Warn HN: Lots of Launches Coming

[pg]

Every cycle we warn startups not to wait till 2 weeks before Demo Day to launch if they can avoid it, because there's always a glut of startups launching then. Every cycle they do anyway.

It's now 2 weeks before Demo Day, so there are going to be a lot of new startups launching in the coming week.

Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment.

[jcr]

pg, can you ask the YC founders to stop announcing their new companies as the "The This of/for That" for example (from the front page):

"Leaky (YC S11) is Hipmunk for Car Insurance"

I honestly don't care if your new company is "* (YC S11) Is The Facebook for Unicorns," since it really tells me nothing. I have to figure out what a Hipmonk is before I can understand what they do. Hold on while I call the Dalai Lama to ask about the difference between a monk and a hipmonk.

Of the YC S11 batch with announcements up, it seems the Snapjoy folks are doing it right (from the front page):

"Snapjoy (YC S11) Will Organize Your Photos For You"

Now the Snapjoy announcement above provides concise and useful information about what they could do for me, the potential customer.

[pg]

They don't pick the story titles; Techcrunch does.

[mikeleeorg]

Just to be fair, wasn't it TechCrunch that gave Leaky that "Hipmunk for car insurance" tagline?

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/08/yc-backed-leaky-is-hipmunk-...

I didn't see any mention of Hipmunk at all on Leaky's website. There's a small mention of Square though:

All design inspiration credit goes to Square. We think their design is the bee's knees.

EDIT: Ah, they do have a referential line, though it's not Hipmunk:

We're like Orbitz for insurance.

Perhaps TC thought Hipmunk was more catchy than Orbitz ;)

[bvi]

You're absolutely right. I was able to tell from the Snapjoy link what the startup did, and whether or not it was a thread worth browsing through. In 2 seconds.

If all YC (and non-YC) startups describe what they do in the title in 10 words or less, everybody wins.

[kristiandupont]

It makes perfect sense to me. Obviously, if you don't know what Hipmunk is it's hard but on the other hand, knowing Hipmunk, that sentence conveys more information than a generic one ever could.

[jkaljundi]

I personally like that kind of one-liners. For those using Angellist, that's what we are all used to. Related: http://venturehacks.com/articles/high-concept-pitch

[schiptsov]

Why you're telling them how to use their own marketing/PR tools? ^_^

This site is about making good PR (with some rare mistakes, such as in airbnb's case, but there is really big money involved at the time of the next giant bubble bursting =) and promoting their business and ways of making money, as almost every other site on the net.

So, honestly, why they should provide you with the content you like for free? ^_^

[Animus7]

>Please be nice to them. For you their launch may be "yet another YC startup," but for each individual startup this is their big moment.

I'm usually quite pleased with what comes out of YC. That said, in this competitive market, I don't think that being nice (just because) helps anyone the week after launch.

I personally look forward to the day HN tears apart my project so I can say I truly learned something.

[InfinityX0]

He doesn't mean be nice to them even if they have a shitty project. He means don't let the onslaught of launches actually partially sour your perception - use your un-saturated viewpoint that is then cognizant of the bias saturation imbues - to determine your true opinion of their service.

Which - if still bad then - should be correctly harsh and honest.

[patio11]

That said, in this competitive market, I don't think that being nice (just because) helps anyone the week after launch.

There is a difference between false praise and every thread looking like "What's this?! You dare call yourself a startup? You're attempting to solve a problem which other people have attempted to solve before, and your solution looks like something two guys could have made in three months! Why are you in YC and not me?!"

Ideally, we'd be aiming for constructive advice. "I would not use this" can be constructive advice, but it isn't most of the time I have heard it here.

[mrkurt]

The biggest lessons I've ever learned from people shredding things I've put in front of them is that the people doing the shredding are rarely helpful, if you discount skin thickening exercises anyway.

I suspect "be nice" is more about how people talk to each other than the content of what they're saying.

[alorres]

I thought it meant something like "don't be a dick to them just because they're one of the many launches." I mean constructive criticism is always good if you're trying to help them, not make them abandon entrepreneurship and the internet.

[davidw]

If you have something negative to say, write it as if you were speaking to someone in person.

Read what you've written again, with the Comic Book Guy voice. Does it sound in-character? Then it's probably unnecessarily harsh.

[zackattack]

"in this competitive market"?

And just what market are you referring to?

[dbz]

Pg, can you try adding a tab up top for new startups? I personally love to read about them but sometimes the launches etc. This would make it a lot easier to find the latest ones.

[pg]

I don't think most users would want a tab for it, but you can easily get this from HNSearch:

http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=%28...

[duck]

I collect all of them each week in my newsletter - http://www.hackernewsletter.com.

[joeyespo]

I wonder if the creator of this can help with that: http://www.hnshowcase.com/view

I agree, it'd be nice to have them all in one place.

[ig1]

I'm bit uncomfortable that Techcrunch's coverage of these launches isn't being made with a disclaimer that Michael Arrington is an investor in most of them (via Angel Fund).

[jswinghammer]

It's always exciting to see what's in the works. In every cycle it seems like there is a YC site that I end up using a lot.

Has the culture around here gotten so hostile that a "be nice" request is needed?

