10 ms·

Warn HN: Lots of Launches Coming

428 points by pg 15y ago

Every cycle we warn startups not to wait till 2 weeks before Demo Day to launch if they can avoid it, because there's always a glut of startups launching then. Every cycle they do anyway. It's now 2 weeks before Demo Day, so there are going to be a lot of new startups launching in the coming week. Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment.

peacemaker 15y ago
Good luck to all the current YC guys, I'm sure you're all feeling the pain right now only 2 weeks away from the big day! As for launching around the same time, I'm of the opinion that if your own (non-YC) startup is good enough, it will stand alongside, or even above some of the YC guys and perhaps "cash in" on the startup fervour around at the time.
captaincrunch 15y ago
Good luck everyone!
jswinghammer 15y ago
It's always exciting to see what's in the works. In every cycle it seems like there is a YC site that I end up using a lot. Has the culture around here gotten so hostile that a "be nice" request is needed?
- Mz 15y ago
  FWIW: I didn't read it as "don't be openly hostile". I read it as "please remember they have their heart in their mouth and are drenched in a cold sweat and even yawning indifference can be soul crushing, yet we realize there are so many it will be hard to get all excited about each and every one of them (especially with so many of them announcing their launch at essentially the exact same time)".
pama 15y ago
Congrats to Snapjoy, Leaky, and Kicksend for launching today! Keep'em coming!
ryanglasgow 15y ago
Good luck guys! Take feedback with a grain of salt and stay focused on your vision.
melling 15y ago
Should have a special title tag. Show HN YC: ... or something to that effect.
- losvedir 15y ago
  They probably will. Keep your eyes out for "(YC S11)".
dotBen 15y ago
Surely such sentiment should be extended to any startup, not just YC startups?
- pg 15y ago
  The point is that the arrival of YC startups is spiky, with 2 big spikes a year.
dbz 15y ago
Pg, can you try adding a tab up top for new startups? I personally love to read about them but sometimes the launches etc. This would make it a lot easier to find the latest ones.
- pg 15y ago
  I don't think most users would want a tab for it, but you can easily get this from HNSearch: http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=%28YC+S11%29&sortby=create_ts+desc&start=0 http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=%28...
  - dbz 15y ago
    Thank you, that is indeed very helpful. Do you think you could temporarily auto-fill that text into the search bar at the bottom of the page for the week leading up to demo_day? I think a lot of users would find that to be both non-intrusive and interesting/helpful.
    - techiferous 15y ago
      I think in the week leading up to demo day pg would probably have better things to do than make website tweaks. I'm not bashing your suggestion, just putting it in context.
  - sushrutbidwai 15y ago
    Perhaps you should create a launch module like jobs and pipeline the launch stories as is case with jobs stories. will help all startups of YC to get even attention from community.
  - paulnelligan 15y ago
    Hi Paul. I would love to see a tab for people launching new products in general. i.e. a way to submit your startup for review. Since HN is essentially a startup community, wouldn't it make sense to distinguish a 'review my startup' entry from a 'NASA discovers oxygen on Pluto' entry ? ... especially considering that the submitter often has put months and months of time into it, and would REALLY appreciate and value feedback from others, instead of quickly dropping off (or not even making) the front page ...
ashbrahma 15y ago
It looks like Techcrunch is getting the scoop on every single launch.
smoyer 15y ago
"Please be nice to them" With very few exceptions, I enjoy seeing what the YC crowd releases, but isn't this going a bit to far? Aren't we the perfect audience to provide constructive criticism? On the other hand, if you're asking us to be empathetic at the same time, I couldn't agree more. Go YC!
- brlewis 15y ago
  Niceness and constructive criticism are not mutually exclusive. They can even coexist in a single comment.
  - smoyer 15y ago
    True ... and the Internet as a whole could use a lot more "nice". It's amazing how much different some people behave when they're not having a face-to-face conversation.
    - Mz 15y ago
      Part of that is not that people behave worse but that communication in writing, without facial expression and voice tone and the like, is prone to sounding a lot harsher than it likely would face-to-face. Especially if someone is prone to hyperbole, sarcasm, irony and so on, the lack of voice tone and facial expression tends to have a huge negative impact on "tone".
      - smoyer 15y ago
        That's also true ... I'm a practitioner of sarcasm myself and have to be very careful not to use (overuse) it on the Internet. But if you work hard enough, you can convey tone through your writing. I think the two other culprits are the de-personification that can so easily occur in our interactions and the tendency to interpret statements with the worst possible meanings. This problem never seems to happen when the person is someone we know in "real life". Enough with the thread hijacking :) ... and if this gets much deeper I'll have to consult with my psychologist wife as I'm sure there are proper terms for most of these behaviors. (And yes ... I am her live-in case study)
