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7,200 | comment | budu3 | 2007-03-29T05:53:11 | null | Thanks to Doug Cutting you don't have to write a search engine. You just use Nutch and Lucence and Hadoop. | null | null | 2,608 | 2,608 | null | null | null | null |
7,201 | comment | bootload | 2007-03-29T06:01:44 | null | '... Let a potential user tell you what they want ...'<p>good point. harnessing user intelligence not eyeballs ~ <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=5886">http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=5886</a> | null | null | 7,008 | 6,990 | null | null | null | null |
7,202 | story | noisemaker | 2007-03-29T06:06:14 | Y Combinator's "No Strings Attached" micro-funding model | null | http://www.arlenritchie.com/?p=28 | 2 | null | 7,202 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,203 | story | Sam_Odio | 2007-03-29T06:06:39 | TripSync quietly launches | null | http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/28/tripsync-simple-business-trip-planning-and-management/ | 3 | null | 7,203 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,204 | comment | AurSaraf | 2007-03-29T06:15:43 | null | Good day.<p>No. Do you?<p>I don't think that a club only made up of "hot people" is any less of a meat market, especially since females tend to pay very little attention to physical attractiveness compared to other qualities (men DO tend to judge a lot by physical attraction, sadly, though I'm an exception).<p>So what will we have? A group of hot women pursued by a group of blatant men feeling really good about themselves since they managed to "get in", but probably are only slightly better in average than the average guy at pleasing women. Of course there will be successes, even a bit more, relatively, than in a normal dating site, but the mechanism will be 100% the same, so there's no REAL filtering done. The social game will be the same one. Nothing REAL gained (except for the good feeling of superiority from rejecting people, yuck).<p>Tell me, how do you meet women? Do, and I'll give you a better idea for a dating site.<p>Aur Saraf | null | null | 7,158 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,205 | comment | noisemaker | 2007-03-29T06:16:20 | null | Either you didn't read the article carefully or have not used the site. There is a lot of communication tools built into the site. The main point of the for the point system is to put a barrier to entry in establishing relationships. On most dating or Social network sites, people can easily cast a wide net of people they want to get in touch with. But with IILWY, the points make it too costly to do the same approach. In other words, your relationships are more special. Once a game is finished, the person who put on the game and the chosen player establish a connection like in other social networking sites. They can message each other, or even have it call the other user's cell phone (safely without revealing each others phone numbers). And there is much more coming. | null | null | 7,156 | 7,136 | null | [
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7,206 | comment | abossy | 2007-03-29T06:16:23 | null | An intelligence-based version of that site would be great.<p>You know, for geeks. You have to be smart enough to get in. <p>In fact, you can do it for a lot of criteria that people value in relationships.<p> | null | null | 7,158 | 7,136 | null | [
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7,207 | comment | whacked_new | 2007-03-29T06:16:53 | null | I doubt the question answering will be just for points. Eventually they can build up a profile of you and perhaps secretly change the weighting of points, or change the kinds of "goods" you get to see. That would create a pretty interesting quickdating service. What I find most intriguing is the point system. Joining = 100 questions answered; it looks like a rather arbitrary number. <p>If it takes 6 seconds to answer a question that's 10 minutes per 500 points ("ideal" case). Looks like the baseline will be high enough that new users need to spend significant time answering questions to make useful bids. Looks like a great platform for a popularity war, i.e. MySpace crowd and not Facebook crowd. | null | null | 7,156 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,208 | comment | bootload | 2007-03-29T06:20:59 | null | you need to know the secret handshake, [0] ... but it does not want to work with FOX 2.0.0.3 :(<p>Reference<p>[0] Firefox addon, 'The User Agent Switcher - allows you to spoof various browser user-agent strings'<p>https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/59 | null | null | 7,022 | 6,977 | null | null | null | null |
7,209 | comment | whacked_new | 2007-03-29T06:22:41 | null | Anybody remember yesnomayb.com? They should join forces. | null | null | 7,136 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,210 | comment | blats | 2007-03-29T06:27:53 | null | "Even the founders who fail don't seem to have such a bad time."<p>I was a founder in a startup that died late last year. It was the hardest I have ever worked, and one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It was frustrating in so many ways and there was amazing amounts of strife involved. In the end the project ran out of money and the products of my labor and imagination are now gathering dust in storage. After all that, without any monetary reward, I would do it all again in a second. The challenge of following my senses through completely unknown territory and the reward of seeing my idea come to life was more then enough to make the whole thing worth it. It was the challenge that drove me. In the end it was the challenge itself that rewarded me even though the company didn't fly.<p>
