Startups & Y Combinator

We run two special programs for early-stage teams.

1. PostHog for Startups is our program to support early stage companies.
2. PostHog for Y Combinator is our program to support companies in the Y Combinator accelerator.

Both programs give users some exclusive perks, as well as credit to use across any mix of PostHog products.

PostHog for Startups

Any company that is <2 years old and has raised $5m in funding or less is eligible for PostHog for Startups.

What happens after companies apply

1. Company applies by signing up to PostHog with a paid plan, then applying on our startups page
2. We (Scott) verifies they meet the criteria and applies a $50k Stripe coupon to their account that expires in 12 months.
3. The user receives an automated email, via Zapier, which provides them with a welcome to the program (sent via Customer.io, comes from Kevan)
4. Shortly after, they get a separate email about claiming their merch (sent via Zapier, comes from Kevan)

Following the welcome email teams will get an additional email when they use 50%, 75%, and 100% of their credit, or when their credits fully expire - whichever comes first.

Once the credits have expired or been used up teams will be moved to a standard, paid plan and be billed as usual. We encourage teams to speak with us about available discounts of long-term contracts before this happen, and provide a one-off $500 credit bonus when startup credits expire to help avoid sticker shock from moving to a paid plan.

The PostHog for Startups deal is also posted on our profile at various accelerator portfolios, such as F6S. These all follow the same process as above.

Welcome merch

This is handled via Brilliant. The automated email users receive contains a single Brilliant link, connected to a preferred item campaign, which contains a pack of welcome merch. Responsibility for ensuring merch stock levels and quality is owned by the People & Ops team and can be coordinated in the Merch channel on Slack.

Occasionally teams will reach out to request more merch for their co-founders. We use our discretion here, but generally offer more merch for co-founders.

Amplifying announcements

We encourage members of the PostHog for Startups program to inform us when they have an upcoming launch, or other announcement. We may then share that announcement with other members of the program (via the newsletter), or sharing it more widely on our socials and other channels. We don't make guarantees about how we'll or if we'll share announcements, and do so only at our own discretion.

Monthly newsletter

Once a month, we send a short newsletter to all users in the program. We send the email as a Customer.io broadcast and there is a template setup in Customer.io. This email is covered on the email comms page.

Referral program

Users who are accepted into Posthog for Startups can refer in other customers in order to unlock extra credit for both parties. This referral program is currently only open to users who have been accepted into PostHog for Startups.

Referred customers should apply for the PostHog for Startups program as normal, but specify in the sign-up form the team which referred them into the program. The Customer Service team will issue an additional $5,000 of PostHog credit to both the referred customer and the referrer if the customer is accepted into the program. There are currently no limits on how many startups can be referred into the program successfully.

Customer can also refer an investor, or startup accelerator. If an investor or accelerator signs up as a PostHog for Startups partner, we will double the credits of the referring customer to a total of $100,000.

Credit usage

Teams in the startup plan can use their credit for any PostHog product or add-on, including the Teams plan. Teams within PostHog for Startups cannot use credits towards a BAA however due to the legal risk to PostHog. If a startup requires a BAA, they should speak to the CS & Sales team to find a solution.

Unused credits do not carry over past 12 months and can not be converted into cash or other rewards. If credits are used up then the team will automatically trigger email warnings and move to a standard, paid plan.

DigitalOcean partnership

We maintain a partnership with DigitalOcean via their Hatch program which enables teams in PostHog for Startups to claim an $25,000 of infrastructure credit. To claim this credit, teams must apply to the Hatch program after they've been accepted into PostHog for Startups and cite PostHog as their partner during the application process.

Occasionally we receive questions from users about delays processing their Hatch application. We have no visibility or control over DigitalOcean's program (and they have none over ours), but we have a shared Slack channel for raising questions if needed.

Program extensions

Extensions aren’t something we usually do because we set the initial terms to keep things fair and consistent for everyone. We recommend using your credits within the deal period to make the most of the program. If you’ve had some unusual circumstances, we’re open to hearing about them. Please make sure your request clearly explains why you couldn’t use the credits as planned and shows recent growth or a change in direction that makes the extension necessary. Our Customer Success team reviews each request on a case-by-case basis.

PostHog for Y Combinator

In addition to our startups program, we also run a similar program for teams in Y Combinator. This is roughly the same as the startups program, but differs in a few ways:

• We offer teams in YC an enhanced package of merch
• We offer teams in YC a variable amount of credit based on which batch they are in ($50,000 for 12 months for the current batch, $25,0000 for six months for older batches)
• We invite founders for these teams into our private Founder community
• Teams in YC can use credits towards a BAA via the Teams add-on

Teams in the YC program also have a different application process. They must apply via our secret YC page and provide a screenshot of Bookface to prove they are part of the YC community.

Other than this, PostHog for YC runs similarly to PostHog for Startups.

Reporting

We have a dashboard for this.