Direct Match, a financial technology startup seeking to create a fair and transparent marketplace for U.S. Treasuries, was one of Joynture’s first member companies. While it’s difficult to see a member move on, we were pleased to learn that Direct Match has been awarded a placement at Y Combinator, a highly-selective seed accelerator in Mountain View, CA.

Y Combinator has backed more than 700 companies including Airbnb, Reddit, Dropbox, Loopt and OMGPOP. In addition to funding, the three-month program provides networking opportunities, advice through the early stages of development, and guidance on interactions with investors.

“Y Combinator teaches start-ups how to concentrate on building a product. Since by most definitions a start-up is a company that is attacking a large market with minimal resources, focus is critical to avoiding failure in early-stage companies,” said Direct Match founder Galen Simmons.

After their online application to the program was selected, Galen and fellow founder Jim Greco flew to California for an interview with a Y Combinator panel. “The interview lasted only about ten minutes,” said Galen, noting the intense nature of the experience that culminates in a notification of approval or denial within hours.

Jim and Galen will make the move to northern California in January. While eager to begin this new adventure, they are grateful for their time at Joynture.

“Before starting at Joynture, I was working out of a library. I had to leave every time I needed to make a phone call,” said Galen. Moving to Joynture connected me to a community of entrepreneurs and helped me envision the trajectory of building a successful start-up in NYC.”

“Above all, we want to see our members grow and succeed. We couldn’t be happier for Jim and Galen as they take this important next step,” said Joynture founder Shahzad Latif.