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Just build cool stuff, not products you feel will appeal to investors or customers. As both groups are unpredictable but at the same time you shouldn't have to

by brackin 15y ago

Just build cool stuff, not products you feel will appeal to investors or customers. As both groups are unpredictable but at the same time you shouldn't have to try to pander to what they're looking for. You need to have an interest in what the product is and be flexible to pivot. If you're building something for someone else you aren't very agile and can very easily become stuck as a company. If you don't get into YC giving up is the worst thing to do, you should apply to YC for the experience not just for YC. Otherwise will you just stop doing the startup after YC? These are questions people will have in their minds. Good luck, interesting piece and some very valid and great points in there.

sathishmanohar 15y ago
Thanks for the kind words :) Problem with building cool stuff for me is, I'm the idea guy, I usually get lot of ideas in different fields, I figured that is a problem, more than a asset. I found a way around this, I archive all ideas, and wait. Some ideas seem stupid after sometime or after some discussion, example: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116788 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116788. I only choose to work on ideas that appeals to me even after 6 months. Actually, I'm building both products for me, 1. Project management tool ( sure! not basecamp copycat ) and 2. News Website with an interesting twist. I desperately need both and I hope the world will come to love it. Edit: that is not to say, I don't build cool stuff. I built an astrology site that updates itself ;) http://rasi-palan.com http://rasi-palan.com (Its ugly, but it works ;) built in a day) My first YC application was a mistake, I was in a mindset like, "What will I build if I get money?". My current mindset is "What will I build, regardless of money". Since my first product will be SaaS Application, it will survive by itself. I'm still worried about the second product, since its a consumer application like youtube, twitter, I thought I might go broke running it. Now, I think if a consumer product gets that amount of traction, then It may very well attract investors. Anyway, We'll get our MVP online first. We'll see from there. :)

by brackin 15y ago

sathishmanohar 15y ago

Thanks for the kind words :) Problem with building cool stuff for me is, I'm the idea guy, I usually get lot of ideas in different fields, I figured that is a problem, more than a asset. I found a way around this, I archive all ideas, and wait. Some ideas seem stupid after sometime or after some discussion, example: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116788 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116788. I only choose to work on ideas that appeals to me even after 6 months. Actually, I'm building both products for me, 1. Project management tool ( sure! not basecamp copycat ) and 2. News Website with an interesting twist. I desperately need both and I hope the world will come to love it. Edit: that is not to say, I don't build cool stuff. I built an astrology site that updates itself ;) http://rasi-palan.com http://rasi-palan.com (Its ugly, but it works ;) built in a day) My first YC application was a mistake, I was in a mindset like, "What will I build if I get money?". My current mindset is "What will I build, regardless of money". Since my first product will be SaaS Application, it will survive by itself. I'm still worried about the second product, since its a consumer application like youtube, twitter, I thought I might go broke running it. Now, I think if a consumer product gets that amount of traction, then It may very well attract investors. Anyway, We'll get our MVP online first. We'll see from there. :)