Ask YC: Do I have a chance?
My partner and I have an idea for a website. We are 18 and 17 years old. I thought of idea and do web design, and he has 4 years of programming experience. If we build a prototype or beta do we have enough for an investor to invest in our company/website? Plus I live outside SV.
18 comments
Sounds like a good team. What's the idea? Three things I've learned thru the YC experience:
1) Investors like big ideas. If you can't tell a convincing story about how you've got the potential to build a $500m business, almost all investors will pass.
2) Traction wins. Don't build a prototype. Build a product. Prove that users want what you build and show a healthy growth curve BEFORE you take investment. It opens a lot of doors.
3) Distribution wins, too. Have a GREAT story on how you're going to find users without spending a nickel. SEO and viral marketing win. Don't say "word of mouth", "PR", "blogosphere" unless you've proven that your startup has legs there.
Regarding, "outside SV"... It depends. Right outside? Or in the Yukon? Where are you?
If funding is the path you should follow, not living in a hub is making a REALLY hard game a LOT harder.
1) Investors like big ideas. If you can't tell a convincing story about how you've got the potential to build a $500m business, almost all investors will pass.
2) Traction wins. Don't build a prototype. Build a product. Prove that users want what you build and show a healthy growth curve BEFORE you take investment. It opens a lot of doors.
3) Distribution wins, too. Have a GREAT story on how you're going to find users without spending a nickel. SEO and viral marketing win. Don't say "word of mouth", "PR", "blogosphere" unless you've proven that your startup has legs there.
Regarding, "outside SV"... It depends. Right outside? Or in the Yukon? Where are you?
If funding is the path you should follow, not living in a hub is making a REALLY hard game a LOT harder.
The bubble is in full effect.
There seem to be a lot of people that think their projects somehow require funding. Your online social alarm clock is not a startup.
Stop imagining how you're going to make money off of crappy widgets. Get out there, be curious and build things that solve actual problems.
There seem to be a lot of people that think their projects somehow require funding. Your online social alarm clock is not a startup.
Stop imagining how you're going to make money off of crappy widgets. Get out there, be curious and build things that solve actual problems.
Get out there, be curious and build things that solve actual problems.
Amen. You have the makings of an engineering commencement speech in there.
Amen. You have the makings of an engineering commencement speech in there.
Hmmmm have our paths crossed before, I do enjoy traveling and networking? Your passion and energy about my work is surprising!
I am no different then anyone in this forum. Just a regular guy with ideas who decided to startup from his room in Baltimore, MD.
As for our work ...There is a huge value in taking a 221 year old wake up device and injecting the Internet into it. Whether we wake up to social sounds(Happy Bday, get up meet me at gym) or intelligent sounds(wake up tornado, your plane is delayed (broadcast X is catching flight to X on network=social), it's Jane's Bday tomorrow (social)) our lives will be richer and safer! Maybe it seems that your friends can control the time you wake up... that is not the case! We are innovating the sound and waking you up during life threatening emergencies only!
If you are not interested personal wake up communication, that's cool!
Though since we responded we are curious as to who you are and have we spoken or met before offline?
Cheers, Ryan
I am no different then anyone in this forum. Just a regular guy with ideas who decided to startup from his room in Baltimore, MD.
As for our work ...There is a huge value in taking a 221 year old wake up device and injecting the Internet into it. Whether we wake up to social sounds(Happy Bday, get up meet me at gym) or intelligent sounds(wake up tornado, your plane is delayed (broadcast X is catching flight to X on network=social), it's Jane's Bday tomorrow (social)) our lives will be richer and safer! Maybe it seems that your friends can control the time you wake up... that is not the case! We are innovating the sound and waking you up during life threatening emergencies only!
If you are not interested personal wake up communication, that's cool!
Though since we responded we are curious as to who you are and have we spoken or met before offline?
