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Applications open for summer 2009 YC funding
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- pclark 18y agoPS: Video Applications now required, interesting: http://ycombinator.com/video.html http://ycombinator.com/video.html > In the video please introduce yourselves, explain what you're doing and why, and tell us anything else you want to about the founders or the project.
- pg 18y agoWe'd been meaning to do this, but it required me to add support for uploading videos. Fortunately Posterous appeared and solved the problem way more thoroughly than I would have.
- pclark 18y agoI've used Posterous for a very similar purpose. It's great when startups solve a genuine problem. (pity the application form isn't wufoo!)
- johnrob 18y agoIt seems like any service that lets you post a video and access it from a fixed url would be sufficient (so long as the video is as private as the submitter wants it to be). S3 could work just fine, if you made the file public and put it on an obscure path.
- pclark 18y agoso either code a solution (eg, uploader, verify it's a video, verify private urls are secure, etc etc) or just use a startup you've funded that does exactly this? :)
- johnrob 18y agoI was just saying you could have a place to paste in a url, and leave it at that (let the user figure out how to get their video url-accessible). If an applicant can't figure that out, it's probably a worthwhile filter. [Edit]: Validation of the video is probably desirable, since you then don't have to ping applicants whose videos don't work. I'm willing to bet that posterous does validation and replies if the video is bad.
- siong1987 18y ago"If you want to apply, please submit your application online by 10 pm PST on March 18, 2009. Groups that submit early have an advantage because we have more time to read their applications." Do we have the chance to update the submitted video with our latest video? For instance, if we decide to submit the application with the video before the deadline, then, decide to update the video later. Can we do so?
- pclark 18y ago> Edit and resubmit as much as you want, but be sure to submit at least once before the deadline (March 18 at 10 pm PST), because you haven't applied till you do. I assume they simply use the most recent application...
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- siong1987 18y agoI know. But, are they going to use the latest video?
- pg 18y agoThe last video url you put in the form field will overwrite whatever was there before. We might see an earlier video if you submit your application early, we look at it, and then you update and submit again before the deadline. But (a) it would be very unlikely that all three of us would independently do that and (b) we'd probably also check the new one after applications closed and we started reading them in earnest.
- martythemaniak 18y agoIt'd be interesting to see how many applications YC gets compared to this time last year (as a % change). On one hand, people might be pretty worried about taking a risk like this now that the economic turmoil has really started to hit the labour market and not apply as much. OTOH, recently laid-off people might flood YC with applications, even if they would not consider it before.
- palish 18y agoIt seems like there will be a sharp decline in the number of applications because of the effort required to produce a video introducing the founders, even if it's a simple video. That is a Good Thing though because it will probably filter out most of the low-quality apps (a 13-year old single-founder applicant probably wouldn't take the time to make the video, for example). On the other hand, if you ever wanted to Goatse PG, here's your chance.
- menloparkbum 18y ago?! Outside of setting world records for texting, pretty much the only thing 13 year olds do these days is post videos of themselves to the internet. The effort required to make a sub-minute intro video has almost reached zero.
- palish 18y agoI should've selected the example more carefully. If the first few seconds of the video is of a 13 year old, then the app can probably safely be discarded, so it's still a decent low-quality filter. Also, if you put "almost zero" effort into your intro video, then it's going to suck. I don't know what YC is looking for in the video, but it seems like you'll have a higher chance of them funding you if they see that you have at least one naturally-charismatic founder, in addition to a very skilled technical one. The video can show your charisma, just like the application can show your technical skill. It still seems like the total number of fully-completed applications will decrease because of the video. But again, that's a good thing.
- pg 18y agoA couple new things this cycle: It's going to be in Silicon Valley, not Boston, in case anyone still hasn't heard about that (http://ycombinator.com/ycca.html http://ycombinator.com/ycca.html). Fortunately the Mountain View office is much bigger. We were pretty much at the limit in Cambridge. Also, we're asking applicants to submit videos introducing themselves this time. Thanks for Posterous for saving me from having to write code to deal with submitted videos!
- icey 18y agoOut of nothing more than pure curiosity, what do you gain (perceived or otherwise) from the new video requirement? Does it just raise the bar of entry enough that you receive fewer applications; or is there something to be gained by the determination as to whether or not someone is comfortable in front of a camera? Applying for a YC cycle is not on my to-do list for the foreseeable future, but if there is some kind of insight to be gained from video applications, I'd love to hear about it.
- pg 18y agoI ended up explaining this to cperciva (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=474457 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=474457). Basically we just want to see what people are like. When we do interviews we always feel that we know more about a group after 30 seconds in person than from reading their whole application. We were hoping that video would give us some of that a step earlier.
