
How to make your YC application stand out - aepstein
http://formisfunction.posterous.com/how-to-make-your-yc-application-stand-out
======
pg
"Ultimately, the point of these videos is not for you to sell them on your
idea. It's another opportunity for YC to get to know you and your team as
people, in a way that words on an application form can't convey."

Yes! We're not looking at the video as a way to understand your idea. That's
what the written application is for. And yet so many people sit there in the
video reading some prepared text in a monotone, which is not something that
makes anyone look smart. Far better not to script the video. I'm not saying
you should talk about random personal stuff like your favorite bands. You can
talk about the startup. Just don't read a prepared statement. The best thing
to talk about might be the background for the startup: how you met and how you
got interested in this idea.

~~~
zhyder
That's really difficult for applicants. How can they possibly resist the urge
to prepare for it, and to do retakes till it's 'perfect'?

~~~
nicholasjbs
There's a difference between preparing for and scripting a video. My cofounder
and I prepared for our video in that we talked about what we wanted to convey
and (roughly) who'd say what parts, but we didn't have any sort of a script.

Our video was about 90 seconds, and we did it in four or five takes, which
means we spent _way_ more time agonizing over how to cut down any one of our
written answers than we did recording our video. Think of it as talking to a
friend rather than "making a movie."

~~~
pg
Yes; preparing and doing retakes is orthogonal to reading a prewritten script.

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DanielRibeiro
These are some really nice hints. I'd also stress out some pg also gives on
the whole application process:

Drew' (from dropbox) application (good for a good example):
<http://files.dropbox.com/u/2/app.html>

The video from Directed Edge founders:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=855057>

~~~
ultrasaurus
Wow, you see from Drew's application is that he's a good writer and a great
communicator. I've been using dropbox happily so I'm sure he's a great coder
too, but I wonder if 90% your application conveys is how well you'll sell
users on your product down the road.

(also there seem to be a fair number of concrete examples)

~~~
DanielRibeiro
On this video ([http://ycombinator.posterous.com/dropbox-interview-now-
onlin...](http://ycombinator.posterous.com/dropbox-interview-now-online)),
Jessica Livingston interviews Drew. Besides being an interesting interview, it
reveals that he was rejected the first time he tried out YC.

------
wolfrom
An excellent set of tips from a YC startup that we've been using for our
product. The only thing I didn't see was Aaron's opinion on whether or not
comments on Hacker News had helped anyone in his group stand out. I always
check the karma score of co-founders to try and figure that one out.

~~~
pg
No one looks at actual karma numbers. It's more that if I see a name I
recognize from HN, I pay special attention. E.g. if patio11 applied, I'd
definitely notice, just like a lot of HN readers probably would.

~~~
patio11
Thanks, that means a lot to me. I won't be applying this time because I don't
think that I could promise YC a decent shot at getting as much value from me
as I got from y'all, but who knows what the future holds.

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zbruhnke
Makes me have a good feeling about the app I submitted ... I know single
founders are harder to get funding usually, but I'm confident I can find a co-
founder in SV :)

~~~
nl
If you are looking for a co-founder it probably wouldn't hurt to have a link
to your blog (which you mention) on you profile.

~~~
zbruhnke
well I was not really looking for one in the post because I did not want to
hijack, but a good idea nonetheless

<http://www.zachbruhnke.com>

------
skbohra123
brings current in my spine.

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cthimmer
"I hope PG doesn't read this, but I tell people all the time that in hindsight
I would've done YC for zero dollars and still given them the equity
percentage. You will leave YC on the "inside" of the SV bubble. You will have
personal relationships with founders and investors that you read about on
TechCrunch. How can you put a price on that?"

Is it just me, or is anyone else getting really tired of this type of fanboy,
love-fest dribble? I have no doubt about the validity of YC as an accelerator,
but it's just tiresome to read this type of stuff what feels like so often.

~~~
dkokelley
This is someone who went through the program, and is commenting on the value
extracted from it. For the author, the value of going through the YC program
and getting the 'SV insider' connections was worth more than the equity share
given to YC. I don't see how this is fanboyism in the slightest.

