Y Combinator application
Our application to Y Combinator Winter 2026 batch.
Founder video
Ignacio Giri
Who writes code, or does other technical work on your product? Was any of it done by a non-founder?
It is all done from scratch by myself from brand to code.
Are you looking for a cofounder?
Maybe - it will be hard to find somebody that shares the same focus and obsession.
But I'd love to find a CTO that advices heavily on the architecture and act as a founding engineer.
Company
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Company name | Cüte |
| Description | Marketplace for circular economy |
| Company URL | https://cüte.com |
| Demo | https://preview.cüte.com |
What is your company going to make?
- Platform: Web app & native app to offer/sell and shop for used goods
- AI-powered experience: Maximize user experience for both buyers and sellers
- Community groups: Closed groups with admin management to ensure members feel safe in their interactions
- Integrated payments: Facilitate money transfer through integrated payment system
- Logistics integration: Facilitate delivery through integration of delivery providers
Communities can be groups of people with:
- Same interests
- Geographic location
- Shop owners and their clients
Location
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Current location | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Post-YC location | São Paulo, Brazil |
Decision reasoning:
- Personal: My wife got transferred to São Paulo
- Market opportunity: São Paulo is the largest urban area in South America with a projected x-fold increase of circular economy in the next 10 years
Progress
How far along are you?
We have a functional MVP with core features:
- Photo-to-listing (AI-powered)
- User profiles
- Listing management
- PIX payment integration
- Search/discovery
- Basic social features for a marketplace of this kind
Timeline
According to my commit history: ~6 months. Most of it wasn't full-time with the exception of a few isolated weeks.
Tech Stack
| Category | Technologies |
|---|---|
| AI | Claude Code Sonnet, Gemini (image analysis and embeddings) |
| Backend | Supabase (Postgres, Auth, Storage) |
| Frontend | Next.js, React, TailwindCSS, Shadcn/UI |
| Database | Drizzle ORM |
| Payments | Stone Pagar.me |
| Resend | |
| Infrastructure | Fly.io, Vercel, Next-Forge |
| Development | Turborepo, Biome, PNPM |
| Design | Figma |
Users & Revenue
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Are people using your product? | No |
| Launch date | Early 2026 |
| Revenue | No |
| Previous YC applications | This is my first time applying to YC. |
| Other programs | I haven't participated in any incubator, accelerator, or pre-accelerator program. |
Idea
We lived in EU before we moved to South America. Circular economy was big in EU and we were strong users, especially for our kids. When we arrived in Brazil we immediately noticed that there was no market place like Vinted existing. The existing market places were much less widely adapted for different reasons. We believe that there is the need for a marketplace that uses technology to overcome the different reasons why it's not yet as much used (safety, trust, user experience). We saw Vinted rise in EU, topping Apple app download lists for consecutive months and being in everybody's mouth.
Competitors
- Enjoie
- Mercado Livre
- Facebook Marketplace
- OLX
Business Model
Over the next 18 months, we aim to reach 100k users: about 2.5–4% of Enjoei's scale (our direct competitor). Driving $1.08M USD in annual revenue at a 10% take rate of each transaction.
Category: Marketplace
Other ideas considered
-
Ainstein: I'm the co-founder of AInstein (goainstein.com and ainstein.live). It's my endeavor to help companies providing marketing automation using AI.
-
Builtwell: I'm the founder of Builtwell (builtwell.design), a design and brand studio where we help small businesses bring their idea to life.
-
Frames marketplace: I had this idea to let designers connect their Figma file and using the Figma API to extract frames and let other designers copy or import them for $1 per frame.
-
AI portrait generator: I created a prototype early on at om-portraits.vercel.com to let people make professional headshots from simple selfies. The newer AI models are better today, but training a model with selfies still gets better output.
Legal Entity
Status: Yes, formed
Entity details:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Company name | Builtwell Web Design Ltda |
| CNPJ | 56.794.474/0001-07 |
| Address | Av. Washington Luís, 1576 |
| City/State | São Paulo - SP |
| CEP | 04662-002 |
Ownership
Cüte is a family owned startup. Me and my wife own 100% of the company.
Funding
Investment taken: No
Currently fundraising: Yes
Details: At this stage, we're seeking a partner who brings both capital and know-how. The investment will let me dedicate myself fully to Cüte, focusing 100% on execution, product, and launch.
Pitch decks:
Why Y Combinator
Y Combinator has a track record of helping founders build great companies. The access to experienced partners, shared knowledge, and a strong founder community is what convinced me to apply. I haven't been to any events.
How did you hear about YC?
I've been following YC for years. Hacker News has been my browser's homepage for 15 years. I'm finally ready to take the leap, step out of the shadows, and join the founders' club.