mazumdar

Try “HN” in the next 24 hours ;)

Yeah our logo has not changed since inception but it’s not a copy of YC or anyone else. Take a closer look here - http://bit.ly/2obM60y (first image is our logo)

Nearly 5 years ago, a few months after being rejected from YC for the first time, I came across your Show HN and started using Webflow to build a mockup of my product's sign-up page (I did not know how to code at that time).

Over the next 2.5 years, I reapplied to YC five more times. I interviewed twice in the second round. I eventually got rejected every time. From the ideation stage, to $1M in revenue, YC has an application of mine for every milestone in between (until I did not need to raise money anymore).

My company, Y Athletics (https://yathletics.com), is a profitable business with no investor funding and 7 figure revenues. We've delivered products to over 25,000 paying customers all around the world. We don't solve problems, but we create some amazing products that people want.

This post about Webflow made me nostalgic as it was during that time that I started to read HN religiously (and now I discovered that Vlad and I applied and were rejected in the same batch as well). My first landing page was made on Webflow. I learned how to code using Codeacademy. My first 100 users came from a comment I posted on an Ask HN thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6617551). Seeing others building their startups inspired me to continue building mine. My company would probably not exist if it wasn't for HN. Thanks for everything!

I don't but I plan to write about it soon. I've written some articles in the past that will give you some idea (links below), but I now have supplementary thoughts that I want to add to those articles to give a more complete picture.

https://medium.com/@arbabmazumdar/3-things-i-learnt-while-bo...

https://medium.com/the-crowdfunding-bible/how-i-raised-250-0...

This is a great comment, and I whole heartedly agree that the questions you are asking are along the lines of what most VC's will have in their heads.

I don't see my business as solving any real problems. But I believe you don't need to solve real problems to have a business. I can very well frame my business as one that solves a problem, but that would be marketing speak rather than reality. There are billion dollar companies that don't solve problems and that's esp. true in the apparel industry.

I'm not going to delve any further into my thinking of the 'problem solving' approach because there is a more important point that was possibly misunderstood in my original comment. A lot of the responses to my comment are based around the merits of the idea itself, but YC has been pretty clear that they fund people over ideas. The way I look at it, the idea is just a medium for them to get to know the founder(s). There is no such thing as a 'billion dollar idea'. Most billion dollar businesses did not become that way over a short period of time [1], esp. not in the apparel industry. Every company started with something small and what you do in your initial years is just the stepping stone of creating opportunities to become something bigger.

But back to the point - I believe YC uses your idea to understand the founder, and my point was that one of the traits they look for is the founders ability to clearly articulate what their business will look like in ten years. The emphasis here is on the founder's characteristics rather than the merit of the idea itself. So, while I agree with your thought process on what a VC looks for, I disagree that YC looks for the same thing. That's why they are an incubator rather than a VC firm.

On a less related note: I don't apply to YC for the sake of raising funding. My company generates enough revenues, and we have enough positive cash flow and great credit terms with vendors. The value addition I seek from YC is more to do with better figuring out the business rather than access to capital. The reason YC is the only investor I talk to is a very personal one: My company would not exist without HN. I don't have a background in engineering, but since I started reading HN 5 years ago, I really resonated with the community (although I never participated). Back in those days, there used to be more front page articles about startups and the community seemed more tight-knit. I started learning how to code through codeacademy and that was the inflection point that gave me the confidence that I can actually build things, which eventually resulted in me building YA. I worked with many YC companies and still do business with some of them. So, the real reason I apply to YC is because I've gotten a ton of value from it's community and naturally want to have a closer association to them and the partners that run the organization. The sad part is that as they grow bigger (which is better for the world), the appeal of being in the insider community gets smaller. I just hope I get to participate in a cycle before that feeling goes away all together.

[1] Companies like Uber & Airbnb are exceptions

I applied to YC six times over the last 2.5 years with the same idea - https://yathletics.com . Got rejected every time but interviewed with them twice. The first time I applied was before I launched our first product and had $0 in revenue. The last time I applied, our yearly revenue was almost $1M, and we're still just getting started.

The reason for rejection was same at both times - I didn't have a clear strategy of how to grow my company into a big business. (For those that don't know, YC gives you a pretty clear explanation of why they rejected you and what they want you to do better.)

We make products that our users absolutely love and have seen phenomenal growth, and YC understands that. But it seems like it's very important to them that you are able to clearly articulate what your business will look like in ten years when it's a billion dollar company.

I have no doubt that I will make my company into a billion dollar business. But I simply don't know how I will take over the world yet. I strategize what needs to be done over the next 1 year and focus only on that. Sure, it might not be a trait for successful founders, but I firmly believe that staying focused on building great products is key to my business. The vision for how I will turn this into a billion dollar company will gradually come with time.

one of the things that make you feel tired after long flights is noise pollution. we don't realize it because it's something we expect during flights but our mind and body is essentially sitting through hours of loud humming that takes a toll on us.

