

What we did to (not) get into TechStars - MicahWedemeyer
http://blog.aisleten.com/2009/04/06/what-we-did-to-not-get-into-techstars/

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simonista
_We made sure to notify David, in order to show that we were supporters of
open source_

It was at this point that I started to wonder if maybe you sent
updates/questions to the TechStars guys a little too often (I assume that's
who David is.) I'll be interested to hear your analysis of what went wrong.

Was I just not aware that this level of communication is common in the pre-
application phase of these programs?

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MicahWedemeyer
That's what they told us to do at TS4AD.

"Make us keep thinking about your project."

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unalone
Yeah, but there's a steep difference between that and "pester us and annoy
us". That's like saying that marketing should make you keep thinking about
your project. If you were a marketer, would you spam people and irritate them
constantly with email, or would you be tasteful and let them discover for
themselves?

"Keep us thinking about your project" probably works best if you're constantly
_updating_ your project. Keep building, gently announce releases - not TO
David Cohen, but just on Twitter where anybody can see what you're doing - and
show that you guys aren't desperate. TechStars (or any other seed funder) is
unlikely to accept the people that most want to get in. They'll be accepting
the groups that put in the most effort to their _project_ , who showed they
could create without worrying about their funding.

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briancooley
I don't know anything about the folks that run TS, but they'd be terrible
investors if they let something like overly frequent updates determine how
they invest.

The simplest explanation is that they didn't like the team or the idea as well
as the other options available to them.

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unalone
One of the elephants lurking in the living room is the matter how how large
the potential market is. More people eat food than purchase plants. (Your D&D
start-up looks pretty neat, though.)

~~~
davi
For those that missed it whilst skimming the first time (like me):

<http://www.obsidianportal.com/>

It does look pretty cool.

~~~
lukifer
My startup is doing something similar: a web app targeted at table-top gaming.
It's not ready yet, but it has a few things Obsidian lacks, and we're looking
for more coders and/or designers; if anyone is interested, give me a shout at
luke at ziggurati dot net.

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khangtoh
To me, I feel that it was because you guys got so much progress in a way that
you don't need to be in the program since you've already got your site to a
point where you can start acquiring customers.

And the brutal truth is David and TechStars will look at how much money your
startup can make or potentially be valued at and I have no doubt if you do the
right thing, this could be a business that generates a million/yr but that's
not the magic number that they are looking for.

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johnrob
It's not over until you give up. Maybe you can get into the next group at
TechStars. Alternatively, if you can grow in your current form perhaps these
guys will help you in a series A (if that's part of the long term plan).

One of the most significant themes I've seen in this community is persistence.
If you give up now, then the story stays what it currently is. Maybe if you
keep trying, the current situation will end up being one of the challenges in
your path to success.

Almost every story in Founders at Work seems to have point at which the
founders could have closed up shop and ended up with an "informative" failure
story to tell.

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bgnm2000
Being so close to the mentors, did you ask for some feedback as to why your
application didn't make it?

~~~
MicahWedemeyer
Yes, we asked and David gave us some good feedback. If he gives permission, I
will post some of it in the follow up.

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AlexTheFounder
Your team and the execution looks very good to me. But that is also the case
with the rest of the applicants, I guess. Despite all that talk about ideas
beign secondary to the application, at this point all you can really show is a
cool idea and your desire to dominate the world.

Seems like you fail on these two tests completely.

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pclark
"We’ve got the technical skill, the domain knowledge, and the grit to work
nights and weekends _while holding down day jobs_."

You're not working on this full time? Or is this me reading it wrong?

~~~
MicahWedemeyer
Yep, nights and weekends, not full time. It worked for Obsidian Portal, and
it's working so far for DoLeaf.

I know the conventional wisdom is "Quit Now!", but I like to eat.

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pclark
were you seed funded with that startup?

I ask because I can't imagine applying for seed funding without being 173%
committed -- eg, I have to make this work _because I like to eat_.

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MicahWedemeyer
No funding on either project. We fully expected to work full time on DoLeaf if
we got accepted to TechStars. We know how it works.

~~~
pclark
of course. I wasn't being a dick, sorry -- I was just curious. I think these
funds really value if the founders have already made the jump and are powering
along 24/7 _before_ seed funding.

Looking forward to your next post. You can totally jump down my throat when I
write a post if we don't get into YC tomorrow ;)

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MicahWedemeyer
Please do write a post. I want more info out there about the "real" state of
startups. There's too much get-rich-quick crap that distorts the reality
(especially about iPhone apps).

The truth is that it's a long hard slog to any sort of success.

We also applied to YC, so we expect to get rejected tomorrow as well ;)

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bgnm2000
Don't we hear back today? Says April 6th here:
<http://ycombinator.com/s2009.html>

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Major_Grooves
We only hear back if we get invited to the interviews. My finger is hovering
over the "buy tickets" button on Expedia. ;)

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pclark
tell me about it. Talk about pay thru the nose from the UK.

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Major_Grooves
Return flights London to SF were about £340 last time I checked a few days
ago, but they involved some fairly horrible connections making the whole
flight ~17h.

Hopefully I _do_ have to go through that torture! :)

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andrewhyde
Great post, thanks for sharing.