"A lot of people think they're too young to start a startup. Many are right. The median age worldwide is about 27..."<p>I do agree completely with the idea that adulthood is a state of mind and not an age. I remember my dad asking me "What do you want?" when i was somewhere between 18 and 21. My reply at that time was "I just want to be comfortable." I remember it quite distinctly. He then told me "I expect that will change some day, given your creed." He was right, and I realized it while in the midst of working my tail off on a project. All I wanted to do was work on my ideas, see them come to life. The discomfort didn't slow me down at all, it was the challenge that I wanted.<p>
"You need a lot of determination to succeed as a startup founder. It's probably the single best predictor of success."<p>A founder without determination is not going to succeed, but their drive can't cause them to loose perspective. One can dig with a singular purpose and make a big hole, but if it is in the wrong place it does the project no good.<p>
"You don't need to know anything about business to start a startup."<p>True, but eventually the business skills will be required if the project is to continue. My experiences have taught me that while a viable product is most of the battle, a lack of resources on the business end of a project can stop it in it's tracks. Weather it is the founders themselfs that learn the skills, or outside resources are brought in to help - the skills must be obtained. The lesson I learned is pick the right people to depend on, or depend on yourself. Implementing your ideas is great all in itself, but it is much better if there is someone interesting there to see it when you finish.<p>"If you don't have a co founder, what should you do? Get one."<p>Be careful! Going into business with someone in the startup environment is a commitment. You will spend allot of time with them and you will have to depend on them constantly. It is almost like a marriage, choose wisely. Good friends do not always make good business partners.<p>
"In a sense, it's not a problem if you don't have a good idea..."<p>I believe that a person's ability to learn, gain skills, and adapt is the most important thing period. You find someone with a carrot, you've just got a carrot. Even if you need a carrot, their value is limited once they give it to you. Find a gardener and you can grow anything you need. Reminds me of some proverb about choosing a fishing pole or a fish.<p>
"This one is real. I wouldn't advise anyone with a family to start a startup."<p>I agree with this 100%. I did it, and I would not advise it for someone with a choice. My family is amazing and supportive and more then anything else they KNOW me. I have founder pumping through my veins. The startup world is home to me, there is no question that I will be a serial entrepreneur. Good ideas give me goosebumps, unsolved problems give me insomnia. My family supports who I am, so I am able to do what makes me happy. Successfully pouring your soul into a project and being a member of a family at the same time is a learned skill. Play it safe unless you know what you are getting into, or just can't change who you are.<p>
"Start another company? Are you crazy?"<p>See above.<p>
"Be aware, though, that if you get a regular job, you'll probably end up working there for as long as a startup would take, and you'll find you have much less spare time than you might expect."<p>Working a regular job instead of chasing dreams is still a commitment. Yes, you can work a regular job without thinking about it all the time. You can go to work 8 hours a day 5 days a week and not have it take over the rest of your personal time. Having said that, is it really worth it? Why do something all day that you don't care about? Sounds flawed to me.<p>
"Each person should just do what they need to without anyone telling them."<p>This throws back to the "pick carefully" comment. Your choice in business partners is paramount. There are many many people who will just stand there on the field with the ball looking confused. Within the constraints of a startup you may not have time to figure it out after the fact. Make sure you know they can work, and that they can work with you.<p>
"If you go to work for Microsoft, you can predict fairly accurately what the next few years will be likeÃÂall too accurately, in fact. If you start a startup, anything might happen."<p>This is part of what attracts me to the role of a founder. Clicking send on an important proposal and not knowing what will happen is like jumping off a bridge for me (with cord of course). I love not knowing, I love the process of finding out. I love the risks you have to take and the rewards you can reap. Anything can happen, and that resonates with me.<p>
"A significant number of would-be startup founders are probably dissuaded from doing it by their parents."<p>This is a problem I never had. My dad tells a story about having a booth across the aisle from Oracle WAY back when they were both small. He was lead developer on a similar DB app called RDM which was a far more mature and fully featured product at the time. His business leaders thought conservatively, Oracle shot for the stars. The rest is history. My father will never discourage me from chasing my ideas, and my mom just loves to see me glow. He was there, at the time and the place; he chose the steady paycheck.<p>
"Imagine being sad on Sunday afternoons because the weekend was almost over, and tomorrow you'd have to get up and go to work. How did they stand it?"<p>What, as apposed to kicking back - stretching out - and wondering what day it is on Sunday afternoon? Never.. operating by the seat of your pants and living your ideas is the only way to go. Its the best feeling in the world, and the bad times only make the good ones better.<p>[edit] Getting my proverbs straight. | null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,211 | comment | joeljordan | 2007-03-29T06:32:51 | null | The cofounder requirement is always going to be a huge deal for a lot of people. I spent lots of time in college doing extracurricular projects to try to find smart, hard-working people to be around. Most of the best of that bunch ended up working for large technology companies for lack of any better ideas. My experience suggests that meeting cofounders at school is a pretty chancy thing.
