

Our product is self-funded -- should we apply to Winter YC? - roachsocal
http://www.bitsybox.com

======
dpcan
You need to remove the "annoying" client reference in your video and change it
to something like "highly involved" client or "detail oriented" client.

Our clients are not annoying, but some of them are far more immersed in the
details than others.

I can't very well tell a client I'm using Bitsybox for their site if your site
labels them as "annoying clients".

~~~
jwhitlark
Strongly seconded. You wouldn't treat your clients with contempt, and you
shouldn't treat their clients with contempt.

People use services to solve problems. Some problems demand that level of
focus to get it right fast. If you don't take their wants/needs seriously, why
would they take you seriously? They are paying you, not the other way around,
(and even in that case, it's a bad idea to treat people like that).

I see what you're trying to do, but it's coming across as "if you wear a tie
and need it right and right now, you're an uptight jerk". Perhaps they are,
perhaps they're not, but you're doing yourself no favors by pointing it out.

Also note that people with those requirements are the most likely to pay a lot
for satisfaction; they might be the most profitable segment of your client's
customer base.

~~~
roachsocal
This is the feedback we were looking for -- and you're right, the most
interest in the concept has, so far, come from site owners looking to take
back control of their content. BitsyBox was built with them in mind, but from
a developers perspective (that's our background).

We showed the video to just a handful of freelance developers, so we really
didn't focus too much on the perspective of the clients.

We're planning to make some changes to the video this weekend. Thanks guys.

~~~
jwhitlark
That's one of the hardest parts of business; seeing things from other people's
perspective. The concept of that banality of evil can be applied wider as a
thought tool: the banality of I don't get why they did that, but they thought
they had a good reason at the time.

Come to think of it, that might be one reason why YC seems to be having good
luck teaching programmers about business; we're more used to adjusting our
views to reality than most professions. So just think of it as a syntax error
that you've found and fixed.

------
roachsocal
Has anyone applied to YC, got accepted, and quit their day job?

That is the scenario we're facing with BitsyBox. We love every minute that
we're working on it but I wanted to get some feedback from the HN community
about whether we should start thinking about it as our big jump out of the
corporate developer's life.

Basically right now, we go to our corporate jobs during the day, come back at
night and work for four hours on it -- this can't be uncommon. We're ready to
make the leap to work on this everyday / all day -- but we'd really like to
have some seed funding or be ramen-profitable first.

~~~
pg
Most founders quit a job to do the startup. Only about 20-25% were students
before.

~~~
jwhitlark
Interesting. I hadn't picked up on that ratio from your essays, although I
certainly didn't think all YC applicants were students/fresh out of school.

------
pg
Sure; that scenario is quite common.

~~~
vaksel
do those people get to keep more equity?

~~~
pg
The amount of equity we ask for doesn't vary that much, actually, because the
ratio of applications to people we fund is so high now that everyone who makes
it is pretty good.

------
jacquesm
YC is one of the few VC's out there where the money really is secondary, it
certainly won't hurt.

Applying for funding is also a great way to express to yourself and your team
what it is that you do, writing all that stuff down is not just communicating
to the outside, it changes you. Even if you get turned down you will _still_
come out ahead.

~~~
roachsocal
That is a great perspective on it. The application process itself almost
always helps the applicant. Will keep that in mind.

~~~
joez
The same thing goes for a business plan. The act of writing the business plan
is more important than the plan itself. Combine those two and hopefully you
have new perspective on your product and positioning.

My favorite questions include: What do you get that your competitors just
don't get? (straight from the YC app) What are you intentional shortcomings?
Defensibility: What is your competitive advantage and how do you respond to
big names coming into your space?

------
iowaBob
Bitsybox seems nice but judging by the video, CushyCMS appears to be easier to
use (I am freelance designer and that's what I currently have my clients set
up with).

~~~
mmelin
I definitely think that there's space for both Bitsybox and CushyCMS, but it
would be interesting to hear you talk about the differences.

------
redorb
Why is this better than CushyCMS - which allows you to tag a div - give FTP
info, then edit the content from the backend of CushyCMS - which can be
whitelabeled ... you could then sell this whitelabeled cms to your clients -
as a monthly fee...

------
Eugene3v
I apologize for sidetracking, but I am curious what did u guys use to create
your video presentation? And of course, of course best of luck with BitsyBox !

~~~
roachsocal
I used Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop for the still photos and graphics, then
brought them into Apple Final Cut Pro for the editing.

The narration was recorded at my desk (with pillows around me to stop echos)
using an Audio Technica AT2020 USB condenser mic.

~~~
Eugene3v
Thank you for your input, I appreciate it !

------
jwhitlark
If you think the money you get from YC is the most important part, you've
missed the point of YC.

~~~
jwhitlark
I didn't mean this to sound snarky. The advice and help, and the fact that
they are invested, (in _all_ meanings of the term), in you are far more
valuable than the ~15k you get.

