Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper: how to get the data as JSON/CSV (API, Python, no code)

Q: How do I use the Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper from Python?

Install the apify-client package, create a client with your Apify API token, call the Actor v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper with an input like the one above, and read the rows from the run's dataset. The Python snippet above does exactly that.

Q: How do I limit the number of results?

Set the maxItems input field to the number of results you need; the run stops there, so it also caps the cost of one run. You can also set a maximum cost for a run in the run options on Apify, and the run stops when it is reached.

Scrape the Y Combinator public company directory: name, batch, status, industries, location, website, one-liner, team size, open job count, and YC profile link. This guide shows the output fields, a working input, and Python, JavaScript and cURL code for the Actor v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper on Apify.

Open Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper on Apify

What data you get

One row per result. Every row can be downloaded as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read through the API.

Field	Label	Type	Example
`name`	Company	text	Stripe
`batch`	Batch	text	S09
`status`	Status	text	Active
`industries`	Industries	list	["Banking as a Service", "Fintech", "SaaS"]
`location`	Location	text	San Francisco
`website`	Website	URL	http://stripe.com
`oneLiner`	One-liner	text	Economic infrastructure for the internet.
`teamSize`	Team Size	number	7000
`jobCount`	Open Jobs	number	3
`url`	YC Profile	URL	https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe
`slug`		text	stripe
`batchName`		text	Summer 2009
`country`		text	US
`description`		text	Launched out of Y Combinator’s 2009 Summer batch, Stripe is a globa...
`yearFounded`		number	2009
`founders`		list	[{"name": "Patrick Collison", "title": "Founder/CEO"}, {"name": "Jo...

Input example

This is the input that is pre-filled on the Actor page. Change the values for your own run.

{
  "companyUrls": [
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dropbox",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/reddit",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/doordash",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/coinbase",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/instacart",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gitlab",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gusto",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/brex",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/openai",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/figma"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
}

Input field	Type	What it does
`companyUrls` (required)	array	ycombinator.com company profile URLs (https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe) or bare slugs (stripe, airbnb).
`maxItems`	integer	The run stops after this many result rows.

Output sample

Real rows from a run of the Actor. Fields that name people are left out of the sample.

[
  {
    "name": "Stripe",
    "slug": "stripe",
    "batch": "S09",
    "batchName": "Summer 2009",
    "status": "Active",
    "industries": [
      "Banking as a Service",
      "Fintech",
      "SaaS"
    ],
    "location": "San Francisco",
    "country": "US",
    "website": "http://stripe.com",
    "oneLiner": "Economic infrastructure for the internet.",
    "description": "Launched out of Y Combinator’s 2009 Summer batch, Stripe is a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the inter...",
    "teamSize": 7000,
    "yearFounded": 2009,
    "jobCount": 3,
    "founders": [
      {
        "name": "Patrick Collison",
        "title": "Founder/CEO"
      },
      {
        "name": "John Collison",
        "title": "Founder/President"
      }
    ],
    "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe"
  },
  {
    "name": "Airbnb",
    "slug": "airbnb",
    "batch": "W09",
    "batchName": "Winter 2009",
    "status": "Public",
    "industries": [
      "Marketplace",
      "Travel"
    ],
    "location": "San Francisco",
    "country": "US",
    "website": "http://airbnb.com",
    "oneLiner": "Book accommodations around the world.",
    "description": "Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover,...",
    "teamSize": 6132,
    "yearFounded": 2008,
    "jobCount": 0,
    "founders": [
      {
        "name": "Brian Chesky",
        "title": "Founder/CEO"
      },
      {
        "name": "Nathan Blecharczyk",
        "title": "Founder/CTO"
      },
      {
        "name": "Joe Gebbia",
        "title": "Founder/CPO"
      }
    ],
    "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb"
  }
]

Code: Python, JavaScript and cURL

Get your API token in Apify Console under Settings, then Integrations. The Actor id is v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper.

Python (apify-client)

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

run_input = {'companyUrls': ['https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dropbox',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/reddit',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/doordash',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/coinbase',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/instacart',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gitlab',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gusto',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/brex',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/openai',
                 'https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/figma'],
 'maxItems': 20}

run = client.actor("v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript (apify-client)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });

const input = {
  "companyUrls": [
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dropbox",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/reddit",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/doordash",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/coinbase",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/instacart",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gitlab",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gusto",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/brex",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/openai",
    "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/figma"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
};

const run = await client.actor('v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper').call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/v0iddo~y-combinator-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"companyUrls": ["https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/stripe", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/airbnb", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/dropbox", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/reddit", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/doordash", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/coinbase", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/instacart", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gitlab", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/gusto", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/brex", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/openai", "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/figma"], "maxItems": 20}'

Price

$2.92 per 1,000 results. You pay per result row. There is no separate charge per run. Higher Apify plans pay less per result, down to $2.04 per 1,000. See the pricing tab for your plan. A new Apify account gets $5 of platform credit every month.

Good to know

Reads individual YC company profile pages at ycombinator.com/companies/. Filtered directory pages (by batch, industry, etc.) are closed in robots.txt and are never requested; provide explicit...
Each input must be a ycombinator.com/companies/ URL or a bare slug such as stripe or airbnb.
Team size and open job count reflect what the public YC profile shows at scrape time and may lag behind current reality.
Not affiliated with Y Combinator.

FAQ

What data does the Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper return?

Each result is one row in an Apify dataset. Fields include name, batch, status, industries, location, website, oneLiner, teamSize, and more. The table above shows every field with an example value.

How do I use the Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper from Python?

Install the apify-client package, create a client with your Apify API token, call the Actor v0iddo/y-combinator-scraper with an input like the one above, and read the rows from the run's dataset. The Python snippet above does exactly that.

Can I use it without writing code?

Yes. Open the Actor page on Apify, fill in the input form (an example is already filled in), press Start, and download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML. You can also schedule runs there.

How much does it cost?

$2.92 per 1,000 results. You pay per result row. There is no separate charge per run. Higher Apify plans pay less per result, down to $2.04 per 1,000. A new Apify account gets $5 of platform credit every month.

How do I limit the number of results?

Set the maxItems input field to the number of results you need; the run stops there, so it also caps the cost of one run. You can also set a maximum cost for a run in the run options on Apify, and the run stops when it is reached.

Can I send the results to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier or n8n?

Yes. Apify datasets connect to Google Sheets, Slack, Make, Zapier and n8n, and a webhook can call your own service when a run finishes. You can also export the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel.

Open Y Combinator Company Directory Scraper on Apify

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