I wonder if the best way to purposely meet potential cofounders isn't to work at startups in the first place, where people won't be stuck in the big-company mindset. | null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,212 | comment | whacked_new | 2007-03-29T06:34:46 | null | Haha, this thread has captivated me.
<a href="http://www.datesmartpeople.com">http://www.datesmartpeople.com</a>
These guys spammed several schools when they launched. The forum is pretty empty. No I did not join. | null | null | 7,206 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,213 | story | zaidf | 2007-03-29T06:45:11 | Study: The Myth of the Short Online Attention Span | null | http://eyetrack.poynter.org/eyetrack07asne.html | 2 | null | 7,213 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,214 | comment | RyanGWU82 | 2007-03-29T06:53:47 | null | I quit my job and went to grad school because of Paul Graham. At the first Startup School (Cambridge), Paul's speech casually mentioned that grad school was a good way to meet co-founders. I wasn't specifically looking for co-founders (although like he predicted, I found some here) but decided that it was the right time to get a master's. In the next nine months, I quit my job, moved to Silicon Valley and started full-time grad school in CS. So far it's been one of the best decisions of my life. Thanks, Paul! | null | null | 6,918 | 6,918 | null | [
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7,215 | story | andres | 2007-03-29T07:31:25 | Sergey Brin | null | http://infolab.stanford.edu/~sergey/ | 9 | null | 7,215 | 6 | [
7219,
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7,216 | comment | jkaringada | 2007-03-29T07:38:42 | null | I can see why google's UI is so minimalistic. | null | null | 7,215 | 7,215 | null | [
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7,217 | comment | far33d | 2007-03-29T07:40:10 | null | "Research on the Web seems to be fashionable these days and I guess I'm no exception. Recently I have been working on the Google search engine with Larry Page." <p>That's just awesome. | null | null | 7,215 | 7,215 | null | null | null | null |
7,218 | story | grimey | 2007-03-29T07:41:53 | Bootstrapping Tip: Use teaching to create passionate customers | null | http://www.freshview.com/thoughts/2007/03/5_reasons_why_teaching_your_cu.html | 2 | null | 7,218 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,219 | comment | far33d | 2007-03-29T07:41:59 | null | Maybe he could resurrect the COPS system to help out YouTube a bit?
