Design Review</a>, YC Group Partner Aaron Epstein is joined by YC President and CEO Garry Tan to take a closer look at what’s working (and what’s not) on the websites of five different AI startups.</p><figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\"><iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/uIYujpFmvo8?list=PLQ-uHSnFig5PjnaLTBMsCcE7YPye6-xTX\%22 frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen></iframe></figure><p>While their feedback is tailored for each company’s page, there’s a ton of advice in there that’d be useful to <em>anyone</em> building a site for their startup — like why being too clever with your copy can backfire, how to use call-to-actions and animation more effectively, and why you should be quick to get people to a live demo and “show off a feat of strength.”</p><p>This episode features four different Y Combinator companies — <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.rosebud.ai//">Rosebud AI</a>, <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.magicflow.ai//">Magicflow, <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://realitydefender.com//">Reality Defender</a>, and <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.pump.co//">Pump  — plus a guest appearance from <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.voiceflow.com//">Voiceflow, a company that volunteered after seeing a previous episode.</p><p>As for what these companies do: figuring that out is part of the fun! Watch along as Aaron and Garry click around these websites — how quickly does the intended product pitch come through for you?</p><p><br></p>","comment_id":"648b397882594d000156ffc8","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/06/Design-Review-Title-Card-1.jpg","featured":true,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2023-06-15T09:16:56.000-07:00","updated_at":"2023-07-21T10:36:49.000-07:00","published_at":"2023-06-15T09:36:08.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":"What are you aiming to say with your startup’s website, and what’s actually coming through?\n\nWatch along as Aaron and Garry examine what’s working (and what’s not) on five different AI startup websites.","codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"tags":[{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71166","name":"videos","slug":"videos","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/videos/"}],"authors":[{"id":"645000ebb09be6000165fbad","name":"Greg Kumparak","slug":"greg","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/05/greg.jpeg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Greg oversees editorial content at Y Combinator. He was previously an editor at TechCrunch for nearly 15 years.","website":null,"location":null,"facebook":null,"twitter":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/author/greg/"}],"primary_author":{"id":"645000ebb09be6000165fbad","name":"Greg Kumparak","slug":"greg","profile_image":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/content/images/2023/05/greg.jpeg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Greg oversees editorial content at Y Combinator. He was previously an editor at TechCrunch for nearly 15 years.","website":null,"location":null,"facebook":null,"twitter":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/author/greg/"},"primary_tag":{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71166","name":"videos","slug":"videos","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/videos/"},"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/design-review-watch-aaron-and-garry/","excerpt":"What are you aiming to say with your startup’s website, and what’s actually coming through?\n\nWatch along as Aaron and Garry examine what’s working (and what’s not) on five different AI startup websites.","reading_time":1,"access":true,"og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"email_subject":null,"frontmatter":null,"feature_image_alt":"\"Design Review\" in white, written on an orange background","feature_image_caption":null},"mentions":[],"related_posts":[{"id":"653143b49f4c6200014f4dd3","uuid":"304480e1-0302-4999-ab0c-51991d4715a0","title":"Is it time to quit your job at a unicorn?","slug":"dalton-michael-should-i-quit-my-unicorn-job","html":"<p>If you’re an employee of a late-stage company right now, how would you know when it’s time to move on vs. time to double down? </p><p>It’s an especially pertinent question today; the late stage funding market is… slow and the IPO window is still effectively closed. Is this a good time for employees to consider working for a smaller/earlier stage company?</p><p>The fact is that there isn't an easy answer — it can really vary from person to person, and situation to situation. In this episode of <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.ycombinator.com/library/carousel/Dalton &amp; Michael/">Dalton + Michael</a>, Michael and I share some suggestions on what sort of things an employee of a late-stage startup should be looking for — the good signs and the bad — to best make this decision.</p><figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\"><iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/chAoH_AeGAg?feature=oembed\%22 frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Should You Quit Your Job At A Unicorn?\"></iframe></figure>","comment_id":"653143b49f4c6200014f4dd3","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/10/SR01E36_thumbnail.jpg","featured":true,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2023-10-19T07:56:52.000-07:00","updated_at":"2023-10-19T09:00:42.000-07:00","published_at":"2023-10-19T09:00:42.