templaedhel 15y ago
I'm really hoping to see a YC company launch on the startup foundry or such, but it may not be wide enough exposure yet. Eventually.
Animus7 15y ago
>Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment. I'm usually quite pleased with what comes out of YC. That said, in this competitive market, I don't think that being nice (just because) helps anyone the week after launch. I personally look forward to the day HN tears apart my project so I can say I truly learned something.
- mrkurt 15y ago
  The biggest lessons I've ever learned from people shredding things I've put in front of them is that the people doing the shredding are rarely helpful, if you discount skin thickening exercises anyway. I suspect "be nice" is more about how people talk to each other than the content of what they're saying.
  - hashbo 15y ago
    I have to agree 100%. There’s a huge difference between honest helpful critique and semi-bullying criticism which is often a feeble attempt of someone to make people feel better about how little they have risked and achieved in their lives - and if not it’s usually just a simple pissing competition. ‘Shredding’ someone’s work is usually as helpful as breaking someone’s window and trashing their home to show they are at risk of being burgled. Point out the weaknesses like you would point out to your own offspring because a new business is like a child - it’s vulnerable and needs some protection and love at first. In time it will be able to stand up for itself. 'Shredding' a startup when it’s little is like bullying a kid when it’s young to show them how vicious the world is. Sorry for the very mixed metaphors :-)
- InfinityX0 15y ago
  He doesn't mean be nice to them even if they have a shitty project. He means don't let the onslaught of launches actually partially sour your perception - use your un-saturated viewpoint that is then cognizant of the bias saturation imbues - to determine your true opinion of their service. Which - if still bad then - should be correctly harsh and honest.
nhangen 15y ago
Thanks for the reminder. It's easy to get jaded about this stuff, but you're right. Good luck on demo day everyone.
ig1 15y ago
I'm bit uncomfortable that Techcrunch's coverage of these launches isn't being made with a disclaimer that Michael Arrington is an investor in most of them (via Angel Fund).
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
  - darylteo 15y ago
    Potential for conflict of interests? Aside: Let's not forget Leo LaPorte calling Arrington an *hole live on his program for getting "the disclaimers out of the way" when Leo was reviewing a handset and insinuating that Leo's review would be influenced as a result of him getting a review unit.
daviday 15y ago
When I saw two launching today I automatically thought this had to do with the economy souring. I had just read Jeff Clavier's tweet: Just maybe? The VC industry is going to wake up and go back to value investing - not FOMO throwing cash at everything, no matter the price But Dave McLure says it's business as usual http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/08/early-stage-investors-unruffled-by-stock-markets-bad-day/?mod=WSJBlog http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/08/early-stage-i...
blackboxxx 15y ago
Be prepared to defend yourself startups. Put on your armor. Some with malice in their hearts will thrust daggers at you. Fight with strength and honor and the crowd will love you. Win the crowd and you will win your freedom. To those startups who do not fight with valor? You will be subject to the mob, as was Airbnb. Even the Emperor will not be able to silence the cries for blood! Startups... I salute you. LET THE LAUNCHES BEGIN!
- canadiancreed 15y ago
  Oliver Reed parodied for the win.
- biot 15y ago
  Investor: Are you ready to do your duty for the internet? Founder: Yes, investor. Investor: You will not be funded. Founder: Which wiser, older startup is to take my place? Investor: My funding will pass to others, to hold in trust until a better startup is ready to launch once more. The internet is to be innovative and profitable again. Founder: Investor? Investor: Yes. My decision disappoints you? Founder: You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Novel concept, challenging problems, technical excellence, and forging new streams of revenue. As I read the list, I knew my startup had none of them. But I have other virtues, investor. Group purchasing. That can be a virtue when it temporarily eases the deal fatigue that everyone's experiencing. Social sharing, perhaps not in a way that generates revenue, but... there are many ways to measure value. Mashups copying one site but adding a single tweak from another site, because it's been done before so must be good. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your investment. Investor: Oh, Founder. You go too far. Founder: I search the faces of other apps... for ideas to copy, to make you proud. One seed investment, one small round... where you wrote out a check for more than the $150K I've already received. Would have been like feeding a third world family for a thousand years. What is it in my idea that you hate so much? Investor: Shh, Founder. Founder: All I've ever wanted was to be like all the other apps out there. Investor: [Gets down on his knees] Founder. Your derivative idea of a startup is my failure as an advisor. Come [Gives Founder a hug] Founder: [Founder hugs Investor and cries] Investor. I would have copied all the apps in the world... if you would only invest in me! [Founder begins to asphyxiate Investor while they hug, Investor grunts]
