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Snapchat Pitch Competition

justinkan.com

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Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#31

Post by BinaryIdiot »

alttab wrote: post #28
sotojuan wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "Snapchat is for nudes!!!" joke is really an outsider thing. It really isn't used for those kinds of pics much more than text or even Facebook. Either way people will screenshot so it's the same as those two.

An "outsider" thing? I've used it quite extensively and understand its nuanced differences from other offerings. That said, its a fancy messenger app that is a huge battery hog, and crashes and lags constantly. It's not really deviating from the image that it's built by frat-boys. One thing I do admire about it is that it deletes the content. This allows me to be more "free" and take shitty pictures of myself just to…

Honestly I agree with most of your opinion. I do disagree however with this portion:

> So either your insecure, or you're sending dick pics.

While deleting is a big draw I think you're presenting a false choice. Deleting content creates scarcity and a more live experience. Granted it's artificial and to me it's frustrating because I like to keep all content I create, even if it sucks.

I think that coupled with the lack of discoverablity creates more intiment experiences and people are eating it up regardless of the app problems.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#32

Post by argonaut »

Let me go against the grain here and say: there's nothing wrong with this idea! Sounds like a fun way for several startups to get visibility (more power to them), Justin to broaden YC's visibility, and to encourage a few startups to be visually creative in a way that they wouldn't be able to on a normal application. YC doesn't have a quota for its current programs, so it's not zero-sum.

There are tons of mature adults that use Snapchat for normal communication with friends.

And the "lack of transparency" criticism is just looking for anything to criticize YC for. If anything, there's more transparency than the normal YC process because the runners-up are publicly known and exposed to community comments.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#33

Post by dang »

taytus wrote: post #23

You are a much nicer person than me. Under my eyes, this is just plain stupid.

This comment adds no information, and breaks the HN guidelines by calling names. Please post civilly and substantively, or not at all.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html

We detached it from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11678617 and marked it off-topic.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#34

Post by dang »

alttab wrote: post #11

"Let's use a frat-boy's penis-pic sharing app to fund the next Silicon Valley Unicorn!"

If you have a substantive critique to make, you're welcome to make it, but this is the kind of comment HN can use none of, regardless of one's opinion about Snapchat.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11678502 and marked it off-topic.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#36

Post by Kela »

I am just going to be pretty blunt.

- For those who say that good founders should spend their time working on their startup and nothing gimmicky like this; If you get to appear on this snapchat and it takes your 6 hours to prepare for it (way too long in my opinion). Justin has over 7500 views per snap, that's 7500 people that learn about your startup and a couple thousand that may be directed to you website, it's them up to the credibility of your website/app to convert them to signups. What else would you do to gain an audience of 7500 ardent tech fans in those 6hrs? My project was once featured on his channels months ago and we got hundreds of new users because of that.

- someone mentioned shitty ideas getting attention because of likable founders and good ideas not getting attention because of unlikebale founders. I'd say it's in the best interest to have a good idea and be likable, startups are a very competitive market, you should look for every edge you can have over the next guy. Not fair buts that's the way it is.

- YCF provides lots of value for very early startups, it's only fair that they get some value back immediately considering it's a risky bet and their stake only converts at a $100 million event. If the value is entertainment that gets them more exposure (good for sourcing deals), I'd say it's a fair trade off.

- For those who say it's a waste of time, I think that's pretty pessimistic. Any oppurtunity to get funded by a reputable entity is never a waste of time. You are a startup, you are unconventional. The odds are not in your favor, if you have to shine shoes to get the attention of what/who you want, I say do it. Lots of successful people have done so. It's the type of "I am too good to do this" hubris that makes some people frown on SV culture being cultivated in some founders

I can go on, but I'd rather work on my startup or get some rest, that way I can free up time to apply. Good luck!

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#37

Post by bennesvig »

It's a fun idea. I'm looking forward to watching the pitches. Even the startups that don't win will get free publicity. I've downloaded apps because of Justin's ProductHunt reviews. I give it 5/5 Klausses.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#38

Post by sheehantoufiq »

educar wrote: post #27

This is silly. Sad to see that startups are being thought as some sort of game/entertainment. Nobody who is serious about building a company needs to actually go through all this. I cannot imagine YC's own employees will go through this process should they start a company of their own. I thought the previous experiment was borderline amusement but this has totally crossed the line. Has YC somehow convinced itself tha…

Snapchat got social vlogging right.

The amount of friction a user goes through to start documenting their life is extremely low, and since the stories get deleted there's no real commitment to be an active vlogger. It's easy to see why Justin is so active on it.

It's a powerful platform that an entire generation uses, and it seems like the applicants will still go through formal interviews. So it's simply a way to bring attention to YC.

Would a YouTube video pitch 10 years ago be silly?

Would applying over email in 1995 be silly?

Maybe back then, but think about how applying to incubators is done now.

Maybe Snapchat will never reach the level of popularity of either of those, but it never hurts to experiment, because it's experimentation that turned YC into one of the top incubators.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#39

Post by maxwin »

educar wrote: post #27

This is silly. Sad to see that startups are being thought as some sort of game/entertainment. Nobody who is serious about building a company needs to actually go through all this. I cannot imagine YC's own employees will go through this process should they start a company of their own. I thought the previous experiment was borderline amusement but this has totally crossed the line. Has YC somehow convinced itself tha…

I have tried using snapchat 3 times and found it frustrating to use. I have no friends using it. Because of this post, I gave it another try and followed Justin Khan and other tech entrepreneurs. I must say I finally know a bit about why it is such a big deal. I spent like an hour during the past 7 hours watching other people's stories. It is kind of addictive. I love Justin's snapstorm on founder burnout and how to avoid it. It feels very personal and casual. Justin, please ignore the negativities and keep being awesome.

Re: Snapchat Pitch Competition

#40

Post by JohnLamb »

To those calling this "JUVENILE":

Is it widely considered mature to leave a fortune 500 to start up a company with some friends??? Perhaps some of you have forgotten what this field is all about. Off the beaten path. I hate that the start up community is now being diluted by these gold rush khaki wearing know it alls that I knew back in the acct department...

Lastly, and this goes for anyone or anything you're being critical of. Please state your accomplishments/accolades prior to your negative spiels so as to save us time.

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