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Thanks PG, applying to Y Combinator cost me a shot at my local startupfund

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Re: Thanks PG, applying to Y Combinator cost me a shot at my local startupfund

#11

Post by cd34 » 

  His request: he told me to send in an executive statement
  Your response: an executive statement for an early stage tech start up is a huge 
  waste of time

  Fund's requirement: the company must stay in Canton, OH for the next 10 years
  Your response: apply for funding outside Canton, OH

  His response: according to him my idea wasnt unique enough
  You need to refine your pitch

  His response: lack of market validation
  four people isn't validation. Even in stealth, you need to get a number of people 
  using your product. You need a revenue model, you need people using the service 
  to tell you what needs to be improved. Your idea may not be easily marketable and 
  clients are going to give feedback on what works better for them.

  His question: why a start up would want to remain in stealth mode
  Your response: I began to get slightly agitated
Regardless of your opinion of what he knows, he's the one with the money that you're trying to get. Telling the guy with the money that he doesn't know what he's doing isn't going to get him to write that check.

Refine your pitch, adjust your attitude, get some market validation and paying customers and approach other funds or bootstrap until someone notices you.

Re: Thanks PG, applying to Y Combinator cost me a shot at my local startupfund

#12

Post by mzbridget »

grkballer44 wrote: post #9
mzbridget wrote: post #3

You were turned down by one program? You sound really bitter and I can see why they turned you down - you're not ready to be an entrepreneur. As a person running a start up, you're going to get turned down A LOT. So what if YC or TS or any incubator/fund is accepting 1%? You try. You try again. You keep trying. As a woman founder, I face much tougher numbers. I don't stop because the numbers are stacked against me! I…

Sorry If I may have came off as an ass with the post. The point I was trying to make is that I truly didnt get any feedback on my product, besides the point of lack of market validation. IN my executive statement I sent a link to my beta, which he didnt visit until I was on the phone with him. Market validation is important, but I feel that id you have a functional beta as well as a concept or plan the least you can…

I rarely see a VC or incubator read the entire statement or much less click through to a beta. They care about numbers. You could have the next Google or FB but if you can't show that people will (or are) using it then what's the point? For me, I had to do an alpha test w/75 users and I have hundreds in my private beta and have tons of articles and market research to show traction and I still get questions about "enough traction". Just think about it from the VC perspective: "How much am I going to get back on my return" That's ALL they care about. That's all they should care about. Plus, its not up to them to give you feedback. You need to get people on your product and ask them for feedback, iterate based on their feedback and then start shopping it around to people in your space and get their feedback. After that, you go to investors.

Re: Thanks PG, applying to Y Combinator cost me a shot at my local startupfund

#13

Post by spitfire »

You didn't apply to a startup incubator. You applied to a local vanity project.

Local/city governments all over the world are trying the "incubator" fairy dust in an attempt to seem hip and with the times. The "analyst" you spoke to is really a gatekeeper trying to filter out any project with a bit of risk (or any possibility of outsized success). What they're looking for is zero risk, guaranteed small-time success which officials can point to and say "see, we're entrepreneurial and digital!!".

On the other hand, if being rejected by third tier "analysts" gets you this down perhaps business isn't for you.

Re: Thanks PG, applying to Y Combinator cost me a shot at my local startupfund

#14

Post by frankwong »

cd34 wrote: post #11

His request: he told me to send in an executive statement Your response: an executive statement for an early stage tech start up is a huge waste of time Fund's requirement: the company must stay in Canton, OH for the next 10 years Your response: apply for funding outside Canton, OH His response: according to him my idea wasnt unique enough You need to refine your pitch His response: lack of market validation four peo…

Is the norm to build and test until you have a live system where users have been using it over many iterations of feedbacks and alterations before approaching investors? At earlier stages than that is generally a bad idea to approach them? Thanks.
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