How I Hacked Y Combinator's Paxel to Forge Perfect Scores
I got into YC by hacking it
I discovered a critical vulnerability in Y Combinator's Paxel application tool that allowed anyone to forge and upload fake performance scores. By exploiting an unvalidated HMAC in their decentralized pipeline, I manipulated the ranking database for over 100,000 founders. After publicly disclosing the bug, YC patched the issue within hours and invited me to attend Startup School in San Francisco.
I knew I was starting from a disadvantage when filling out my application, but I knew this would be a fast-track, surefire way into confirming my acceptance.