| null | null | 7,215 | 7,215 | null | null | null | null |
7,220 | comment | staunch | 2007-03-29T08:06:22 | null | <i>"Error establishing a database connection ... internal-db.s2462.gridserver.com."</i><p>I highly recommend avoiding Media Temple's "Grid Server" which is a conceptually horrible idea and has been predictably plagued with issues.<p>Google was kind enough to provide a cached copy:
<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:particletree.com/notebook/the-top-10-questions-investors-asked-us/">http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:particletree.com/notebook/the-top-10-questions-investors-asked-us/</a>
| null | null | 7,181 | 7,181 | null | null | null | null |
7,221 | comment | staunch | 2007-03-29T08:18:34 | null | I happen to know that iPowerWeb was totally unscrupulous and oversold way beyond what anyone would consider reasonable. They were greedy and didn't care anything for their customers. They were just out to make a quick buck and it showed.<p>I love this question and I think every company should poll their users and graph the response over time. What better way to make sure you're doing things right. Probably a great way of solving internal debates: "Let's see what the customers think" | null | null | 7,057 | 7,057 | null | null | null | null |
7,222 | comment | vlad | 2007-03-29T08:28:48 | null | The education system is in a sad state, when people have to drop out of good schools like Harvard and Stanford to start billion dollar companies... and yet, they still can't afford to go back to college.<p>Another example is his resume. "1993 to Present." He's been working on his PhD for 14 years now! Wow, Stanford is really taking him for all he's worth!<p><a href="http://infolab.stanford.edu/~sergey/resume.html">http://infolab.stanford.edu/~sergey/resume.html</a><p>Clearly, Bill Gates and Sergei Brin will never work in emerging fields like actuarial science at a large insurance company. | null | null | 7,215 | 7,215 | null | [
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7,223 | comment | chmike | 2007-03-29T08:29:55 | null | Hi, I'm 50. I tried to apply PG advices to become rich. I left my job and went back to grad to find a cofounder. I also divorced to get rid of wife and kids. I applied for rejuvenation camps, plastic surgery and many othere expensive treatments because PG said we better start young. Since Cobol and Fortran are useless, I had intensive courses to learn lisp, visual basic, php, .net and ruby. <p>There are still a few details left to smooth, but I think I am very close to be able to apply to YC. I still have no idea of what my startup would do, but PG said this was not important... <p>Could there be something I misunderstood in PG talks ? <p>PS: This is all fake, of course, and ment to be humorous.
There is only one thing that matters and PG was very clear on this. It is to come up with something that people will want and will be ready to pay for in some way (accept to view ads for instance). Wether you'r old, married & dad, have no technical skills in CS, etc. won't stop you from succeeding if you found a gold vein. It will just be a little bit more difficult to start, that's all... and maybe YC is not the VC to go for. ;-)
| null | null | 6,918 | 6,918 | null | [
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7,224 | comment | belhassen | 2007-03-29T09:57:17 | null | online sample:
<a href="http://www.zenter.com/ed/view.html?id=226">http://www.zenter.com/ed/view.html?id=226</a> | null | null | 7,034 | 7,034 | null | null | null | null |
7,225 | comment | SwellJoe | 2007-03-29T10:34:04 | null | I started my second company in Austin...and moved it to the Bay Area for WFP2007. The Bay Area is better. And not just by a little bit. My first company was started in Houston and moved to Austin for the better tech environment, but it turns out there's just not much really going on in Austin when you compare it to Silicon Valley. A few users groups and small conferences (plus SXSW, which is worth noting) does not a tech industry make.<p>I miss Austin for the things that make Austin wonderful, but I don't think I'll ever go there to start a technology startup (unless things change remarkably in the future). And Mountain View and San Francisco are both great places to live, even if they aren't as cool as Austin. | null | null | 6,358 | 6,302 | null | [
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7,226 | story | sharpshoot | 2007-03-29T10:59:59 | How much is photobucket worth? | null | http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/29/how-much-is-photobucket-worth/ | 5 | null | 7,226 | 1 | [
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7,227 | comment | danw | 2007-03-29T11:06:38 | null | Sounds interesting, any idea where to get the invite codes? I'm curious about the 'points economy' being used. | null | null | 7,163 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,228 | comment | danw | 2007-03-29T11:30:23 | null | Last.fm is used by real people rather than just us internet peeps :)
| null | null | 6,948 | 6,933 | null | null | null | null |
7,229 | comment | create_account | 2007-03-29T11:51:52 | null | Here's another naysayer on Paul Graham and the YC experience, in a bit more serious tone: <a href="http://www.raydeck.com/2006/10/paul-graham-is-hurting-the-children/">http://www.raydeck.com/2006/10/paul-graham-is-hurting-the-children/</a> | null | null | 7,223 | 6,918 | null | null | null | null |
7,230 | comment | ralph | 2007-03-29T11:52:45 | null | I think a bigger problem than not being smart is having more than one idea over time; the new one supplants the old.<p>I once struggled to explain to a top-notch guy what I did for the company we knew. "Ah", he said, "you're a problem solver", and he was right. Then it varied from people popping their head round the door with a question to larger scale performance issues. Now it means after solving the problems of how to do one good idea I'm attracted by the problems of the new one rather than persevering with bringing idea #1 to completion.
