From Hackathon to YC: The Birth of AI Assistant April

Neha and her team, almost skipping a hackathon, unexpectedly won a Y Combinator interview with their AI voice email response project, Inbox Zero. In just one week, they attracted 150 users, proving market demand. They expanded Inbox Zero into the more comprehensive AI assistant, April, helping users manage email, calendars, and meeting prep, thus saving time. Under YC's intense training, April won the "best demo" award, becoming a daily tool relied upon by users. This story showcases the journey from a simple hackathon project to a successful startup, and the accelerating effect of YC.