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YC W13 Applicants

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Re: YC W13 Applicants

#61

Post by ghshephard »

mtdev wrote: post #60

mobius.io here, we make hardware and were pretty excited when we read http://www.paulgraham.com/hw.html . Got rejected today and checked the server logs, saw nobody ever logged into our demo site. Is this typical or just means that our application was really, really bad?

Well, put another way, it might mean that your application wasn't really, really good. It could have been good, or, in fact, it might have been really good - but, I suspect the YC approach is to start with the very, very good applications. They then try and eliminate some percentage of those through some further due-diligence, bring a smaller group in for interviews, and then finally select a very small percentage of the original group.

Because YC hires primarily based on team/commitment/skill/fortitude/enthusiasm and potential, I'm guessing that reviewing the demo is done after there is some belief that the first properties are present.

[edit: I checked your site - the first two questions that come to my mind are, "What is the potential for this growing into $10B enterprise" and "What is their unfair competitive advantage in building this interface system?

PS - with a bit of work, this would be the start of an awesome Kickstarter. Then you don't have to give any equity away, which, if you really believe in your prospects, should also be attractive)

Re: YC W13 Applicants

#62

Post by trefn »

x-post from the other thread - relevant if you got a rejection email tonight.

Hi everyone -

Startups are hard. I hope you'll keep going in the face of adversity.

If so, Mixpanel is here to help. Forward a copy of your YC rejection email to free@mixpanel.com and we'll hook you up with our $150/month Startup plan, free forever.

Re: YC W13 Applicants

#63

Post by tylermenezes »

For companies which got an interview, I'd strongly recommend not listing yourself on this list.

Do you really want TechCrunch/etc looking through this list and writing your fundraising articles without your involvement?

Re: YC W13 Applicants

#64

Post by mtdev »

ghshephard wrote: post #61
mtdev wrote: post #60

mobius.io here, we make hardware and were pretty excited when we read http://www.paulgraham.com/hw.html . Got rejected today and checked the server logs, saw nobody ever logged into our demo site. Is this typical or just means that our application was really, really bad?

Well, put another way, it might mean that your application wasn't really, really good. It could have been good, or, in fact, it might have been really good - but, I suspect the YC approach is to start with the very, very good applications. They then try and eliminate some percentage of those through some further due-diligence, bring a smaller group in for interviews, and then finally select a very small percentage of…

Thanks for the tips. As for enterprise, we want to eat ni.com's lunch since a lot of threir lower end systems require a computer to operate. We're thinking of doing a kick starter to get 50 to 100 prototypes built and the case design finalized. The hardware is solid and the firmware/server side features are pretty much done.

Feel free (anyone else too) to contact me if interested in a demo. We're in Mountain View.

Re: YC W13 Applicants

#69

Post by doctorpangloss »

tylermenezes wrote: post #63

For companies which got an interview, I'd strongly recommend not listing yourself on this list. Do you really want TechCrunch/etc looking through this list and writing your fundraising articles without your involvement?

I think what TechCrunch does is unimportant to people who give money to people who receive money. Someone's spreadsheet isn't going to ruin a good idea or a good team.

Re: YC W13 Applicants

#70

Post by lgsilver »

If your company description is, "we're the (insert startup name one) for (insert startup name two)", please please reconsider. There are sooo many cool business ideas that don't involve Facebook, twitter, or (inset startup name three's idea here) ideas.
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