Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

veed.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 169 posts

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#41

Post by strken »

dannykwells wrote: post #9

I kinda wonder, if you believe what's missing in your platform is a single feature that can be implemented in 2 days, do you really think YC wouldnt realize that too? So this is likely not the reason for the rejection. I would have even more worries about these founders after this stunt because it shows a lack of self awareness and strategic insight. I'm in no way affiliated but Id guess YC is looking for foundationa…

On the flip side, adding a new feature might demonstrate existing strengths of their product, and help validate the idea to an external observer.

VCs aren't infallible judges, otherwise they'd put all their money into Facebook and Amazon and none into Juicero and Theranos.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#42

Post by smt88 »

short_sells_poo wrote: post #24
prickledpear wrote: post #7

It's great that YC provides feedback on why they don't accept (some) companies. However, it's a bit disappointing to see that not having MRR is a reason to reject a company. It seems like a lot of the successful YC companies were accepted way before they were anywhere to close to revenue -- and some were even working on a completely different product when accepted. My hope is that MRR is sufficient, but not necessary…

Maybe I just don't get the Silicon Valley culture, or perhaps I'm missing something fundamental, but let me just get this straight: 1. Startup has no revenue whatsoever, but ostensibly have good product. They go pitch to investors and get rejected, likely because they have no revenue. 2. They hack around for 1 (!) weekend and get their MRR to $500. Five hundred bucks. They now go back to investors and say: hey look,…

The $500 isn't about cutting the burn rate in a significant way. It's just the first domino to fall.

It's very hard to make the first dollar. Customers want to see other people pay you first. That's why many startups fill their websites with logos of big-brand clients, even if they're making very little from each.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#43

Post by plehoux »

sithlord wrote: post #35
cdubzzz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apropos of nothing, this little marketing page is pretty great -- https://www.conferencebadge.com/why-use-conference-badge

so, it took anna 10 hours, and lets assume anna gets paid 25 dollars an hour, so a cost of 250 dollars. Shelley, used the conference badge, and at 1.79 for the fully shipped version of the badge, it will cost 582 dollars. So, essentially, Shelley paid 332 dollars for QR codes and convenience. Is it worth it? probably. but maybe not.

Badge printing kits/holders are not free :) https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Badges-Lanyards-Holders-Inserts...

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#45

Post by TomVDB »

sithlord wrote: post #35
cdubzzz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apropos of nothing, this little marketing page is pretty great -- https://www.conferencebadge.com/why-use-conference-badge

so, it took anna 10 hours, and lets assume anna gets paid 25 dollars an hour, so a cost of 250 dollars. Shelley, used the conference badge, and at 1.79 for the fully shipped version of the badge, it will cost 582 dollars. So, essentially, Shelley paid 332 dollars for QR codes and convenience. Is it worth it? probably. but maybe not.

Empty badges are around ~$0.50. At 325 badges, that reduces the difference by $165.

Re: We tried to hustle our way into YC after we got rejected

#48

Post by albertgoeswoof »

GraffitiTim wrote: post #28
camjohnson26 wrote: post #19

These founders haphazardly threw a new paid feature into their app just to try to impress the YC team? They should have taken the time to do market research and do it right rather than risk alienating their user base. I wonder if getting rejected was a big enough blow to their ego that they couldn’t see clearly, just like college applicants will go to top ranked colleges with no concern for the price or the risk/rewa…

They took the feedback to heart, built fast, and got paying users! Where's the big mistake there? I think one of the good things about YC, is if you try to optimize for getting into YC, you're actually building your startup in a constructive manner.

They might have just killed their MAU growth potential

Imagine if FB had a premium plan in 2008, they wouldn’t have made it.

In this case it probably makes sense to charge early on, but it doesn’t look like they did much research on the decision

Post reply on HN