Show HN: OfficeHours – A Card Deck for Startups

5 points by helen842000 ↗ HN
I've been working on my first physical product recently and wanted to get some feedback at this early stage.

It's a card deck of questions that you can use as a way of practicing for an elevator pitch, accelerator interview or even as an ice breaker at a meetup.

I created it based on my experiences in an accelerator program a few years ago. I found the most valuable part of Office Hours was the back and forth discussion with a mentor, having to vocalise my ideas and fielding all kinds of questions.

Really this deck is meant to be a pocket version of that interaction.

Going forward custom decks are also a possibility too. They could be good promotional tool for trainers, businesses and event organisers.

Would love to hear any other suggestions or improvements for the site or the deck.

Thanks.

3 comments

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I like the minimal design. And I like that these could help prepare for an elevator pitch (which in turn would be peep for the overall idea and execution). Looks good!
> the most valuable part of Office Hours was the back and forth discussion with a mentor

I completely agree and echo your sentiment from past experience.

I think your card deck concept is an excellent way to break away from product / engineering / screenshots and focus on the practical aspects of business execution as part of an interview scenario.

Many founders get caught up in product (low level details) and miss key concepts of business. It's easy to do, especially as a engineer (been there myself).

Your card product reminds me of this YC interview app: http://ipaulgraham.herokuapp.com/

Related: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8334957

In hindsight, I wish I had your card deck when I applied to YC and was subsequently interviewed by PG. This would have forced me to shed my engineering mindset and put on my business cap.