| null | null | 7,037 | 7,037 | null | null | null | null |
7,231 | comment | create_account | 2007-03-29T11:59:23 | null | I agree with you. Whatever breakthrough they might have made technologically (and I don't know anything about streaming video, so maybe what they're doing is not so special), the actual product is rather uninspiring.<p>Some exhibitionists might take to it, but who's watching this stuff? <p>When the novelty fades, it'll go back to being just another toy. | null | null | 7,046 | 6,925 | null | null | null | null |
7,232 | comment | create_account | 2007-03-29T12:00:44 | null | If everyone's "lifecasting", who's watching?<p>One Justin gets an audience (now, in the short term).<p>One thousand (or even one hundred) Justins are not so interesting. | null | null | 6,957 | 6,925 | null | [
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7,233 | comment | create_account | 2007-03-29T12:04:01 | null | I get the Valleywag concept (be the E!, People, Page 6, etc.) of Silicon Valley, but Valleywag is <i>worse</i> than those rags because the people it's profiling (and subtly mocking at the same time) are more than just targets of gossip or adulation.<p>Nick Denton is going to have a lot to answer for. | null | null | 7,147 | 7,147 | null | null | null | null |
7,234 | comment | elad | 2007-03-29T12:12:55 | null | Well you can just start a startup that works on hard problems, instead of one which revolves around your ajax code rendering correctly on various browsers.
You can solve a hard AI problem with a couple of good hacker friends, just as you could do that at Google. True that it'll probably take you more time than building another website around social networking. | null | null | 6,869 | 6,668 | null | [
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7,235 | comment | elad | 2007-03-29T12:15:01 | null | "don't make users register"
Funny that I had to register to post here :) | null | null | 6,709 | 6,668 | null | [
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] | null | null |
7,236 | comment | danw | 2007-03-29T12:16:43 | null | Darn it, Ya'll beat me to the unicycles :) | null | null | 7,189 | 7,070 | null | null | null | null |
7,237 | comment | amichail | 2007-03-29T12:18:10 | null | It's actually a static IP. I still need to think of a better name for the service. I'll buy a domain name after I do. | null | null | 7,191 | 7,146 | null | [
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] | null | null |
7,238 | comment | Alex3917 | 2007-03-29T12:23:26 | null | I like it for two reasons:<p>1) It's completely fresh and original.<p>2) The submit buttons make a pleasing sound when you mouse over them.<p>I suspect the bidding system will result in lekking and other malsocialized behavior, but I could also see it driving up use. I'm really fascinated to see what happens though, and I can't wait to start playing with it (even though I already have a gf who I asked out on facebook). | null | null | 7,136 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,239 | comment | kernwill | 2007-03-29T12:28:08 | null | Paul,
Great article, I found it extremely helpful and encouraging. I did have one question though around point # 9. Family to support. When you started Viaweb, did you have a family? If not, what about when you founded Y Combinator? The reason I ask is that I feel that having a family is a huge motivator for success, not a detractor. Now it is extremely risky especially if you are the sole provider for the family, but the reward is extremely high. If you have the confidence, determination and the right support (money, good business partners, etc.) your chances of success are increased. That would be like saying that it is not wise to be an extreme sports athlete or even a race car driver if you have a family because it is too risky. Calculated risks have great potential. <p>Will<p> | null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | [
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7,240 | story | sanj | 2007-03-29T12:36:12 | Incorporation options with non US partners? | null | 1 | null | 7,240 | 5 | [
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|
7,241 | comment | staunch | 2007-03-29T12:36:34 | null | I think this is the explanation for why YC gets hundreds and not thousands of applications.<p>Most hackers get jobs and generally make quite substantial income. Then they get comfortable with being able to provide for themselves well (and frequently a girlfriend or wife).<p>Even without kids there's a lot of commitment there. A 1 year lease on a nice apartment, a girlfriend/wife "accustomed" to living comfortably, car loan/insurance, etc.<p>Years of people doing this means that the highest potential founders have day jobs right now. For them paths to a startup are 1) Make a lifestyle change and go back to having little money. 2) Get sizable funding 3) Manage to pull off something in their spare time.<p>I think #2 and #3 are rarely successful, making #1 the most likely path to startup success for someone in this position.<p>Give up money, car, (nice) housing, girlfriend/wife(?), etc. to slave away with no life on a startup that will probably fail. Certainly seems like a good filter for determination, the most important attribute, the chances of success for these people must be higher.<p>I suppose YC figures that the potential for these people is not significantly high enough to justify the smaller number they could fund. Better to do 12 x $20k investments with 25% chance of success than 2 x $120k with a 50% chance.<p>
| null | null | 7,194 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,242 | comment | sf2007 | 2007-03-29T12:42:08 | null | Couldnt they come up with a simpler/shorter name? I couldn't figure out the name while I was reading th OM article - it was only when I saw their website I realized the name was i'm in like with you!<p>Do not have an accoun yet - can't comment on the service. On the surface, looks like an interesting idea.