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":"If you’re an employee of a late-stage company right now, how would you know when it’s time to move on? There isn't an easy answer — but in this episode, Dalton + Michael share suggestions on the good/bad signs to look for.","codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"authors":[{"id":"61fe29e3c7139e0001a71085","name":"Dalton Caldwell","slug":"dalton-caldwell","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/02/Dalton.jpg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Dalton is Managing Director, Architect and Group Partner at YC. 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There isn't an easy answer — but in this episode, Dalton + Michael share suggestions on the good/bad signs to look for.","reading_time":1,"access":true,"og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"email_subject":null,"frontmatter":null,"feature_image_alt":"Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel talking; behind them, a unicorn sits at an office desk","feature_image_caption":null},{"id":"65203ce0b7f98e0001a1d71a","uuid":"9808fd11-c453-4a7b-9de9-db6623444385","title":"Office Hours: YC’s Group Partners share advice on actually getting things done","slug":"office-hours-yc-productivity-tips","html":"<p>Founders are inherently busy people. 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How do you know if a task is real work or “fake” work — the stuff that <em>feels</em> like work, but isn’t actually moving your startup forward?</p><p><a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.ycombinator.com/library/carousel/Office Hours/">Find the other episodes of Office Hours here</a>!</p><figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\"><iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/nF_YWdz6S0Y?feature=oembed\%22 frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Startup Experts Reveal Their Top Productivity Advice\"></iframe></figure>","comment_id":"65203ce0b7f98e0001a1d71a","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/10/maxresdefault.jpg","featured":false,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2023-10-06T09:59:12.000-07:00","updated_at":"2023-10-06T10:06:25.000-07:00","published_at":"2023-10-06T10:06:25.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":"For this episode of Office Hours, the Group Partners are talking about productivity — what works for the founders they help, and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t. ","codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"authors":[{"id":"645000ebb09be6000165fbad","name":"Greg Kumparak","slug":"greg","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/05/greg.jpeg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Greg oversees editorial content at Y Combinator. 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How seriously should you take advice from famously successful people?</p><p>It’s hard not to give advice when you’re successful, but context matters. Is the person giving advice thinking about all the steps they followed in the early parts of their career, or just what’s possible for them today <em>because </em>of those steps?</p><p>For this episode of <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.ycombinator.com/library/carousel/Dalton &amp; Michael/">Dalton + Michael</a>, Michael and I dig into why some advice givers might be tempted to say “Do as I say, not as I <em>did</em>” and how we try to avoid doing that within YC.  </p><figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\"><iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/09mXPGVkfVA?feature=oembed\%22 frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Why You Shouldn&#39;t Copy Your Tech Idols\"></iframe></figure>","comment_id":"6501d59947c9f1000193a180","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2023/09/DM-tech-idols.jpeg","featured":true,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2023-09-13T08:30:33.000-07:00","updated_at":"2023-09-13T10:20:01.000-07:00","published_at":"2023-09-13T10:20:01.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":"For this episode of Dalton + Michael, we dig into why some advice givers might be tempted to say “Do as I say, not as I DID.”","codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"authors":[{"id":"61fe29e3c7139e0001a71085","name":"Dalton Caldwell","slug":"dalton-caldwell","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/02/Dalton.jpg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Dalton is Managing Director, Architect and Group Partner at YC. 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Design Review: Aaron Epstein and Garry Tan critique AI startup websites

by Greg Kumparak6/15/2023

"Design Review" in white, written on an orange background

What are you aiming to say with your startup’s website, and what’s actually coming through?

In this episode of Design Review, YC Group Partner Aaron Epstein is joined by YC President and CEO Garry Tan to take a closer look at what’s working (and what’s not) on the websites of five different AI startups.

While their feedback is tailored for each company’s page, there’s a ton of advice in there that’d be useful to anyone building a site for their startup — like why being too clever with your copy can backfire, how to use call-to-actions and animation more effectively, and why you should be quick to get people to a live demo and “show off a feat of strength.”

This episode features four different Y Combinator companies — Rosebud AI, Magicflow, Reality Defender, and Pump  — plus a guest appearance from Voiceflow, a company that volunteered after seeing a previous episode.

As for what these companies do: figuring that out is part of the fun! Watch along as Aaron and Garry click around these websites — how quickly does the intended product pitch come through for you?


Author

  • Greg Kumparak

    Greg oversees editorial content at Y Combinator. He was previously an editor at TechCrunch for nearly 15 years.