bfe 15y ago
I wonder if there's any observed correlation between earliness of launch (per pg's advice) and likelihood of future success?
helwr 15y ago
I'd just say it here, once and for all - YC startups suck
- walrus 15y ago
  Yup, every last one of them :) I doubt you really stand behind that. Maybe you really mean, for example, that a majority of the YC startups make things that aren't useful to you.
  - Mz 15y ago
    I get the impression I am missing some "in" joke. :-/
    - walrus 15y ago
      There's no in joke (I don't know helwr). My first sentence was meant to be sarcastic. I was encouraging helwr to explain his/her opinion, since saying "YC startups suck" without any further explanation doesn't really contribute anything.
      - Mz 15y ago
        They have quite high karma (as in "they are on the leader board") but their profile states nothing about them. I was assuming you knew something about them from their comment history. (I am sort of guessing they either were funded by YC or applied and got rejected or some such, but I don't really feel like doing some massive search of the site or combing through all their comments/posts to confirm my hunch.)
        thaumaturgy 15y ago
        They have 919 submissions, the top 142 of which have between 11 and 252 points. They only have 206 comments by comparison; their second-highest-rated comment was a direct link to a pdf of Hacker Monthly #2.
keke_ta 15y ago
Congrats to everyone.
bakbak 15y ago
Pg, is there any way you can make your demo day a live event (may be on justinTV) - and to add the spice you should also make it interactive where viewers can rate each startup with proper scoring system - and if you and startups are comfortable then you should let all the VCs and Angels be able to see scores & ratings coming in live from all over the world (however this may also have negative impact but nothing wrong to try it).... this way investors would right away know what is HIT & HOT !!!
- pdenya 15y ago
  I'd like to see a live stream minus all the American Idol extras if possible.
- davidw 15y ago
  Some of the startups demoed have not actually launched, and in any event, I think they like to cultivate something of a feeling of exclusivity around the event. Not to the point of snobbery or anything like that, just to make it kind of important.
vaksel 15y ago
alternative suggestion...if you are about to launch a new startup...hold off for a month or so. no sense in wasting the launch PR boost when everyone is getting swarmed with pitches
dterra 15y ago
Nice! Its always good to see them. Tip: Dont launch your product if you are not in YC. Chances of getting coverage are none. They will get it all!
jcr 15y ago
pg, can you ask the YC founders to stop announcing their new companies as the "The This of/for That" for example (from the front page): "Leaky (YC S11) is Hipmunk for Car Insurance" I honestly don't care if your new company is "* (YC S11) Is The Facebook for Unicorns," since it really tells me nothing. I have to figure out what a Hipmonk is before I can understand what they do. Hold on while I call the Dalai Lama to ask about the difference between a monk and a hipmonk. Of the YC S11 batch with announcements up, it seems the Snapjoy folks are doing it right (from the front page): "Snapjoy (YC S11) Will Organize Your Photos For You" Now the Snapjoy announcement above provides concise and useful information about what they could do for me, the potential customer.
- bvi 15y ago
  You're absolutely right. I was able to tell from the Snapjoy link what the startup did, and whether or not it was a thread worth browsing through. In 2 seconds. If all YC (and non-YC) startups describe what they do in the title in 10 words or less, everybody wins.
  - jcr 15y ago
    I think the most important part of my previous post was not emphasized enough, and probably because my sense of humor got in the way. The important part is, from the Snapjoy announcement I was able to identify myself as a potential customer. Though I do have a car and car insurance, for me they are already solved problems, so I did not identify myself as a potential customer of Leaky (even if I actually am). If I told my mom that "Leaky is the hipmonk of car insurance," can you imagine the resulting conversation? My mom's hearing isn't great so you could be certain that hilarity would ensue, along with repeating myself and doing a lot of unnecessary explaining. If I told my mom that "Snapjoy can organize your photos," the resulting conversation would be far less entertaining, but far more useful and far shorter.
- schiptsov 15y ago
  Why you're telling them how to use their own marketing/PR tools? ^_^ This site is about making good PR (with some rare mistakes, such as in airbnb's case, but there is really big money involved at the time of the next giant bubble bursting =) and promoting their business and ways of making money, as almost every other site on the net. So, honestly, why they should provide you with the content you like for free? ^_^
freddealmeida 15y ago
@jcr "the facebook for unicorns" FTW
int3rnaut 15y ago
Does anyone know of any blogs from YC founders that cover the personal struggles and conquest of these final 2 weeks before Demo Day? I think it would be a great read (even if they were bit sized entries) to find out what it's like to be under such enormous pressure but on the precipice of your big moment.

