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Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

seedlauncher.com

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Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#41

Post by littlegiantcap »

goronbjorn wrote: post #29

> This is the second time we’ve applied to Y Combinator. Our dream has been, for a while, to get our startup off the ground I don't mean to be crass, but 1) This seems to imply that doing Y Combinator entails success, which is backwards. 2) What has the startup been doing since when it was last rejected? Why try to showcase a random thing you can do in 72 hours instead of showcase how you can build your startup in th…

1. You're absolutely right, it dosen't guarantee success. However, getting into Y Combinator would definitely help.

2. This is actually our pivot. We've been together as a team for a year. Also, the reason we haven't launched is because we've been waiting on the crowdfunding law to pass.

We've been working and are continuing to work on seedlauncher.com, applying to Y Combinator is a very small part of what we've been up to.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#42

Post by waterlesscloud »

saraid216 wrote: post #33
motti_s wrote: post #31

I have an idea. Within 72 hours you have to hack into the Y Combinator servers and mark your application as "invite to interview". Do that and you get an interview :) Disclaimer: if you're not sure what :) means, please google it before proceeding with the above suggestion. Anyway I'm just joking. Your post is a nice way to get noticed. Good luck with your application!

Have you ever tried googling for an emoticon...?

"Your search - :) - did not match any documents. Suggestions: Try different keywords."

Which is a pretty unsatisfactory result, really. If I came across :) and didn't know what it meant, Googling for just that is a natural action.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#43

Post by endlessvoid94 »

patio11 wrote: post #39

Life skill for you: putting a message into a bottle and then flinging it onto the Internet could get it read, but that isn't the way to bet. Here's a hypothetical for you: how many people do you think have social permission to contact a YC partner and say "X is awesome and deserves a look." I'd ballpark that in the hundreds to low thousand range. Many of them are accessible on the Internets and less overwhelmed with…

> applications (in general) are a backup filtering mechanism for people who haven't figured out a more effective way to get what they want yet.

It blows me away how many people don't get this.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#45

Post by AndrewNCarr »

vecter wrote: post #7
GuiA wrote: post #2

Ambitious, risky, and likely to be ignored by YC, but I like the spirit :) Would be fun to see them play this game with you though (I'm quite curious to see how you guys work things out if they challenge you to send an iPhone to Mars and back, for one example of many, many problems they could ask you to solve that you couldn't really take care of in 72 hours).

Their offer is specifically for problems that YC itself faces. Give us a problem, a painpoint, anything that annoys you in day to day life, and we’ll hack it in 72 hours. Sending a phone to Mars and back isn't one of them, and is missing the entire spirit of the problem.

"Give us a problem, a painpoint, anything that annoys you in day to day life, and we’ll hack it in 72 hours."

Perhaps one of their painpoints is people begging for acceptance with the argument "gosh, we really are worthy, honest!". Maybe they could solve that one by coming up with a way to demonstrate their value beyond a plea for compassion.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#46

Post by javajosh »

jessedhillon wrote: post #37

Even if PG gave you such a task, how would that demonstrate anything relevant? You getting a task and a deadline is the opposite of being entrepreneurial; that's called having a job and a boss and showing that you are an adequate or better employee. Being entrepreneurial involves you 1) generating ideas, 2) using your intuition to pick a good one, 3) testing it out to see if your intuition is correct (iterate if not)…

Oh, I don't know. Having a team that can solve any arbitrary difficult problem in three days could be quite useful in a startup. The (technical) execution of a startup idea can be cast as a series of arbitrarily difficult problems, after all.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#47

Post by littlegiantcap »

robryan wrote: post #27

You guys should post about your startup here while you have some attention. Sounds interesting (I am assuming you are applying with the seed launcher idea?). Without being an expert in startup financing I'd imagine there would be some fairly significant regulation challenges in the idea? Anyone successfully using the platform currently? It is also interesting that your idea itself if it comes off might be solving a Y…

Seedlauncher.com is a crowdfunding for equity site that is based around investing in small businesses within your own local community. With crowdfunding becoming legal we're creating a platform to enable both accredited and unaccredited investors to become part owners in their local businesses.

Re: Dear Y Combinator, we bet you we can solve a problem of yours in 72 hours.

#49

Post by EwanG »

javajosh wrote: post #46
jessedhillon wrote: post #37

Even if PG gave you such a task, how would that demonstrate anything relevant? You getting a task and a deadline is the opposite of being entrepreneurial; that's called having a job and a boss and showing that you are an adequate or better employee. Being entrepreneurial involves you 1) generating ideas, 2) using your intuition to pick a good one, 3) testing it out to see if your intuition is correct (iterate if not)…

Oh, I don't know. Having a team that can solve any arbitrary difficult problem in three days could be quite useful in a startup. The (technical) execution of a startup idea can be cast as a series of arbitrarily difficult problems, after all.

Arbitrary huh...

My two long term pet peeves for which I would be most happy to help lobby to get them a hearing:

1) Faster than light travel 2) Create a robot that carries it's own power supply, communication device, and webcams that would allow me to traipse up and down any path in Rocky Mountain National Park in real time so that I can take a hike for 20 minutes when I need a break without the requisite plane travel and hotel bill

I suspect pg would be willing to pay for at least number 1 :-)

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