| null | null | 7,136 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,243 | comment | sanj | 2007-03-29T12:51:08 | null | It seems like folks lean towards S-corps, which are limited to US citizens. LLCs cause problems when looking for money, or even wanting to allocate shares. C-corps are expensive. So, what can you do?<p>Create an S-Corp and give options (not shares) to a non-US shareholder?<p>Is there anything short of a C-corp? | null | null | 7,240 | 7,240 | null | null | null | null |
7,244 | comment | imp | 2007-03-29T12:59:47 | null | I agree. The people that would be most affected by a pg essay are those that already aren't happy with their job (or potential job). | null | null | 6,950 | 6,918 | null | null | null | null |
7,245 | comment | imp | 2007-03-29T13:03:14 | null | Sounds like you need to start talking with ClintonKarr. | null | null | 7,185 | 6,918 | null | null | null | null |
7,246 | story | dannymo2 | 2007-03-29T13:07:04 | The power of free | null | http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/03/bob_lefsetz_on_.html | 2 | null | 7,246 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,247 | story | danw | 2007-03-29T13:10:56 | Incantations For Muggles | null | http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/03/etech_incantati.html | 2 | null | 7,247 | 1 | [
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] | null | null |
7,248 | comment | danw | 2007-03-29T13:11:57 | null | Anyone else notice lots of Wizardy references in tech articles recently? | null | null | 7,247 | 7,247 | null | null | null | null |
7,249 | story | mattculbreth | 2007-03-29T13:19:24 | Five reasons PC vendors should offer Linux | null | http://ariejan.net/2007/03/29/5-reasons-why-pc-oems-should-offer-linux/ | 1 | null | 7,249 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,250 | comment | staunch | 2007-03-29T13:23:02 | null | <i>"One thousand (or even one hundred) Justins are not so interesting."</i><p>When the draw is pure novelty that is true. When it's someone you're particularly interested in it's not. Maybe only startup founders find Justin interesting, but there's a "Justin" for every group of people. | null | null | 7,232 | 6,925 | null | null | null | null |
7,251 | comment | dpapathanasiou | 2007-03-29T13:26:41 | null | Someone I knew in Hong Kong researched this, and he said that if you can deposit $x in a U.S. bank, INS will give you an "investor's visa".<p>I forgot what was x was exactly, but it was six figures, IIRC.<p>Then again, that was a while ago (pre 9/11, when some immigration rules were changed), so you may want to confirm that program still exists. | null | null | 7,117 | 7,117 | null | null | null | null |
7,252 | story | veritas | 2007-03-29T13:33:43 | Paul Kedrosky: Microsoft + Doubleclick? | null | http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2007/03/28/microsoft_doubl.html | 2 | null | 7,252 | 1 | [
7327
] | null | null |
7,253 | story | dottertrotter | 2007-03-29T13:34:27 | Work and Wives | null | 18 | null | 7,253 | 35 | [
7457,
7254,
7275,
7970,
7280,
7302,
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] | null | null |
|
7,254 | comment | dottertrotter | 2007-03-29T13:36:49 | null | I've read a lot of stuff recently by startup founders about the reasons to start a company while your still young and single, but I have to say that I could not possibly be doing what I'm doing with my company if it were not for the support of my wife. Anyone have a similar experience? | null | null | 7,253 | 7,253 | null | [
7323,
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] | null | null |
7,255 | comment | dschwarz | 2007-03-29T13:38:04 | null | Terrific essay. <p>I worked for startups all through my 20s, but now at 37, I, I find myself up against point #9.<p>9. Family to support<p>I'd love to found a startup, but having a wife, two wonderful kids, and a $500K mortgage give you a very different perspective on the startup lifestyle.<p>I imagine a startup incubator where the founders are provided with salary and benefits comparable to working for a corporation, and they are encouraged (forced?) to maintain a reasonable life/work balance, (The latter is probably the hardest to achieve; a startup requires an almost monomaniacal focus). <p>In return,the incubator would gain access to a pool of talented people who would otherwise not be able to make the leap.<p>Is this being done now? <p> | null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | [
