[WIP] Strategy

Purpose: Centralized, reusable documentation system for grant applications, accelerator programs, investor outreach, and fundraising activities

🔴 Recent Updates (2025-12-30)

Accelerator Rejections:

  • ❌ Y Combinator W2026 - Rejected

  • ❌ Accel Atoms - Rejected

New Strategy:

  • 🎯 Focus: Build traction before reapplying to top-tier accelerators

  • 🎯 Priority: Non-dilutive funding (grants, cloud credits)

  • 🎯 Goal: Get first 10 paying customers, demonstrate PMF

See:

  • [[applications/REJECTIONS|Rejections & Learnings]] - What we learned and next steps

  • [[tracking#Recent Rejections|Funding Tracker]] - Updated application status

📁 Directory Structure

funding/
├── README.md                    # This file - system overview
├── tracking.md                  # Application tracker dashboard
│
├── grants/                      # Grant opportunity research
│   ├── README.md                # Grant opportunities overview
│   ├── cloud-credits/           # Cloud provider credits
│   ├── government/              # Government grants (BIRAC, SISFS, etc.)
│   ├── global/                  # International grants
│   ├── philanthropy/            # Philanthropic grants
│   ├── private/                 # Private sector grants
│   └── archive/                 # Expired opportunities
│
├── investors/                   # Angel/VC research and outreach
│   ├── README.md                # Investor strategy overview
│   ├── angel-investors-india-healthtech.md
│   └── operator-angels-detailed.md
│
├── templates/                   # Reusable content blocks
│   ├── company-overview.md      # Company positioning (multiple variants)
│   ├── problem-statement.md     # Problem description
│   ├── solution.md              # Product and differentiation
│   ├── market-analysis.md       # Market opportunity and sizing
│   ├── business-model.md        # Revenue model and projections
│   ├── team-bios.md             # Founders and team
│   ├── traction-metrics.md      # Progress and milestones
│   └── technical-architecture.md # Tech stack and architecture
│
└── applications/                # Application management
    ├── REJECTIONS.md            # Rejection tracking and learnings
    └── archive/                 # Past applications (preserved for reusable content)
        ├── README.md            # Guide to using archived content
        └── yc-w2026/            # Y Combinator W2026 (rejected, but has reusable templates)

🚀 Quick Start

For a New Application

  1. Create application directory

  2. Copy YC template as starting point

  3. Customize for specific program

    • Keep the ![[template#^block]] references

    • Add program-specific sections

    • Adjust word limits and format

  4. Update tracking dashboard

    • Add to [[tracking]] with deadline and status

📝 How to Use Templates

Understanding Block References

Templates use Obsidian's block reference syntax: ![[file-name#^block-id]]

Example:

Available Templates

Template
What It Contains
When to Use

[[templates/company-overview]]

Company descriptions (5 variants: one-liner, elevator pitch, extended, etc.)

Any "describe your company" question

[[templates/problem-statement]]

Problem description (investor angle, user pain, market gap)

"What problem are you solving?"

[[templates/solution]]

Product features, differentiation, roadmap

"What does your product do?"

[[templates/market-analysis]]

Market size, trends, TAM/SAM/SOM

"How big is the market?"

[[templates/business-model]]

Revenue model, pricing, projections, unit economics

"How will you make money?"

[[templates/team-bios]]

Founder backgrounds, expertise, relationship

"Tell us about your team"

[[templates/traction-metrics]]

Progress, milestones, validation

"How far along are you?"

[[templates/technical-architecture]]

Tech stack, architecture, security

"What's your tech stack?"

Using Block References

Each template has multiple named blocks for different contexts:

Example from company-overview.md:

  • ^one-liner - 50 character description

  • ^elevator-pitch - 280 character (tweet length)

  • ^short-description - 1 paragraph

  • ^healthcare-pitch - Healthcare grant focus

  • ^impact-pitch - Social impact focus

Usage:

🎯 Template Content Strategy

1. Atomic Content Blocks

Each template contains modular, reusable pieces that can be:

  • Referenced independently

  • Combined for different audiences

  • Updated once, reflected everywhere

2. Multiple Variants by Audience

Templates include variants for:

  • Investors: Growth, market opportunity, returns

  • Accelerators: Traction, team, vision

  • Healthcare grants: Social impact, health outcomes

  • Philanthropic grants: Mission alignment, impact metrics

  • Technical audiences: Architecture, security, scalability

3. Version Control

Templates include:

Track when content was last updated and for whom.

📊 Application Workflow

Phase 1: Initial Setup (Done ✅)

Phase 2: Content Refinement

Phase 3: Reuse for Next Applications

  1. Identify next program (Sequoia Surge, BIRAC, etc.)

  2. Copy YC template structure

  3. Adjust for program-specific requirements

  4. Most content auto-populates via block references

  5. Add/customize program-specific sections

Phase 4: Maintain & Improve

  • Update templates as traction grows

  • Version templates (v1.0 → v1.1 → v2.0)

  • Track which version used for each submission

  • Iterate based on what works

🔄 Content Reuse Examples

Example 1: From YC to Sequoia Surge

YC asks: "What does your company do?" Answer: ![[company-overview#^elevator-pitch]]

Sequoia asks: "Describe your company" Answer: Same block reference! Just transclude it.

