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I'm surprised at how poorly planned and filmed most of these videos are. Is that the point? Is it supposed to be so rough? (Note: I've never applied to YC o

by davidu 16y ago

I'm surprised at how poorly planned and filmed most of these videos are. Is that the point? Is it supposed to be so rough? (Note: I've never applied to YC or looked at the application)

citizenkeys 16y ago
Here's the official instructions for making a video: http://ycombinator.com/video.html http://ycombinator.com/video.html The instructions say: The video should contain nothing except the founders talking. No screenshots or postproduction wizardry please; we don't want this to turn into a video making contest. If you're going to spend time making something cool, put it into your demo/product. However, I agree with you. I think people should strive to make a good first impression. Beyond the bad quality of some of the videos, I was surprised how many people submitted videos saying words to the effect of "I have another co-founder but he couldn't be here for this video." If I were watching those and heard that, I'd automatically reject the applicant. If you can't even get your alleged co-founder together for a simple one minute video then things are obviously already falling apart.
- jamesteow 16y ago
  "If you can't even get your alleged co-founder together for a simple one minute video then things are obviously already falling apart." I've actually heard of people applying a few hours before the deadline. So if they are geographically distant from one another, they just use webcams.
  - jeffwidman 16y ago
    I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii and we didn't put together the application until after I got married, so we used two webcams and spliced 'em together...
    - citizenkeys 16y ago
      My comment wasn't about videos of co-founders spliced together. My comment was about people that just basically said, in so many words, "I have a co-founder but he refused to show up even for a one-minute video."
- robryan 16y ago
  I know there isn't any context without the application also, but there seems to be a lot of vague reasons why a new offering will be better than the competition.

by davidu 16y ago

I'm surprised at how poorly planned and filmed most of these videos are. Is that the point? Is it supposed to be so rough? (Note: I've never applied to YC or looked at the application)

citizenkeys 16y ago

Here's the official instructions for making a video: http://ycombinator.com/video.html http://ycombinator.com/video.html The instructions say: The video should contain nothing except the founders talking. No screenshots or postproduction wizardry please; we don't want this to turn into a video making contest. If you're going to spend time making something cool, put it into your demo/product. However, I agree with you. I think people should strive to make a good first impression. Beyond the bad quality of some of the videos, I was surprised how many people submitted videos saying words to the effect of "I have another co-founder but he couldn't be here for this video." If I were watching those and heard that, I'd automatically reject the applicant. If you can't even get your alleged co-founder together for a simple one minute video then things are obviously already falling apart.

jamesteow 16y ago
"If you can't even get your alleged co-founder together for a simple one minute video then things are obviously already falling apart." I've actually heard of people applying a few hours before the deadline. So if they are geographically distant from one another, they just use webcams.
- jeffwidman 16y ago
  I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii and we didn't put together the application until after I got married, so we used two webcams and spliced 'em together...
  - citizenkeys 16y ago
    My comment wasn't about videos of co-founders spliced together. My comment was about people that just basically said, in so many words, "I have a co-founder but he refused to show up even for a one-minute video."
robryan 16y ago
I know there isn't any context without the application also, but there seems to be a lot of vague reasons why a new offering will be better than the competition.