The big advantage to working on the online demo is it gets you working on the product. Ultimately, that's what'll make you succeed or fail, not whether you get YC funding. I can't imagine anything else in the application process that matters more.
My team isn't really focusing on the app demo for YC's sake. It actually looks kinda ugly, since layout and design is one of the last things we're working on. But we were planning to launch on the weekend of the 20-21st, and still probably will if we aren't invited to Mountain View. So in order to hit the launch date, we need to work on it anyway.
Nope. I didn't apply to YC because I feel it'll increase my chances of success. I know I'm going to succeed; how 'bout you? ;)
I applied because that's where I want to be. Out of all the places I could go in life, I can't imagine a better place than with a bunch of smart and motivated people working on businesses.
So let's assume we're all going to succeed, and we all want in. Knowing which things matter more than other things is invaluable.
Of course, they wouldn't tell us to focus on question X. If they did, it would skew the results. So the only way to determine what matters is to run experiments like this one.
The big advantage to working on the online demo is it gets you working on the product. Ultimately, that's what'll make you succeed or fail, not whether you get YC funding. I can't imagine anything else in the application process that matters more.
My team isn't really focusing on the app demo for YC's sake. It actually looks kinda ugly, since layout and design is one of the last things we're working on. But we were planning to launch on the weekend of the 20-21st, and still probably will if we aren't invited to Mountain View. So in order to hit the launch date, we need to work on it anyway.