The solution for me is good noise canceling headphones. If you fly often, invest in a good pair and it will do wonders for you. It has for me.

This is great for comparing cotton or cotton blend shirts. I'd love to see the same data for shirts that don't use any cotton. We make fabrics for our own brand and usually stay away from cotton partly due to the problem of fit variance after wash.

Surprised that neither of these have been mentioned yet.

https://squareup.com/

https://nest.com/

I especially love their mobile responsiveness and have modeled our own after them:

http://yathletics.com

1) I started building this out for myself and for some of my male friends who shared the same sentiment.

2) Men and women shop differently and I feel as if women want more choices so the model does not necessarily work for them. That said, I've received a lot of interest from women for the first product we launched so plans may change in the future.

http://yathletics.com - a men's activewear company that's going to make only one product per category.

I think apparel brands offer too many choices so I'm creating a brand that keeps it simple but at the same time invests in making very high quality products. For ex: the first product we launched is our athletic shirt - SilverAir. It's made using silver which kills the odor-causing bacteria in your sweat, so you can wear the shirt for the entire day and feel fresh, or reuse the shirt more often (i do).

The fabric is completely new and something we made from scratch. Without letting cost be a factor, we sourced some of the best yarns you can buy and achieved a feel that is super comfortable while being lightweight and breathable. To manufacture, we use seamless knitting machines so the body of the shirt does not have any stitches on it. (trust me, the silver is what sells but the most loved feature by our customers is the material and how you feel as if you're not wearing anything - in a good way)

Thanks. The campaign ended a while ago but here are the answers:

1. We weren't featured by KS but it was on the "popular projects" page throughout the life of the campaign. It initially got there by a combination of backers finding it through "Recently launched projects" + backers who signed up on our website to be notified of the launch (the former being the majority). By the end of Day 1, it was #1 in its category and stayed there for a while. Here is a link that shows the trend of the project funding if you're interested: http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/yathletics/silverair-odorle...

2. Remaining 20% found it through our own marketing efforts + other websites/blogs writing about the project

3. Sure thing - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yathletics/silverair-od...

As a backer and project creator who's running a Kickstarter funded startup, I couldn't agree more.

I love your example but I want to point out that the same obstacle you mention with games is applicable to most of the other industries that are funded on Kickstarter. The root problem in all cases lay in a startup's:

1) need for an audience

2) need for capital

What kickstarter has successfully done is build a loyal audience that's massive in size. I came to really appreciate this after seeing more than 80% of my funding come from people visiting kickstarter.com who didn't know about my project beforehand. This was huge. And not only does it give you the visibility and the capital required to execute, it validates your idea to a large extent.

- It's an e-commerce startup.

- I owe a lot of what went into creating this to HN because I consume 80% of my knowledge from here.

- The website is made on a YC company's platform (strikingly) using basic code I learnt from another YC company (codeacademy), and I'm working with a third YC company (crowdtilt) to launch the post-kickstarter website.

I understand why you may not find it to be directly relevant, but I love the crowd here and wanted to share it. The following is not a shameless plug but is meant to give you an insight into how much of a startup this really is: https://medium.com/entrepreneur-advice/c88326a21d42

Thanks for the support!

Right now, the packaging is scheduled to take place at our distribution center in North Carolina. I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind and if the logistics allow, I'll see if I can work something out.

Founder of Y Athletics here. Please feel free to ask me any questions you have about the shirt.

Spot On.

We mention this in the detailed description/features of our product page (it's not on our website as yet). For the video, we tried to focus on some key features instead of all.

Hey Jack. You'll be surprised how expensive international shipping can be. We've done our research and it comes to a minimum of $25 for most countries.

Since domestic shipping is included in the shirt pricing, we've subsidized the international shipping by $5 to be fair to all customers.

Hey Robert. I definitely know Silverescent as that's made using the same technology. I really admire Lulu because they make some great products.

The improvements we have made are in the feel, finish, and performance areas. You'll find a slightly higher percentage of silver in our fabric, it is lighter in weight, and the feel of the fabric is improved.

If you like Silverescent, you'll love what we're making.

Thanks! The first batch will be produced in either V-Neck or Crew-Neck. When we launch our kickstarter, we will see which one is more popular. But If we exceed our initial funding goal, we will offer both options.

As for the musty smell, that's a problem I personally face and I've validated that problem with a lot of my friends, peers, and customers. It doesn't happen on cotton but it happens mostly on the 100% polyester athletic clothing (which is the majority of all sportswear).

