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I wrote much of this (in collaboration with YC partners and alumni for the YC-specific bits), and am happy to answer questions if you have them.
I'm interested about this bit: If you are too early-stage to have functioning software, mockups will at least let you show that you have good design and product sense. I want to know if this is really the case here. I have a feeling that YC only accept established working prototype, not just mere interactive mockup that look plausible. Can somebody vouch in a mere mockup application that has been accepted?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Startups have a really long lifecycle associated with them. I have answers to the question with respect to startups I was not professionally engaged with. I don't have many data points regarding ones which I was, because the jury won't be in for a few years on the numeric supermajority of them. My set of data points where I have reasonable confidence in terminal outcome is very small relative to e.g. a professional i…
What would you recommend for someone who is starting a B2B SaaS business with a lot of product experience, but virtually no enterprise sales experience. Obviously, hiring someone with enterprise sales experience/connections is our main priority, but how would one go about learning? There aren't really bootcamps & online resources for learning sales.
https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/enterpris...
I feel like this only applies to a very specific kind of tech investor demographic. I'm working on my own idea, and pitching directly to members of the industry that I've chosen to apply programming to. Surely this isn't a rare thing? It seems much less stressful, and given that you are speaking to the very people who are likely to use your software, I feel like it is substantially easier to communicate your value. Y…
Pitch deck notes I use with clients: https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/pitch_deck IMHO the Stripe notes and YC perspectives are especially useful when the pitch deck has a first draft. Founders and teams write the first draft faster (and better) when they use the notes above.
Sidenote: The "Heroku for PowerPoint decks" bit is exactly what I am working on as a side project, and I'm very close to launching a private beta. Patio11 - has someone else launched that already? It's scarily close to my idea and value prop!
What would that set of facts change about how you executed on your idea and value prop? My guess is that the correct answer is "That should change my plans not one iota."
I feel like this only applies to a very specific kind of tech investor demographic. I'm working on my own idea, and pitching directly to members of the industry that I've chosen to apply programming to. Surely this isn't a rare thing? It seems much less stressful, and given that you are speaking to the very people who are likely to use your software, I feel like it is substantially easier to communicate your value. Y…
Sounds like you’re pitching to customers rather than investors.