Cheers, Ryan
online social alarm clock startup? already done:
http://www.chumby.com/
http://www.chumby.com/
Chumby is much more than an alarm clock; it's a cool extendable toy that people would buy. I was referring to: http://sleep.fm/
right, i was looking for something actually cool and useful :)
i guess my unspoken point was to try and note that even if an idea kind of sounds stupid, there might be a good way to implement it to achieve success.
i guess my unspoken point was to try and note that even if an idea kind of sounds stupid, there might be a good way to implement it to achieve success.
What is your argument against sleep.fm, what have you built that solves a problem?
I am not attacking you or defending sleep.fm but since you brought it I thought you could share your views.
I am not attacking you or defending sleep.fm but since you brought it I thought you could share your views.
The monthly "social alarm clock" thread is always entertaining. Let's do it again!
Why not try doing it without an investor? Does it absolutely require one? Could you get something going that would generate revenue and then grow it?
Right. Don't put the carriage before the horse. If you have living expenses taken care of and time to spend then you can create something. It does not take investment to get started. Don't think about it too much and just make something.
... or as Guy Kawasaki put it (http://www.changethis.com/1.ArtOfTheStart):
"GET GOING. Start creating and delivering your product or service. Think soldering irons, compilers, hammers, saws, and AutoCAD -— whatever tools you use to build products and services. Don't focus on pitching, writing, and planning."
i.e. make something first.
... or as Guy Kawasaki put it (http://www.changethis.com/1.ArtOfTheStart):
"GET GOING. Start creating and delivering your product or service. Think soldering irons, compilers, hammers, saws, and AutoCAD -— whatever tools you use to build products and services. Don't focus on pitching, writing, and planning."
i.e. make something first.
yeah, for your age, you don't need an investor until you need lots of servers. So get lots of users then investors will be easy.
You need investors when you need heavy funding. For now just live with your parents or wherever and make a prototype. From there you might be able to convince an investor that this is the next big thing. If you are hosting a website, then start it up, and show it off.
Hell I am 24 and I am not waiting for an investor to make my company a reality. If it fails, who cares, I got many years to try again :)
Hell I am 24 and I am not waiting for an investor to make my company a reality. If it fails, who cares, I got many years to try again :)
Right on.
You'll really never know if you spend your time speculating and hesitating to take a step without 100% certainty. Just do it. See where it goes, and judge accordingly.
You must build first. It is much easier to sell and you have more pull with a completed or ready system. Also, unless you have real professional experience you can't call that 4 years experience. If I could count my experience back to my C64 days and Apple II days then it would be highly inflated. Experience usually means professional work experience, at 18 you need to prove yourself more. Deliverables help this immensely and once you throw down experience means minimal.
The hard part is building and getting noticed, once that happens the investment part is much easier. Truly great business ventures dont' always need lots of investment though, just enough to buy some time to build it or get it in production.
The hard part is building and getting noticed, once that happens the investment part is much easier. Truly great business ventures dont' always need lots of investment though, just enough to buy some time to build it or get it in production.
See how far you can get without raising money, even if you have to work part-time on the side. Unless you're building something that requires a lot of storage, bandwidth, or people you can get a lot done without a lot of cash. Your location outside a tech hub won't be a factor until you need to start hiring experienced people or you need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. By that point you may know if the site is going to be successful or not, and you can move if you need to.
if you build it (and its a good idea), they will come.
at 17/18, you can (most likely, i'm assuming) live with your parents or do the work in your dorms and not have to worry about making a living while starting your business.
find some time and just do it. worry about making money after you have something.
at 17/18, you can (most likely, i'm assuming) live with your parents or do the work in your dorms and not have to worry about making a living while starting your business.
find some time and just do it. worry about making money after you have something.
Along the lines of this recent thread and article, don't be too afraid of revealing your work outside of your cave.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=216614
A great way to get some real feedback is to make it, then post it as an Ask YC. The community really steps up to give credit and criticism where they are due. Take this recent thread on Dabbleboard as an example.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=202798
Don't worry about making money right away. It's more important to see if the idea goes somewhere interesting.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=216614
A great way to get some real feedback is to make it, then post it as an Ask YC. The community really steps up to give credit and criticism where they are due. Take this recent thread on Dabbleboard as an example.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=202798
Don't worry about making money right away. It's more important to see if the idea goes somewhere interesting.
