What’s It Like Being a NonProfit in Y Combinator? Five Questions with New Story CEO Brett Hagler

Y Combinator Demo Days are a unique event in Silicon Valley. 100 Startups and what feels like 1000 investors all chasing unicorn dreams. But what happens when you’re a startup that never plans to get acquired, IPO or even return money to your backers? A few years ago YC started admitting a small number of nonprofits each class who could benefit from the focus and momentum of startup thinking. Earlier this year I was impressed by, and donated to, Detroit Water Project, which helps pay off water bills for people who need assistance. This classNew Story caught my eye — an organization building houses for those desperately in need. Now that Summer 2015 YC has finished, I caught up with New Story CEO Brett Hagler for a quick chat.

Hunter Walk: As a non-profit, how’d you decide YC was the right path for New Story?

Brett Hagler: We started New Story with a mindset to operate just like a for-profit tech startup. To us, there should be no difference in mentality. We built a disruptive model (just like all companies in the batch) and are using tech to scale. We wanted to learn from the best, therefore, YC was the perfect fit!

HW: Was there a particular bond between you and the other non-profits in the class? Between you and the non-profits…