5 ms·

We added two new questions this year: Why did you pick this project to work on? and How will you get users? In retrospect it's surprising we didn't already ask

by pg 16y ago

We added two new questions this year: Why did you pick this project to work on? and How will you get users? In retrospect it's surprising we didn't already ask these. (When reading applications we found we were trying to reconstruct answers to them from the answers people gave to other questions.) We also stopped describing the video as optional. In practice it wasn't.

Alex3917 16y ago
"How will you get users?" Some unsolicited advice for this question: For startups that rely on 'going viral': The benefit that users get from telling their friends is... For businesses that need to get 2+ separate-facing user bases: The game theory aligns and makes it rational for both X and Y to participate because... For startups doing B2B sales: The reason the X will look like a hero to his boss for making this purchase is... If I were the one reading these I would also add "What's the one thing that needs to happen for this business to become a huge success?" Not only is this (IMHO) necessary to ballpark how likely the business is to succeed, but it's also extremely good at spotlighting both good and sloppy thinking.
- patio11 16y ago
  Unsolicited advice: In our market the user adoption process looks like... We're going to hack it. Here's how: ...
thewordpainter 16y ago
i think "how will you get users?" is a great question for whittling the field. any startup entrepreneur with experience knows that "viral effect" is not the answer, and a strategy is involved...especially if you don't have the valley resources at your disposal. i'm assuming "why did you pick this project..." is all about the passion...
- pg 16y ago
  i'm assuming "why did you pick this project..." is all about the passion... Actually the ideal answer would be "We needed this at the last company I worked for."
  - zackattack 16y ago
    What if you did some exploratory work on the solution at the last company you worked for ... are there potential IP issues that could crop up?
    - weel 16y ago
      Yes, of course. (And I believe YC already asks a question about that.) Employers regularly claim intellectual property rights to the inventions of their employees. But issues coming up does not equal issues being unsurmountable. First of all, many jurisdictions make it hard for employers to try to control things you invent on your own time without using their facilities -- which doesn't keep employers from trying. Secondly, even if your employer arguably does control the IP you need, that doesn't mean they won't give it up. Woz famously realized that HP had a claim to the Apple I and offered to let them have it; HP thought of it as more of a hobby than a business and the rest is history. Universities and other research institutes routinely let employees spin off companies, usually in exchange for some share (although, anecdotally, it seems that universities that are new to the game often ask for more than universities that already have strong spin-off cultures).
    - pg 16y ago
      In practice the test is where lines of code got written. If all your startup's code was written after you quit your job, you're usually ok.

by pg 16y ago

Alex3917 16y ago

"How will you get users?" Some unsolicited advice for this question: For startups that rely on 'going viral': The benefit that users get from telling their friends is... For businesses that need to get 2+ separate-facing user bases: The game theory aligns and makes it rational for both X and Y to participate because... For startups doing B2B sales: The reason the X will look like a hero to his boss for making this purchase is... If I were the one reading these I would also add "What's the one thing that needs to happen for this business to become a huge success?" Not only is this (IMHO) necessary to ballpark how likely the business is to succeed, but it's also extremely good at spotlighting both good and sloppy thinking.

patio11 16y ago
Unsolicited advice: In our market the user adoption process looks like... We're going to hack it. Here's how: ...

thewordpainter 16y ago

i think "how will you get users?" is a great question for whittling the field. any startup entrepreneur with experience knows that "viral effect" is not the answer, and a strategy is involved...especially if you don't have the valley resources at your disposal. i'm assuming "why did you pick this project..." is all about the passion...

pg 16y ago
i'm assuming "why did you pick this project..." is all about the passion... Actually the ideal answer would be "We needed this at the last company I worked for."
- zackattack 16y ago
  What if you did some exploratory work on the solution at the last company you worked for ... are there potential IP issues that could crop up?
  - weel 16y ago
    Yes, of course. (And I believe YC already asks a question about that.) Employers regularly claim intellectual property rights to the inventions of their employees. But issues coming up does not equal issues being unsurmountable. First of all, many jurisdictions make it hard for employers to try to control things you invent on your own time without using their facilities -- which doesn't keep employers from trying. Secondly, even if your employer arguably does control the IP you need, that doesn't mean they won't give it up. Woz famously realized that HP had a claim to the Apple I and offered to let them have it; HP thought of it as more of a hobby than a business and the rest is history. Universities and other research institutes routinely let employees spin off companies, usually in exchange for some share (although, anecdotally, it seems that universities that are new to the game often ask for more than universities that already have strong spin-off cultures).
  - pg 16y ago
    In practice the test is where lines of code got written. If all your startup's code was written after you quit your job, you're usually ok.