[Mz]

FWIW: I didn't read it as "don't be openly hostile". I read it as "please remember they have their heart in their mouth and are drenched in a cold sweat and even yawning indifference can be soul crushing, yet we realize there are so many it will be hard to get all excited about each and every one of them (especially with so many of them announcing their launch at essentially the exact same time)".

[bakbak]

Pg, is there any way you can make your demo day a live event (may be on justinTV) - and to add the spice you should also make it interactive where viewers can rate each startup with proper scoring system - and if you and startups are comfortable then you should let all the VCs and Angels be able to see scores & ratings coming in live from all over the world (however this may also have negative impact but nothing wrong to try it).... this way investors would right away know what is HIT & HOT !!!

[davidw]

Some of the startups demoed have not actually launched, and in any event, I think they like to cultivate something of a feeling of exclusivity around the event. Not to the point of snobbery or anything like that, just to make it kind of important.

[pdenya]

I'd like to see a live stream minus all the American Idol extras if possible.

[dotBen]

Surely such sentiment should be extended to any startup, not just YC startups?

[pg]

The point is that the arrival of YC startups is spiky, with 2 big spikes a year.

[blackboxxx]

Be prepared to defend yourself startups. Put on your armor. Some with malice in their hearts will thrust daggers at you. Fight with strength and honor and the crowd will love you.

Win the crowd and you will win your freedom.

To those startups who do not fight with valor? You will be subject to the mob, as was Airbnb. Even the Emperor will not be able to silence the cries for blood!

Startups... I salute you.

LET THE LAUNCHES BEGIN!

[biot]

Investor: Are you ready to do your duty for the internet?

Founder: Yes, investor.

Investor: You will not be funded.

Founder: Which wiser, older startup is to take my place?

Investor: My funding will pass to others, to hold in trust until a better startup is ready to launch once more. The internet is to be innovative and profitable again.

Founder: Investor?

Investor: Yes. My decision disappoints you?

Founder: You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues: Novel concept, challenging problems, technical excellence, and forging new streams of revenue. As I read the list, I knew my startup had none of them. But I have other virtues, investor. Group purchasing. That can be a virtue when it temporarily eases the deal fatigue that everyone's experiencing. Social sharing, perhaps not in a way that generates revenue, but... there are many ways to measure value. Mashups copying one site but adding a single tweak from another site, because it's been done before so must be good. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then it was as if you didn't want me for your investment.

Investor: Oh, Founder. You go too far.

Founder: I search the faces of other apps... for ideas to copy, to make you proud. One seed investment, one small round... where you wrote out a check for more than the $150K I've already received. Would have been like feeding a third world family for a thousand years. What is it in my idea that you hate so much?

Investor: Shh, Founder.

Founder: All I've ever wanted was to be like all the other apps out there.

Investor: [Gets down on his knees] Founder. Your derivative idea of a startup is my failure as an advisor. Come [Gives Founder a hug]

Founder: [Founder hugs Investor and cries] Investor. I would have copied all the apps in the world... if you would only invest in me!

[Founder begins to asphyxiate Investor while they hug, Investor grunts]

[canadiancreed]

Oliver Reed parodied for the win.

[peacemaker]

Good luck to all the current YC guys, I'm sure you're all feeling the pain right now only 2 weeks away from the big day!

As for launching around the same time, I'm of the opinion that if your own (non-YC) startup is good enough, it will stand alongside, or even above some of the YC guys and perhaps "cash in" on the startup fervour around at the time.

[bfe]

I wonder if there's any observed correlation between earliness of launch (per pg's advice) and likelihood of future success?

[pama]

Congrats to Snapjoy, Leaky, and Kicksend for launching today! Keep'em coming!

[melling]

Should have a special title tag. Show HN YC: ... or something to that effect.

[losvedir]

They probably will. Keep your eyes out for "(YC S11)".

[templaedhel]

I'm really hoping to see a YC company launch on the startup foundry or such, but it may not be wide enough exposure yet. Eventually.

[smoyer]

"Please be nice to them"

With very few exceptions, I enjoy seeing what the YC crowd releases, but isn't this going a bit to far? Aren't we the perfect audience to provide constructive criticism? On the other hand, if you're asking us to be empathetic at the same time, I couldn't agree more.

Go YC!

[brlewis]

Niceness and constructive criticism are not mutually exclusive. They can even coexist in a single comment.

[daviday]

When I saw two launching today I automatically thought this had to do with the economy souring. I had just read Jeff Clavier's tweet:

Just maybe? The VC industry is going to wake up and go back to value investing - not FOMO throwing cash at everything, no matter the price

But Dave McLure says it's business as usual

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/08/08/early-stage-i...

[dterra]

Nice! Its always good to see them. Tip: Dont launch your product if you are not in YC. Chances of getting coverage are none. They will get it all!

[nhangen]

Thanks for the reminder. It's easy to get jaded about this stuff, but you're right. Good luck on demo day everyone.

[int3rnaut]

Does anyone know of any blogs from YC founders that cover the personal struggles and conquest of these final 2 weeks before Demo Day? I think it would be a great read (even if they were bit sized entries) to find out what it's like to be under such enormous pressure but on the precipice of your big moment.

[ryanglasgow]

Good luck guys! Take feedback with a grain of salt and stay focused on your vision.

[ashbrahma]

It looks like Techcrunch is getting the scoop on every single launch.