My partner and I have an idea for a website. We are 18 and 17 years old. I thought of idea and do web design, and he has 4 years of programming experience. If we build a prototype or beta do we have enough for an investor to invest in our company/website? Plus I live outside SV.
Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
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Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#2Why not try doing it without an investor? Does it absolutely require one? Could you get something going that would generate revenue and then grow it?
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#3You'll really never know if you spend your time speculating and hesitating to take a step without 100% certainty. Just do it. See where it goes, and judge accordingly.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#4if you build it (and its a good idea), they will come.
at 17/18, you can (most likely, i'm assuming) live with your parents or do the work in your dorms and not have to worry about making a living while starting your business.
find some time and just do it. worry about making money after you have something.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#5Sounds like a good team. What's the idea? Three things I've learned thru the YC experience:
1) Investors like big ideas. If you can't tell a convincing story about how you've got the potential to build a $500m business, almost all investors will pass.
2) Traction wins. Don't build a prototype. Build a product. Prove that users want what you build and show a healthy growth curve BEFORE you take investment. It opens a lot of doors.
3) Distribution wins, too. Have a GREAT story on how you're going to find users without spending a nickel. SEO and viral marketing win. Don't say "word of mouth", "PR", "blogosphere" unless you've proven that your startup has legs there.
Regarding, "outside SV"... It depends. Right outside? Or in the Yukon? Where are you?
If funding is the path you should follow, not living in a hub is making a REALLY hard game a LOT harder.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#6Along the lines of this recent thread and article, don't be too afraid of revealing your work outside of your cave.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=216614
A great way to get some real feedback is to make it, then post it as an Ask YC. The community really steps up to give credit and criticism where they are due. Take this recent thread on Dabbleboard as an example.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=202798
Don't worry about making money right away. It's more important to see if the idea goes somewhere interesting.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#7See how far you can get without raising money, even if you have to work part-time on the side. Unless you're building something that requires a lot of storage, bandwidth, or people you can get a lot done without a lot of cash. Your location outside a tech hub won't be a factor until you need to start hiring experienced people or you need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. By that point you may know if the site is going to be successful or not, and you can move if you need to.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#8You must build first. It is much easier to sell and you have more pull with a completed or ready system. Also, unless you have real professional experience you can't call that 4 years experience. If I could count my experience back to my C64 days and Apple II days then it would be highly inflated. Experience usually means professional work experience, at 18 you need to prove yourself more. Deliverables help this immensely and once you throw down experience means minimal.
The hard part is building and getting noticed, once that happens the investment part is much easier. Truly great business ventures dont' always need lots of investment though, just enough to buy some time to build it or get it in production.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#9The bubble is in full effect.
There seem to be a lot of people that think their projects somehow require funding. Your online social alarm clock is not a startup.
Stop imagining how you're going to make money off of crappy widgets. Get out there, be curious and build things that solve actual problems.
Re: Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
#10You should talk to this guy: http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=markbao