

Ask YC: So,I have a working Prototype...Now What? - 24pfilms

I don't live in SV or Boston, but I need to find a Good-Angel. Somebody with heart..
The investors here (small town Canada), kind of struggle with  getting Web 2.0. They like hardware.<p>So any good advice on what YOU would do to go to the next level. Would be greatly appreciated.
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jacobbijani
I'm curious what you specifically want to spend the money on? What is the
magical item you must purchase in order to continue developing your software?

You were able to produce the prototype in your current situation, supporting
yourself via your current means. Just keep working until you make something a
lot of people care about.

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swombat
Exactly. What do you need money for? Just get users to use the damn thing. Why
are you so eager to give away a piece of your company?

I'm seriously flabbergasted at the whole "I need angel/VC money" mentality.
You don't need money, you need users and revenues. If you need money from
someone else, that might be because you're burning cash and need a slightly
longer runway. That's a decent reason to go fishing for investments. But it's
definitely not a necessary step in any business.

Also, angel investors have no heart. They have wallets. The only people who
will invest in you because of their heart are your friends and family.

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keefe
Maybe he has finished a working prototype and is looking to be out of money to
pay the rent in a few months?

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DaniFong
Rick Segal is a web oriented VC based in Canada. But the best advice he has
for you is probably that everyone deserves 100 words -- a chance to make their
pitch. So work on an extremely concise version of what your startup does, what
problems does it solve, and how it will make money. If it's simple enough for
others to communicate, your ideas will start gaining traction, and you'll find
a lot of doors opening.

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24pfilms
Thanx Dani, Appreciate the advice. Will start the condensing.

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24pfilms
Thanx alot guys for all of the feed back. This project is a flash based
Virtual World with some very unique bells and whistles, and because of those
pluses I believe I need the cash to be in a fast first mover position with
this. I have self funded up to this point, but definitely need the money for
scaling and ongoing large scale development.

In addition there is a BIG Philanthropic angle to the revenue model, so
VC's/Angels run when they here that.

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wumi
i'm sure the first question you'll get here will be: "what is your app and
what does it do?"

gotta meet people half way -- cool that you're asking for advice, but without
more information not much people here can do for you.

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flashgordon
yeah will second that.. do you have a prototype or a pre-pre-alpha testing
site we can look at??

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bootload
_"... but I need to find a Good-Angel. Somebody with heart... So any good
advice on what YOU would do to go to the next level ..."_

Users, more users, then angels?

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xenoterracide
potentially possible that he needs money to establish an infrastructure to
allow users.

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24pfilms
That is exactly it.

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dawie
Agreed. What does your app do?

PS: Where in Canada are you?

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24pfilms
I am in Kelowna, BC.

