
How YC will be funding the S20 batch - dalton
https://dalton.substack.com/p/how-yc-will-be-funding-the-s20-batch
======
waxman
I worked on a video chat startup in 2006 and a concept that still stands out
is "floor exchange," which is when one person stops talking and another person
starts talking during a conversation.

Floor Exchange usually happens seamlessly in most in-person conversations, but
it can be a challenge over video chat, even in 2020.

In any video chat it's helpful to keep your points short and pause for longer
than you normally would at the end of each one; if you're doing it right, the
pauses will feel uncomfortably long, especially at first. This allows extra
time for floor exchange.

I'm excited to see how this remote batch goes!

~~~
pavlov
Good advice.

IMO, video conference apps should be designed around mute as the default. The
only way to unmute should be modal — holding down the spacebar key (or touch
UI equivalent).

This hold-spacebar "enter floor mode" event and its matching exit event should
be transmitted out of band to other participants, so they'd get the "floor
exchange" signal more reliably and a fraction of a second faster than when
relying on video to communicate this.

~~~
viklove
Congratulations, you just described push-to-talk.

~~~
juped
Business-targeted tools don't have this because they're intended for people
used to conference calls on a telephone system.

~~~
russell_h
Zoom has this. Mute yourself, then you can use space bar as a PTT button.

------
aresant
Get a great web camera or at LEAST some great lighting for your interviews!

A poorly lit fuzzy image is a great way to start off at a disadvantage.

Study after study shows that people that identify themselves as broadly
accepting and non-bias hold deep unconscious bias tied to personal appearance,
etc. (1) (2)

Logitech has a number of web cameras with strong light sensors and software
you can use to generate a professional quality image without back lighting.

There are multiple backlighting solutions on Amazon and elsewhere for <$20.

(1) [https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180806-how-hidden-
bia...](https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180806-how-hidden-bias-can-
stop-you-getting-a-job)

(2)
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2019/02/20/...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2019/02/20/how-
to-minimize-unconscious-bias-during-recruitment/#2a0e29e45fd9)

~~~
genericone
Great advice, just a few weeks too late for me. Looking at the available mid
to high end usb webcams in stock now shows everything out of stock and
backordered. Looks like I'll have to make do with a built-in laptop camera and
a headset microphone if/when I get that YC interview.

Thesr work at home directives really depleted all existing stock of good
webcams...

Over 50% markup for nice webcams on eBay, yeesh.

~~~
ipsum2
If you're willing to, you can get a DSLR or mirrorless camera and use UVC as a
webcam.

------
technotony
It will be interesting to see what they fund and how much the companies fit
the current environment. I'm guessing quite a lot of remote working tools. The
one I really want is something that allows 'many to many' conversations. I
haven't found a tool for social events that get above 5 people. Normally in
real life groups dynamically break into smaller groups and it's hard to
replicate that at a networking event or friends birthday or something. That
would be powerful to prototype at the Tuesday night dinners as well. Someone's
going to get funded with a tool that becomes a default networking tool for the
batch and that will then see huge success from getting that group of early
adopters using it.

------
ajaviaad
For maintaining eye contact during video call we need to look at camera rather
than screen. Unless there is some model trained to correct this by maintaining
eye contact irrespective of camera, it will be hard to fix as it may deviate
the level of concntration during call. Intel researchers are trying to solve
this problem by developing eye contact correction system for video calls.
[https://techxplore.com/news/2019-06-intel-eye-contact-
video-...](https://techxplore.com/news/2019-06-intel-eye-contact-video-
chats.html)

~~~
kall
Facetime on iOS has this option today, or at least had it in some beta of the
OS.

------
davidw
This is the kind of "natural experiment" that economists get excited about.

I hope they're able to at least gain some knowledge from all the disruption
throughout society.

------
mangoman
Not affiliated in any way besides as a happy user - Krisp.ai is a godsend with
respect to cleaning up crappy microphones and background noise. YC should
consider offering that to the upcoming batch that will be held remotely

------
cbzehner
> For maintaining eye contact during video call we need to look at camera
> rather than screen.

I solve this problem in most meetings by positioning the main view as a
smaller window directly under my webcam. This helps put my focal point close
to the speaker from their perspective.

------
rococode
Quite late to this thread so idk if anyone will see this haha, but with
regards to

> The worst calls I ever have been on are ones with tons of background noise,
> video and audio lag

The current situation also means internet is unfortunately borderline unusable
in some areas, and sadly nothing can be done about it. I've been suffering
through constant 10-50% packet loss on my connection due to capacity issues
for a couple weeks since "stay at home" started, and my ISP is still unable to
give an estimate of when it might be fixed (it's confirmed to be an ISP issue
and not at my home, packet loss starts at the tap on the street).

I have an important Zoom call tomorrow, but at this point I'm going in
expecting that the call won't work at all and I'll probably have to dial in
with my cell phone. Had another, fortunately less important, call today where
I disconnected 12 times in 15 minutes...

------
juped
If YC goes fully remote this batch, I will apply. Moving to California for
several months is well outside my price range and would waste way too much of
the YC investment. I also have a relatively pricey NYC apartment lease that I
can't just break, so I would basically be on the hook for two astronomical
rents for at least the duration.

~~~
gbear605
And for people who live in a cheap area, this can make the YC money last even
longer.

~~~
dustingetz
you’re not supposed to make the money last, you’re supposed to raise a seed
round in 3 months or die

~~~
juped
We're told (correctly) by all YC's public communication that raising is a
distraction and founders should focus on real work as much as possible. If
what you say is the case, YC is either broken or lying, and they're not lying
since it's 100% true that raising is a distraction.

~~~
dustingetz
Demo Day is like week 12, so you're "supposed" to run your process in weeks
12-14

------
anticsapp
I don't want to get banned but what is the point of this substack post? I know
four founders who would have applied to YC only if it were remote. One has a
startup with a $10MM valuation, the others not so much.

But the March 16th date has passed. So why announce it now, of course it would
have been remote.

edit: ignore, reading is fundamental.

------
ablekh
@dalton I have a couple of quick questions, if you don't mind. It seems that
YC appreciates science-based (aka deep tech) startups. However, some deep tech
startups require much more than three months to develop a solid MVP (say, a
year or more). In such cases, 1) would YC still be interested in funding such
venture and 2) would it still make sense to participate in Demo Day (by the
way, is it mandatory?) or it could be safely skipped for some alternative
options when the time is right (e.g., warm introductions to relevant VC firms
and potential customers)? Also, what is your current stance on solo founders?

~~~
dalton
My colleague Jared put together some great advice for hard tech/bio founders
and we talk about a number of the companies we have funded here:
[https://www.startupschool.org/videos/78](https://www.startupschool.org/videos/78)
He talks specifically about what these companies do during the batch and
fundraising milestones, etc

~~~
ablekh
Your prompt reply is much appreciated. Will certainly review the video. What
about your current stance on solo founders?

~~~
dalton
I don't have much to add to all of the other YC-related information out there
- I think having a cofounder is generally a good thing, but not every company
we fund does.

~~~
ablekh
Fair enough. Thank you, again.

------
m0zg
If anything good comes out of this ordeal, I hope it's the realization that
you most certainly do not have to fly across the country and burn metric tons
of kerosene just to have a business meeting.

------
not_exactly__
Sorry for being pessimistic, but YC without the in person dinners doesn’t feel
like YC. That plus the lack of in person rapport with the rest of the batch
mates and partners.

