Ask HN: Startups should brag less and ship more (guilty as charged)
3•paulwilsonn•3mo ago
Every founder I know (including me) spends too much time on decks and demos instead of shipping.
We justify it as “raising awareness” or “community building.” But I’ve never seen a pitch deck go viral-only real products.
Anyone else feel this trap?
Comments
ungreased0675•3mo ago
My first question when screening small companies: Please show me the product, I don’t mind if it’s half baked.
If they can’t show me something, that’s the end of the engagement.
paulwilsonn•3mo ago
Absolutely. A tangible product, even if rough, shows execution and commitment. Ideas are easy -prototypes prove there’s real traction.
Datail•3mo ago
I completely agree! If they can’t show anything, it makes it hard to believe in their ability to execute and complete the rest.
paulwilsonn•3mo ago
Exactly. Early execution speaks volumes - even a rough prototype shows they’re serious and capable of turning ideas into reality.
spiderice•2mo ago
How long until LLMs learn not to use em-dashes? Literally 100% of the comments on this account have an em-dash in them.
raw_anon_1111•3mo ago
You haven’t seen all of the funded YC “AI” companies with nothing but non technical founders, a pitch deck and trying to hire a “founding engineer” for peanuts with the promise of worthless “equity”.
jf22•3mo ago
It's not bragging. It's marketing.
ashed96•2mo ago
All marketers ~~are liars~~ tell stories.
ashed96•3mo ago
Opposite problem here - all building, no marketing. Now struggling with GTM because nobody knows we exist.
The real trap is thinking it's either/or. You need both engines running.
ungreased0675•3mo ago
If they can’t show me something, that’s the end of the engagement.
paulwilsonn•3mo ago