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

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228253

by 24pfilms • 18 years ago

8 13 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

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.

So any good advice on what YOU would do to go to the next level. Would be greatly appreciated.

wumi• 18 years ago

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.

flashgordon• 18 years ago

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

bootload• 18 years ago

"... 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?

xenoterracide• 18 years ago

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

24pfilms4• 18 years ago

That is exactly it.

dawie• 18 years ago

Agreed. What does your app do?

PS: Where in Canada are you?

24pfilms4• 18 years ago

I am in Kelowna, BC.

jacobbijani• 18 years ago

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.

swombat• 18 years ago

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.

keefe• 18 years ago

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

DaniFong• 18 years ago

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.

24pfilms4• 18 years ago

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

24pfilms4• 18 years ago

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.

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

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