428 points by pg 15y ago

peacemaker 15y ago

Good luck to all the current YC guys, I'm sure you're all feeling the pain right now only 2 weeks away from the big day! As for launching around the same time, I'm of the opinion that if your own (non-YC) startup is good enough, it will stand alongside, or even above some of the YC guys and perhaps "cash in" on the startup fervour around at the time.

captaincrunch 15y ago

Good luck everyone!

jswinghammer 15y ago

It's always exciting to see what's in the works. In every cycle it seems like there is a YC site that I end up using a lot. Has the culture around here gotten so hostile that a "be nice" request is needed?

Mz 15y ago
FWIW: I didn't read it as "don't be openly hostile". I read it as "please remember they have their heart in their mouth and are drenched in a cold sweat and even yawning indifference can be soul crushing, yet we realize there are so many it will be hard to get all excited about each and every one of them (especially with so many of them announcing their launch at essentially the exact same time)".

pama 15y ago

Congrats to Snapjoy, Leaky, and Kicksend for launching today! Keep'em coming!

ryanglasgow 15y ago

Good luck guys! Take feedback with a grain of salt and stay focused on your vision.

melling 15y ago

Should have a special title tag. Show HN YC: ... or something to that effect.

losvedir 15y ago
They probably will. Keep your eyes out for "(YC S11)".

dotBen 15y ago

Surely such sentiment should be extended to any startup, not just YC startups?

pg 15y ago
The point is that the arrival of YC startups is spiky, with 2 big spikes a year.

dbz 15y ago

Pg, can you try adding a tab up top for new startups? I personally love to read about them but sometimes the launches etc. This would make it a lot easier to find the latest ones.