Example 2: From Accelerator to Grant

YC asks: "How will you make money?" Answer: ![[business-model#^revenue-model]] (investor focus)

Gates Foundation asks: "How will you sustain the program?" Answer: ![[business-model#^social-sustainability]] (impact focus) → Add this new block to business-model.md

Example 3: Updating Once, Reflects Everywhere

You hit 1,000 users milestone. Update: traction-metrics.md → all applications auto-update! 🎉

✅ Best Practices

Do's ✅

  • Update templates regularly as traction grows

  • Version templates when making significant changes

  • Create new blocks for new contexts/audiences

  • Link related templates for easy navigation

  • Use descriptive block IDs (^investor-angle, ^grant-focus)

  • Test block references in Obsidian preview

Don'ts ❌

  • Don't duplicate content - reference templates instead

  • Don't skip frontmatter - version tracking is important

  • Don't write directly in applications - extract to templates

  • Don't forget to update tracking.md when submitting

  • Don't delete old block IDs - breaks existing references

📋 Common Application Types

Accelerators (YC, Sequoia, Accel)

Focus: Traction, team, growth potential Key sections:

  • Company description (short)

  • Product demo/progress

  • Market size

  • Founder backgrounds

  • Traction metrics

Templates to use:

  • company-overview (^elevator-pitch)

  • solution (^core-solution)

  • team-bios (^founder-history)

  • traction-metrics (^milestone-1, ^milestone-2)

Healthcare Grants (BIRAC, Gates Foundation)

Focus: Health outcomes, social impact, sustainability Key sections:

  • Problem (health focus)

  • Solution (health outcomes)

  • Target population

  • Evidence/validation

  • Impact metrics

Templates to use:

  • problem-statement (^healthcare-angle)

  • company-overview (^healthcare-pitch, ^impact-pitch)

  • solution (^preventive-care, ^democratizing)

  • market-analysis (^india-scale)

Cloud Credits (Google, AWS, NVIDIA)

Focus: Technical needs, infrastructure, scalability Key sections:

  • Product description

  • Technical requirements

  • Expected usage

  • Growth projections

Templates to use:

  • technical-architecture (^tech-stack, ^cloud-infrastructure)

  • solution (^core-solution)

  • traction-metrics (^milestone-1)

📈 Tracking Progress

Use [[tracking]] Dashboard For:

  • ✅ Application status tracking

  • ✅ Deadline management

  • ✅ Fundraising progress

  • ✅ Key metrics

  • ✅ Decision log

Update After:

  • Submitting application → Change status to ⏳ Submitted

  • Receiving response → Update with result

  • Major milestone → Update traction-metrics.md

  • Pivot/change → Update relevant templates

🎬 Next Steps

Immediate (This Week)

Short-Term (This Month)

Medium-Term (Next Quarter)

🔗 Related Resources

Internal

  • [[tracking]] - Application tracker dashboard

  • [[investors/README]] - Angel investor strategy

  • [[grants/README]] - All grant opportunities

  • [[memo]] - Product vision

  • [[competitors/strategic-insights]] - Market insights

  • [[product/feature-ideas]] - Detailed features

External

📞 Questions or Issues?

Template Not Working?

  1. Check Obsidian preview mode (block references don't work in edit mode)

  2. Verify block ID exists: ^block-id at end of paragraph

  3. Ensure file path is correct: _templates/file-name.md

Need New Template Section?

  1. Add content to relevant template file

  2. Add ^block-id at end

  3. Update this README with new block

  4. Link from applications

Content Out of Date?

  1. Update source template (e.g., traction-metrics.md)

  2. Bump version number in frontmatter

  3. Note update in tracking dashboard

  4. Content auto-reflects in all applications! ✅

💡 Pro Tips

Tip 1: Use Graph View

Obsidian's graph view shows connections between applications and templates. Use it to:

  • See which templates are most used

  • Find orphaned content

  • Understand content relationships

Tip 2: Search for Block References

Search for ![[template-name to find all applications using a template

Tip 3: Version Templates When Pivoting

If you make significant changes (pivot, new positioning):

  • Save old template as company-overview-v1.md

  • Create new version

  • Older applications reference v1, new ones reference v2

Tip 4: Create Application-Specific Addendums

For unique questions, create applications/[program]/custom-answers.md:

🎯 Success Metrics

Track how this system helps:

  • ⏱️ Time saved: How long does next application take?

  • 🎯 Acceptance rate: Do applications perform better?

  • 🔄 Reuse: How many templates used per application?

  • ✨ Quality: Feedback on applications

🙏 Acknowledgments

Inspired by:

  • YC application best practices

  • Obsidian Zettelkasten method

  • DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle

System created: 2025-12-11 Last updated: 2025-12-11 Version: 1.0

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