually sell.
Why featured: 'Insights they get by standing on the floor'—perfectly captures the absurdity with imagery.
“You are a solo non-technical founder using AI tools to build a product you do not understand, with no co-founder and no clear plan to recruit one.”
Real demand signal from 50 weekly searches, but you need a technical co-founder and paying merchants in 30 days or this stays a WhatsApp concierge service.
Why featured: 'Stays a WhatsApp concierge service'—brutal punchline after 30-day ultimatum.
“This is a pitch deck with no users, no revenue, no product, and a solo founder who has never scaled a company.”
Strong market thesis and credible crypto-native founder, but zero execution proof and missing every metric that matters.
Why featured: 'Missing every metric that matters'—comic exaggeration that's painfully accurate.
Free roasts by Lobster Capital