pg 15y ago
I don't think most users would want a tab for it, but you can easily get this from HNSearch: http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=%28YC+S11%29&sortby=create_ts+desc&start=0 http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=%28...
- dbz 15y ago
  Thank you, that is indeed very helpful. Do you think you could temporarily auto-fill that text into the search bar at the bottom of the page for the week leading up to demo_day? I think a lot of users would find that to be both non-intrusive and interesting/helpful.
  - techiferous 15y ago
    I think in the week leading up to demo day pg would probably have better things to do than make website tweaks. I'm not bashing your suggestion, just putting it in context.
- sushrutbidwai 15y ago
  Perhaps you should create a launch module like jobs and pipeline the launch stories as is case with jobs stories. will help all startups of YC to get even attention from community.
- paulnelligan 15y ago
  Hi Paul. I would love to see a tab for people launching new products in general. i.e. a way to submit your startup for review. Since HN is essentially a startup community, wouldn't it make sense to distinguish a 'review my startup' entry from a 'NASA discovers oxygen on Pluto' entry ? ... especially considering that the submitter often has put months and months of time into it, and would REALLY appreciate and value feedback from others, instead of quickly dropping off (or not even making) the front page ...

ashbrahma 15y ago

It looks like Techcrunch is getting the scoop on every single launch.

smoyer 15y ago

"Please be nice to them" With very few exceptions, I enjoy seeing what the YC crowd releases, but isn't this going a bit to far? Aren't we the perfect audience to provide constructive criticism? On the other hand, if you're asking us to be empathetic at the same time, I couldn't agree more. Go YC!

brlewis 15y ago
Niceness and constructive criticism are not mutually exclusive. They can even coexist in a single comment.
- smoyer 15y ago
  True ... and the Internet as a whole could use a lot more "nice". It's amazing how much different some people behave when they're not having a face-to-face conversation.
  - Mz 15y ago
    Part of that is not that people behave worse but that communication in writing, without facial expression and voice tone and the like, is prone to sounding a lot harsher than it likely would face-to-face. Especially if someone is prone to hyperbole, sarcasm, irony and so on, the lack of voice tone and facial expression tends to have a huge negative impact on "tone".
    - smoyer 15y ago
      That's also true ... I'm a practitioner of sarcasm myself and have to be very careful not to use (overuse) it on the Internet. But if you work hard enough, you can convey tone through your writing. I think the two other culprits are the de-personification that can so easily occur in our interactions and the tendency to interpret statements with the worst possible meanings. This problem never seems to happen when the person is someone we know in "real life". Enough with the thread hijacking :) ... and if this gets much deeper I'll have to consult with my psychologist wife as I'm sure there are proper terms for most of these behaviors. (And yes ... I am her live-in case study)

templaedhel 15y ago

I'm really hoping to see a YC company launch on the startup foundry or such, but it may not be wide enough exposure yet. Eventually.

Animus7 15y ago

>Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment. I'm usually quite pleased with what comes out of YC. That said, in this competitive market, I don't think that being nice (just because) helps anyone the week after launch. I personally look forward to the day HN tears apart my project so I can say I truly learned something.

mrkurt 15y ago
The biggest lessons I've ever learned from people shredding things I've put in front of them is that the people doing the shredding are rarely helpful, if you discount skin thickening exercises anyway. I suspect "be nice" is more about how people talk to each other than the content of what they're saying.
- hashbo 15y ago
  I have to agree 100%. There’s a huge difference between honest helpful critique and semi-bullying criticism which is often a feeble attempt of someone to make people feel better about how little they have risked and achieved in their lives - and if not it’s usually just a simple pissing competition. ‘Shredding’ someone’s work is usually as helpful as breaking someone’s window and trashing their home to show they are at risk of being burgled. Point out the weaknesses like you would point out to your own offspring because a new business is like a child - it’s vulnerable and needs some protection and love at first. In time it will be able to stand up for itself. 'Shredding' a startup when it’s little is like bullying a kid when it’s young to show them how vicious the world is. Sorry for the very mixed metaphors :-)
InfinityX0 15y ago
He doesn't mean be nice to them even if they have a shitty project. He means don't let the onslaught of launches actually partially sour your perception - use your un-saturated viewpoint that is then cognizant of the bias saturation imbues - to determine your true opinion of their service. Which - if still bad then - should be correctly harsh and honest.

