4 unexpected lessons I’ve learned after going through Y Combinator this year

[tictoc]

Hi all! I'm Daryna, one of the founders of OpenPhone.

I've been reflecting on 2018, my experience of launching OpenPhone and going through YC

Wanted to share my most unexpected lessons learned. I wish someone shared them with me a year ago.

Here they are:

1. Focus on customers who “have their hair on fire”
2. Get to the point
3. Learn to have level 3 conversations
4. When you take time off, actually use it

I go over each one of these in detail, explain why they were unexpected (to me) and share real examples of our pre-YC and post-YC 1-liner in the post:

https://medium.com/@darynakulya/4-unexpected-lessons-after-y-combinator-bd5f036a1c55

Hope it's helpful. Would love your feedback!

 

[mhm4him]

@tictoc Wow! Great article and insight! I just checked out your app and as one who keeps their personal cell phone number but lives in a different state I definitely relate to your offering. In fact I have a google phone number and would love to hear about how your product differentiates and improves upon that concept.

Congratulations on all the work you’ve done, sounds like it is paying off!

What type of marketing campaigns do you run? Do you have an email newsletter or subscription list? Looking forward to your updates!

 

[tictoc]

@mhm4him Thanks so much for your kind words!

There are many differences between us and Google Voice. This article has a summary of them: https://help.openphone.co/about-ope...-how-is-openphone-different-from-google-voice

Would love your thoughts if you get a chance to give us a try!

We don't have an email newsletter yet but if you would like to stay updated on our progress, DM me your email address and we'll be in touch

 

[mhm4him]

@tictoc I will definitely have to especially as my business picks up in the new year. Balancing my freelance writing work with personal and business correspondence can be difficult. Looking forward to exploring your solutions and seeing your development! Will follow this up with a DM that includes my email address.

 

[lexmark]

@tictoc Lovely article. Thanks!

I’m an international sort and getting 1 number I can use in different countries on 1 phone is a dream! Love your product idea.

 

[tictoc]

@lexmark Thank you! Yeah, we want to make owning a business number that works around the world super simple.

If you decide to give OpenPhone a try, would love your feedback!

 

[jrmacool]

@tictoc Great article Daryna! Thanks for writing it and sharing.

 

[tictoc]

@jrmacool Thanks for reading Glad it was useful!

 

[serendipitous]

@tictoc Great read . #1 will help me a lot.