The video quality isn't very good. Do you have a prototype? Maybe a cad drawing? If so, you should show this.
It's kind of interesting that you're talking about posture yet you're slouched over a laptop in your pitch.
This is YC. They have a lot of cash and you need to convince them to throw this wad of cash at you. The reality is, if you were placed in front of a potential customer, it wouldn't go well if you spoke the same way you're speaking now.
I believe that you have great technical skills but, you need to be a salesman too. I would recommend writing a script in your case.
Also it may be worth investing a few hundred bucks to hire a videographer [sp?]. You want to put your best foot forward.
You need someone that's pretty creative to market the idea to YC. Based on what I've seen in this video, you're not really the marketing type. That's okay though! You can either find someone, or hire them just for this video pitch!
I'm not sure you're on target here. Your describing everything that PG says not to do in the video:
"The video should contain nothing except the founders talking. No screenshots or postproduction wizardry please; we don't want this to turn into a video making contest. If you're going to spend time making something cool, put it into your demo/product.
Please do not recite a script written beforehand. Just talk spontaneously as you would to a friend. People delivering memorized speeches (or worse still, text read off the screen) usually come off as stupid. Unless you're a good enough actor to fake spontaneity, you lose more in the stilted delivery than you gain from a more polished message."
From what I read all these advices go against what YC expect on this pitch video.
No script at all (I can't look right now, but there are several sources on this claim). No video professionals either!
And the point of the video is not to pitch the product to a customer. It is to pitch yourself to YC. That said, I think the video is too long and you should focus more on you and why this product is a good choice, not the product advertising itself.
And your co-founders must be on the video. That's it. No excuses.
Working remotely.. can sometimes work, but when a team is together fighting the crazy battles to create a successful company from the ground up, you really need to be together to form the bond and grind all the hard shit together.
Hi atrajan, I like the concept and I think there are a lot of large companies who would contract with you to provide those services. Still, the concept certainly doesn't seem easy to scale. You need ergo experts either jet-setting across the globe or regional people who can handle major accounts.
Nothing seems self-servicey about this (probably not your intention), which means you'll need a large investment beyond building the product. And, well, that's just fine, but it also means that organization and cash-flow is going to be a big issue, and hopefully your team is prepared for that.
I would say the barrier for you guys is having sales skills out the wazzoo.
thank you. our current plan is to go the kick starter route. Thereby also validating the interest in an ergo smart chair.
We have a prototype unit built to test our hypothesis and have got favorable interest by ergo experts. Yes we are too early to plan to scale ... but just delivering locally in the bay area can be a good start.
8 comments
[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 29.2 ms ] threadOkay there's a lot of issues.
You say "Uh." a lot. Don't do this.
The video quality isn't very good. Do you have a prototype? Maybe a cad drawing? If so, you should show this.
It's kind of interesting that you're talking about posture yet you're slouched over a laptop in your pitch.
This is YC. They have a lot of cash and you need to convince them to throw this wad of cash at you. The reality is, if you were placed in front of a potential customer, it wouldn't go well if you spoke the same way you're speaking now.
I believe that you have great technical skills but, you need to be a salesman too. I would recommend writing a script in your case.
Also it may be worth investing a few hundred bucks to hire a videographer [sp?]. You want to put your best foot forward.
You need someone that's pretty creative to market the idea to YC. Based on what I've seen in this video, you're not really the marketing type. That's okay though! You can either find someone, or hire them just for this video pitch!
Good luck! Keep us posted.
"The video should contain nothing except the founders talking. No screenshots or postproduction wizardry please; we don't want this to turn into a video making contest. If you're going to spend time making something cool, put it into your demo/product.
Please do not recite a script written beforehand. Just talk spontaneously as you would to a friend. People delivering memorized speeches (or worse still, text read off the screen) usually come off as stupid. Unless you're a good enough actor to fake spontaneity, you lose more in the stilted delivery than you gain from a more polished message."
No script at all (I can't look right now, but there are several sources on this claim). No video professionals either!
And the point of the video is not to pitch the product to a customer. It is to pitch yourself to YC. That said, I think the video is too long and you should focus more on you and why this product is a good choice, not the product advertising itself.
And your co-founders must be on the video. That's it. No excuses.
Nothing seems self-servicey about this (probably not your intention), which means you'll need a large investment beyond building the product. And, well, that's just fine, but it also means that organization and cash-flow is going to be a big issue, and hopefully your team is prepared for that.
I would say the barrier for you guys is having sales skills out the wazzoo.
Best of luck!