nhangen 15y ago

Thanks for the reminder. It's easy to get jaded about this stuff, but you're right. Good luck on demo day everyone.

ig1 15y ago

I'm bit uncomfortable that Techcrunch's coverage of these launches isn't being made with a disclaimer that Michael Arrington is an investor in most of them (via Angel Fund).

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- darylteo 15y ago
  Potential for conflict of interests? Aside: Let's not forget Leo LaPorte calling Arrington an *hole live on his program for getting "the disclaimers out of the way" when Leo was reviewing a handset and insinuating that Leo's review would be influenced as a result of him getting a review unit.

daviday 15y ago

When I saw two launching today I automatically thought this had to do with the economy souring. I had just read Jeff Clavier's tweet: Just maybe? The VC industry is going to wake up and go back to value investing - not FOMO throwing cash at everything, no matter the price But Dave McLure says it's business as usual http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/08/early-stage-investors-unruffled-by-stock-markets-bad-day/?mod=WSJBlog http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/08/early-stage-i...

blackboxxx 15y ago

Be prepared to defend yourself startups. Put on your armor. Some with malice in their hearts will thrust daggers at you. Fight with strength and honor and the crowd will love you. Win the crowd and you will win your freedom. To those startups who do not fight with valor? You will be subject to the mob, as was Airbnb. Even the Emperor will not be able to silence the cries for blood! Startups... I salute you. LET THE LAUNCHES BEGIN!

canadiancreed 15y ago
Oliver Reed parodied for the win.
biot 15y ago
Investor: Are you ready to do your duty for the internet? Founder: Yes, investor. Investor: You will not be funded. Founder: Which wiser, older startup is to take my place? Investor: My funding will pass to others, to hold in trust until a better startup is ready to launch once more. The internet is to be innovative and profitable again. Founder: Investor? Investor: Yes. My decision disappoints you? Founder: You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Novel concept, challenging problems, technical excellence, and forging new streams of revenue. As I read the list, I knew my startup had none of them. But I have other virtues, investor. Group purchasing. That can be a virtue when it temporarily eases the deal fatigue that everyone's experiencing. Social sharing, perhaps not in a way that generates revenue, but... there are many ways to measure value. Mashups copying one site but adding a single tweak from another site, because it's been done before so must be good. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your investment. Investor: Oh, Founder. You go too far. Founder: I search the faces of other apps... for ideas to copy, to make you proud. One seed investment, one small round... where you wrote out a check for more than the $150K I've already received. Would have been like feeding a third world family for a thousand years. What is it in my idea that you hate so much? Investor: Shh, Founder. Founder: All I've ever wanted was to be like all the other apps out there. Investor: [Gets down on his knees] Founder. Your derivative idea of a startup is my failure as an advisor. Come [Gives Founder a hug] Founder: [Founder hugs Investor and cries] Investor. I would have copied all the apps in the world... if you would only invest in me! [Founder begins to asphyxiate Investor while they hug, Investor grunts]

bfe 15y ago

I wonder if there's any observed correlation between earliness of launch (per pg's advice) and likelihood of future success?