You're right though. Not everyone has this problem and maybe wrong detergent choice or washing habits play a part in that phenomenon. We just wanted to make sure we have the best anti-odor performance and the silver technology is the best in the industry. If you end up getting a shirt from us though, what you'll find to be the best feature is the feel and performance of the material we developed with the anti-stink part being the cherry on the top. That has been the case with 100% of our users so far.

Thanks! I appreciate the support.

How long a shirt stays non-stinky varies between person to person. Most of our test customers have worn it for between 3-5 days without any problem. Needless to say, they were impressed.

The other benefit is that it keeps your shirt fresh for its lifetime. You'll notice that in regular synthetic shirts, there is a permanent smell after a few months of wear. That problem goes away with the silver.

And yes, you are correct that silver is knitted into the shirt. But it's actually not a coating at all because the silver is inside some of the yarns; so it's permanent and the bacteria will not collect over time.

Underwear is in the works :)

Thanks so much! The validation means a lot.

How much? $54 Retail, but when we open on kickstarter next week, we want this to reach as many people as possible and are going to give it out at (almost) cost:

1 shirt for $34.

2 shirts for $64.

3 shirts for $90.

US shipping included.

International shipping: Add $20.

Happy to answer any other questions you have.

SilverAir - An athletic shirt that doesn't smell and designed to be worn at the gym and for everyday wear. demo@ http://www.yathletics.com

It's cool because:

It's made using pure silver which kills the odor-causing bacteria in your sweat, so you can -wear this shirt for your entire day and feel fresh, -reuse the shirt more often (i do).

The fabric is completely new and something I made with my manufacturers from scratch. Without letting cost be a factor, we sourced some of the best performance yarns you can buy and achieved a feel that is super comfortable while being lightweight and breathable. To manufacture, we use seamless knitting machines meaning the body of the shirt does not have any stitches on it. (trust me, the silver is what sells but the most loved feature by our test customers is the material and how you feel as if you're not wearing anything - in a good way)

I'm building this company single-handedly over the last 10 months, and I had to teach myself bits n pieces of everything: apparel manufacturing, design, coding, law, filmmaking & editing. The product is launching in 4 days on kickstarter and I'm now in lockdown mode with tons of progress to make. Your feedback on anything is welcome.

The online shopping experience for this brand will be fresh: there will be no choosing from tens and hundreds of products because we make just one per category with superb design, quality, and finish. Shoot me an email if you're curious about anything.

Thanks Jeff. Great insight.

The "anti-odor" feature using natural silver struck out to most viewers as something unique so you're spot on when you suggest that's the best angle.

I agree that the direct-to-consumer distribution method is tough; but brands like BONOBOS and EVERLANE have shown that it is possible to become a competitive online-only brand. Launching online is also the fastest and most cost-effective way to starting an apparel brand.

Internally, one of our strategies is to make better quality products than major brands do, so we invest quite a bit more money in manufacturing than them. To offer value to customers, we need to be lean and that's a big reason for going the direct-to-consumer route.

Getting the product into colleges or athletic leagues would be fantastic. Great advice. I'm currently working on getting it into one of the best of the PAC 12. They really like the product but there are a lot of other challenges to overcome.

Kevin Plank is an inspiration and what he did with Under Armour is magnificent.

Thanks so much for the feedback. It really helped. Feel free to ask me questions if you're curious to know anything else about the brand/product.

Thank you. The silver, which breaks down the odor-causing bacteria and allows for multiple use, has consistently been voted as the most attractive feature. If I make a new video it will definitely focus more on that particular feature.

clickable - http://preview.yathletics.com

While free parking is appealing for many users, it’s definitely not for many others because unlike Airbnb, the value of their possession (in this case, their car) is variable while the compensation (free parking and $10/day rented out) is fixed in the sense that it is pre-determined.

With Airbnb, the compensation is variable and is set based on the owner's perceived value (which factors in the 'emotional piece of mind’ too among other things). It’s essentially a market based approach, and to get a wider acceptance from the supply-side, that’s what FlightCar needs to incorporate while preserving simplicity.

As an optimist, I believe the creases will get ironed out eventually. It’s not going to be easy (never is) and it might take some time, but it will happen. Here’s a structure that comes to my mind:

Tier 1 – Free parking and $10 for every day the car is rented out (like they have now)

Tier 2 – Pay $X per day to park and Receive $Y for every day the car is rented out, where X is the market rate which in SFO’s case is $18 and Y is the daily rental-price you name.

You might find this article (currently on the front-page) to be useful:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5435862

you seem to know about the costs associated with fashion retail. I would love some advice for my own start-up. Can we chat? My email is in my profile.

this is the one you're talking about: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5367790

and I think this is the one the OP is referring to: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5165016

hope that helps!