

Ask YC: what is the approximate percentage of applicants with a working demo or prototype? - mpc

Just wondering...<p>My co-founder and I are applying without a link to a demo. <p>We've been working on hard problems and architectural things that need to be ironed out before features can come. Also, our idea has changed a bit...
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SwellJoe
Demo something. Don't make excuses about why you don't have a demo...demo
something, and tell them what you'll change to make it great. The demo is just
so they know you can actually build something. Recently there have been quite
a few YC companies that have already built something impressive at the time of
the interview, so your competition is stiff. But folks with crappy or no demos
also make it in, sometimes.

I just think your odds are much better if you demo something. Realize that
some of the guys you're up against can produce a working web application that
does something useful in a few hours. So, mock something up.

Make a demo. How else can I say it? Demo something!

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dfranke
A bit of advice, orthogonal to whatever PG's answer is:

I too am applying with a large hard problem, but nonetheless I'm going to have
a demo. It's a throwaway prototype that, if I tried to use it as production
code, would scale to about ten users before the server fell over. See if you
can figure out a way to do the same. If you're doing a put-your-favorite-UNIX-
command-on-the-web type startup, just make a web-based frontend that actually
invokes that UNIX command to do its processing.

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kashif
PG, Any significant difference in selection rates for people with and without
demos?

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pg
Maybe 25%.

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alaskamiller
Is it heavily favored or weighted to have a demo or proof of concept?

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rms
I think PG has said that he really likes screencasts, especially on the
applications. It's probably a good idea to have both or just the screencast
for the application if your demo only works in very specific circumstances.

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mariorz
PG:

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask if there is a point for
single-person applications.. the faq's say the chances of getting funded are
far lower, would this be a non-issue if the applicant is willing to partner
with another person/team?

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dhouston
find a cofounder! yc generally funds teams and isn't in the business of
matchmaking.

("find a cofounder" is what pg will probably tell you; it's what he told me
repeatedly before my interview. it was a big time investment to find the right
one, but completely worthwhile. couldn't imagine going through this alone, and
it only gets harder to get a cofounder the longer you put it off -- it no
longer feels like 'their' idea.)

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chaostheory
to my knowledge this is the best tool for the job: <http://cofoundr.com>

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henning
52.3876%. Precisely.

Are you sure you aren't making excuses? Change the problem if need be, I say.