helwr 15y ago

I'd just say it here, once and for all - YC startups suck

walrus 15y ago
Yup, every last one of them :) I doubt you really stand behind that. Maybe you really mean, for example, that a majority of the YC startups make things that aren't useful to you.
- Mz 15y ago
  I get the impression I am missing some "in" joke. :-/
  - walrus 15y ago
    There's no in joke (I don't know helwr). My first sentence was meant to be sarcastic. I was encouraging helwr to explain his/her opinion, since saying "YC startups suck" without any further explanation doesn't really contribute anything.
    - Mz 15y ago
      They have quite high karma (as in "they are on the leader board") but their profile states nothing about them. I was assuming you knew something about them from their comment history. (I am sort of guessing they either were funded by YC or applied and got rejected or some such, but I don't really feel like doing some massive search of the site or combing through all their comments/posts to confirm my hunch.)
      - thaumaturgy 15y ago
        They have 919 submissions, the top 142 of which have between 11 and 252 points. They only have 206 comments by comparison; their second-highest-rated comment was a direct link to a pdf of Hacker Monthly #2.

keke_ta 15y ago

Congrats to everyone.

bakbak 15y ago

Pg, is there any way you can make your demo day a live event (may be on justinTV) - and to add the spice you should also make it interactive where viewers can rate each startup with proper scoring system - and if you and startups are comfortable then you should let all the VCs and Angels be able to see scores & ratings coming in live from all over the world (however this may also have negative impact but nothing wrong to try it).... this way investors would right away know what is HIT & HOT !!!

pdenya 15y ago
I'd like to see a live stream minus all the American Idol extras if possible.
davidw 15y ago
Some of the startups demoed have not actually launched, and in any event, I think they like to cultivate something of a feeling of exclusivity around the event. Not to the point of snobbery or anything like that, just to make it kind of important.

vaksel 15y ago

alternative suggestion...if you are about to launch a new startup...hold off for a month or so. no sense in wasting the launch PR boost when everyone is getting swarmed with pitches

dterra 15y ago

Nice! Its always good to see them. Tip: Dont launch your product if you are not in YC. Chances of getting coverage are none. They will get it all!

jcr 15y ago

pg, can you ask the YC founders to stop announcing their new companies as the "The This of/for That" for example (from the front page): "Leaky (YC S11) is Hipmunk for Car Insurance" I honestly don't care if your new company is "* (YC S11) Is The Facebook for Unicorns," since it really tells me nothing. I have to figure out what a Hipmonk is before I can understand what they do. Hold on while I call the Dalai Lama to ask about the difference between a monk and a hipmonk. Of the YC S11 batch with announcements up, it seems the Snapjoy folks are doing it right (from the front page): "Snapjoy (YC S11) Will Organize Your Photos For You" Now the Snapjoy announcement above provides concise and useful information about what they could do for me, the potential customer.

bvi 15y ago
You're absolutely right. I was able to tell from the Snapjoy link what the startup did, and whether or not it was a thread worth browsing through. In 2 seconds. If all YC (and non-YC) startups describe what they do in the title in 10 words or less, everybody wins.
- jcr 15y ago
  I think the most important part of my previous post was not emphasized enough, and probably because my sense of humor got in the way. The important part is, from the Snapjoy announcement I was able to identify myself as a potential customer. Though I do have a car and car insurance, for me they are already solved problems, so I did not identify myself as a potential customer of Leaky (even if I actually am). If I told my mom that "Leaky is the hipmonk of car insurance," can you imagine the resulting conversation? My mom's hearing isn't great so you could be certain that hilarity would ensue, along with repeating myself and doing a lot of unnecessary explaining. If I told my mom that "Snapjoy can organize your photos," the resulting conversation would be far less entertaining, but far more useful and far shorter.
schiptsov 15y ago
Why you're telling them how to use their own marketing/PR tools? ^_^ This site is about making good PR (with some rare mistakes, such as in airbnb's case, but there is really big money involved at the time of the next giant bubble bursting =) and promoting their business and ways of making money, as almost every other site on the net. So, honestly, why they should provide you with the content you like for free? ^_^

freddealmeida 15y ago

@jcr "the facebook for unicorns" FTW

int3rnaut 15y ago

Does anyone know of any blogs from YC founders that cover the personal struggles and conquest of these final 2 weeks before Demo Day? I think it would be a great read (even if they were bit sized entries) to find out what it's like to be under such enormous pressure but on the precipice of your big moment.