- icey 18y agoIt does seem much more agreeable when you look at it as being a "pre-interview". I know when meeting someone in person it's pretty easy to tell how passionate they are about what they're doing (or even how comfortable they are with their ideas). I do hope that you'll write about the results of this particular experiment once its done, I'm curious about how it turns out for you.
- dpapathanasiou 18y agoI suppose that also means no more Startup Schools in Cambridge as well?
- anuraggoel 18y ago"(c) Half or more of your group can't move to the Bay Area for the winter. (d) One or more founders will keep their current jobs during the winter." Shouldn't this be summer?
- pg 18y agoOops, yes, will fix. Edit: fixed.
- sutro 18y agoOK, I just finished my video. Let me know what you guys think: http://doiop.com/81byaz http://doiop.com/81byaz
- siong1987 18y agoDon't view this video. It is the stupidest rickroll video. And, it is not funny at all. Admin, please delete the link.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- sutro 18y agoI'm disappointed that you didn't like it. I've been working hard on those dance moves. Incidentally, that's our startup's "secret sauce." Our dance moves.
- raquo 18y agoHm, I think links in downvoted comments should appear as light-gray too.
- lionheart 18y agoSo what should I do if I want to be a part of this but don't have an idea or any partners? This is hypothetical right now, but I am very seriously considering applying next summer.
- alain94040 18y ago[shameless plug - read all before modding down] find another community of people interested in starting software/online businesses. I launched http://fairsoftware.net http://fairsoftware.net almost 6 months ago at TC50. We host a bunch of projects, most private, but some public. Join an existing project or put a call out there for ideas. My motto: "Succeed Together". The team is the solution, not the problem. Once you got your team of passionate people, apply to YC! [before you mod me down, feel free to contribute other places on the web where people can find partners that would qualify to start a YC-funded business. If you have a decent list, then mod me down. If you can't come up with more places, then accept that my plug really is informative :-) ]
- c00p3r 18y agoRead as much as possible. If You want to become a writer you must become a reader first. btw, there are many useful skills from non-IT world. Short stories writing is a good example.
- arien 18y agoAre applications from outside America accepted? How are they handled if they were selected? I'm somewhat new to the YC funding process, not sure if I can find this info somewhere (a link would be appreciated if that's the case). Thank you!
- nopassrecover 18y agoWhy does the "March 18" link on PaulGraham.com go to a PollEverywhere site?
- pg 18y agoOops, fixed. (Polleverywhere was in the summer 2008 cycle, and I used to have a link to them there.)
- Haskell 18y agoI don't know if this already has been answered before, but how do you evaluate if a candidate has a sense of design?
- pg 18y agoBy things they've made, either in the past, or the project they're applying with.
- Haskell 18y agoThanks. Maybe it was lost in translation, but by Design do you mean appearance (like in graphical, interface, industrial design) or architecture (like operating system design)? If it's the former, I hope you don't get offended by it, but I think, looking at HN and your website, that you wouldn't be accepted. :) Nor would Sergey and Page.
- pg 18y agoBoth. They're the same thing. Good design doesn't mean fancy design. Quite the opposite.
- Haskell 18y agoI also didn't mean fancy design. But in your 'startup ideas', in the idea #16, you said Google has no sense of design, so I suppose that the people responsible for it (Google founders originally. Marissa Meyer with a team of designer now days, I believe) wouldn't be accepted in YC. And that is more of a rhetoric observation. I know they would. But then isn't the 'sense of design' requirement unnecessary?
- pg 18y agoParadoxically, early Google both had no sense of (visual) design and yet managed to produce results that are way above average. The reason was that (perhaps knowing they weren't good at visual things) they just kept everything as simple as possible. It was like the design equivalent of a low-fee index fund, which despite not even pretending to know how to pick stocks, consistently generates above average net returns because of the low fees.
- maxer 18y agomy idea would be really good but flights to silicon valley from ireland arnt cheap and im the only founder, not going to bother applying
- maxer 18y agothought i had a valid point, $600 wouldnt cover my costs
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- helveticaman 18y agoWill applying now affect future applications?
- kbrower 18y agoIs there any place to get YC like advice and connections without the requirement of moving to Mountain View for 3 months?
- pclark 18y agothe internet
- helveticaman 18y agoDoes a weak application hurt applications in later rounds?
- minalecs 18y agoDo All founders need to submit a separate application ? couldn't find it in the FAQ?
- unalone 18y agoNo. You submit one for your team. However, each member needs a Hacker News username. Good luck!