You don't have to be in the valley to build a successful Internet company!
Boston, NYC, Boulder, DC, Philadelphia.. all have current hot startups. There is money to be found too in these areas; more in the valley of course...
Boston, NYC, Boulder, DC, Philadelphia.. all have current hot startups. There is money to be found too in these areas; more in the valley of course...
which startups are you referring to in Philly?
im based in philly with my staryup
theres a bit of startup atmosphere here
theres a bit of startup atmosphere here
Interesting, I guess I'm not really entrenched in the startup/tech community of Philadelphia. I probably should try to be though...
"If we build a prototype or beta do we have enough for an investor to invest in our company/website?"
Investors tend to invest in companies/people and less in ideas (unless the idea really is something revolutionary). Get your prototype in order, but also do a little business legwork. Are there competitors? Who is the market? What's the revenue potential? How are you going to market the idea?
Investors tend to invest in companies/people and less in ideas (unless the idea really is something revolutionary). Get your prototype in order, but also do a little business legwork. Are there competitors? Who is the market? What's the revenue potential? How are you going to market the idea?
When asked what would be the main factor for someone to succeed, Bill Gates answer was how young they start their first company, Warren Buffet who really is smart and was sitting next to him agreed.
Go for it, if you start now I guarantee you will have your life fixed by 35 yo.
Go for it, if you start now I guarantee you will have your life fixed by 35 yo.
You should do it, but don't expect to get funding. Make your site support itself. Since you are young, you can sink this if it doesn't work out and move on. This may sound pessimistic, but if you are going to fail, fail fast, so you can keep trying more things.
Your ages will be a strike against you; expect problems with that for another two years or so at least. It's not a fatal strike, though, so definitely give it a shot. Apply to YC. Above all, keep building.
Umm... there are plenty of 17/18 year olds (probably younger) who make thousands online every month, all without the need for "investors". No offense to YC, but a lot of people on this site seem to think they need to quit their job, lock themselves in a dark closet for 6 months, apply for money, and build a stupid site without making any money at first. Meanwhile there are people (teens, dads, grandmas) building high-quality content sites and making the big $$$ via ads, all without needing "investors".
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If that project is building something useful for the sake of learning and having fun, do it. Getting rich and/or famous should be seen as bonuses.
You should talk to this guy: http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=markbao
Why do you need an investor?
Yes, you have a chance, of either invetment or (even better) market success.
A prototype might be enough to approach early-stage investors, mostly angels, and a live beta definitely is -- if either helps confirm a market exists, by demonstrating a compelling experience that attracts real use or a craving from a valuable market.
I think you're on the right track: build, build, build first. (Take up some programming yourself to help.) Use that experience to understand the interesting parts of the problem and test the concept either with representative customers or (best of all) real via-the-web users.
If you achieve accelerating adoption with users, or even hints of revenue. you have a good story to approach investors -- who exist everywhere, not just SV.
(Experienced folks can defer building a bit, because they can raise money based strictly on their proven abilities plus the intended market. But for young first-timers, proving-by-doing can offset that advantage quickly.)
A prototype might be enough to approach early-stage investors, mostly angels, and a live beta definitely is -- if either helps confirm a market exists, by demonstrating a compelling experience that attracts real use or a craving from a valuable market.
I think you're on the right track: build, build, build first. (Take up some programming yourself to help.) Use that experience to understand the interesting parts of the problem and test the concept either with representative customers or (best of all) real via-the-web users.
If you achieve accelerating adoption with users, or even hints of revenue. you have a good story to approach investors -- who exist everywhere, not just SV.
(Experienced folks can defer building a bit, because they can raise money based strictly on their proven abilities plus the intended market. But for young first-timers, proving-by-doing can offset that advantage quickly.)
No, coward. You have no chance. Hide in your basement and weep.
Seriously dude just do it. You're young, fuck it. Asking if you can do it is foolish; people have no idea what you're capable of until you do something.
Seriously dude just do it. You're young, fuck it. Asking if you can do it is foolish; people have no idea what you're capable of until you do something.