ykdojo/editdojo2

Timeline: Jan - Mar, 2019

ykdojo opened this issue · 3 comments

ykdojo commented

Y Combinator:

  • For Winter 2019 (Jan - Mar, 2019), the deadline is October 2.
  • For Summer 2019, I think the duration is June - August. So, I think the deadline is the end of Feb / beginning of Mar?
  • Update (Jan 28): The deadline for the YC summer application is Mar 25. That means, it's going to give us 3 extra weeks. Since we're 1-2 weeks later than our original schedule, so this might actually work well.

Betatron looks interesting, too. Maybe we should try applying to them at the same time.

Right now - it's Jan 13. We should move fast enough to start getting some usage on our web app before we apply to these programs.

We have 7 weeks left:

  • Week 1: Jan 13 - 19
  • Week 2: Jan 20 - 26
  • Week 3: Jan 27 - Feb 2
  • Week 4: Feb 3 - Feb 9
  • Week 5: Feb 10 - Feb 16
  • Week 6: Feb 17 - Feb 23
  • Week 7: Feb 24 - Mar 2

So, maybe our plan should be like this:

  • Week 1: Jan 13 - 19

    • Finish doing research on front-end options (React, Vue, Angular, etc.)
      • YK (Jan 13): I think React will be good for this. #20
    • Have a rough prototype that shows how the front-end will work with Django
      • YK (Jan 13): Haven't ironed out all the details yet, but I think I have a good idea. #23
    • Have a good idea about how the front-end code should be structured
      • YK (Jan 13): I'm going to work on this next. #19
      • YK (Jan 20): Okay, I would say this is about half done. Already have good ideas about how to process HTTP requests from within a React component that lives inside Django.
      • YK (Feb 1): I would say this is done.
    • Make and test a worker script for retrieving tweets so it works on Heroku
      • JH (Jan 20): 70% done. Need to retrieve tweets/store tweets #6

  • Week 2: Jan 20 - 26

    • Make the fundamental frontend logic ready
      • YK (Feb 1): Working on this now. (#43)
    • Make the fundamental backend logic ready
    • Put them together. This should be a usable prototype at this point.
    • Make sure everything works together on Heroku.

  • Week 3: Jan 27 - Feb 2

    • Fix frontend bugs.
    • Fix backend bugs.
    • Make the frontend prettier
    • Make the backend work as smoothly as possible

  • Week 4: Feb 3 - Feb 9

    • Launch! Probably Japanese and English first.
    • Send this to our waiting list for Japanese/English learners.
    • Maybe start marketing it on Twitter, too.

  • Week 5: Feb 10 - Feb 16

    • Keep refining our app. Add requested features. Fix bugs.
    • Keep marketing it. Bring it to the point where it's self-sustainable (we don't have to edit people's posts because there are enough users to edit each other's posts)

  • Week 6: Feb 17 - Feb 23

    • Start working on our YC/Betatron applications
    • Maybe launch another language. French, Spanish, or maybe Chinese?

  • Week 7: Feb 24 - Mar 2

    • Apply to YC and Betatron
    • If we launched another language, keep marketing our app to users learning that language
ykdojo commented

@Jonathantsho thoughts?

  • 🎉1
Jonathantsho commented

This gives us roughly 1 month timeframe to put together some results for the YC application.

I think completing everything by Feb 3 (on my end) should be fine, but I’m kinda skeptics for the applying part.

Even if we get 1000 users to use the app in the 30 days between launch and application, it’s still 30 days. We’ll really need to convey a strong growth plan for us to succeed in YC.

ykdojo commented

I think completing everything by Feb 3 (on my end) should be fine, but I’m kinda skeptics for the applying part.
Even if we get 1000 users to use the app in the 30 days between launch and application, it’s still 30 days. We’ll really need to convey a strong growth plan for us to succeed in YC.

Yeah, it'll be challenging for sure.

Maybe I thought about it slightly differently because last year, I learned a lot about the YC application process.

For example, I remember watching this talk by Michael Seibel (CEO / Partner of YC) last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhFLHxADn0

At 2:00, he mentions that YC looks through past applications of each company: https://youtu.be/WxhFLHxADn0?t=120

Also, I remember him mentioning that he looks at the amount of time the team has spent on the startup vs the amount of work they've been able to get done. He tries to see how fast they're moving. (I couldn't find the video where he said this, though.)

So, my hope is that my application from last year for CS Dojo combined with the small traction we get for Edit Dojo is going to be enough to get in.

It's still a low chance, but I think it's worth trying this time. If we don't get in, we can try again in 6 months, too.