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] | null | null |
7,256 | comment | brlewis | 2007-03-29T13:39:19 | null | If you're the Jobs, you would find a way to get your message across effectively even if the questions on the application didn't present an easy opportunity to do so. For someone who's a Steve Jobs, the application questions provide a natural opportunity to market yourself.<p>(My first answer was going to be "If you have to ask you're not the Jobs", but I'm working on tact in my comments.)
| null | null | 7,094 | 7,094 | null | [
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] | null | null |
7,257 | comment | dpapathanasiou | 2007-03-29T13:39:45 | null | Humorous article, but serious point.<p>YC, like it or not, is pre-disposed to accepting certain types of founders: under 30, doing web applications, etc.<p>But the opinion of YC (or any other angel/VC) is not the last word on whether or not your venture succeeds.<p>There was another VC firm who posted a page on their web site listing the deals they rejected -- it included some huge successes, like Google -- can you imagine a VC admitting they turned down Google?<p>But that's the right attitude to have; and more entrepreneurs should think that way, too.<p>You will make mistakes, have false starts, hear a lot of "no"s from potential clients, etc. but it's all part of the process. | null | null | 7,223 | 6,918 | null | null | null | null |
7,258 | comment | lkozma | 2007-03-29T13:40:15 | null | The sad thing is that web2.0 is a sales business too, rather than a technology business. | null | null | 6,826 | 6,825 | null | null | null | null |
7,259 | comment | nostrademons | 2007-03-29T13:57:17 | null | The alternative is anonymous comments, which usually lead to a significant drop-off in the quality of discussion.<p>I think "Let the users see what they're getting into before registering" is a more accurate description. | null | null | 7,235 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,260 | comment | nostrademons | 2007-03-29T13:58:44 | null | "I imagine a startup incubator where the founders are provided with salary and benefits comparable to working for a corporation, and they are encouraged (forced?) to maintain a reasonable life/work balance,"<p>Google. Except the work/life balance. | null | null | 7,255 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,261 | comment | AurSaraf | 2007-03-29T14:06:31 | null | Hello, Aur Saraf again.<p>"Either you didn't read the article carefully or have not used the site."<p>I've read the article very carefully, which is not to be said on the way you read my comment: By asking for an invite, I expose the fact that I haven't used the site.<p>"On most dating or Social network sites, people can easily cast a wide net of people [...] Once a game is finished, the person who put on the game and the chosen player establish a connection like in other social networking sites."<p>So basically, IILWY is limiting/filtering/queuing connections based on a 'how much he's willing to invest' filter.<p>Why is that a better filter than any other random filter, like, say, what day of the chinese blogoscope he was born or what color hair does his grandma have? It seems like something totally irrelevant to relationship success, IMHO, especially at a stage where the parties don't know each other at all.<p>To tell the truth, I just don't like services based on limiting the user. I think that requiring the other user to accept a connection (like most IM services, LinkedIn) is good enough at filtering connections without forcing it on the users.<p>Are you a founder/involved person? You sound so. If you are, cool. Regardless, can I get an invite so that I understand better what this is about? | null | null | 7,205 | 7,136 | null | [
10616
] | null | null |
7,262 | comment | brent | 2007-03-29T14:09:50 | null | May I ask what grad school you attend? Why has it been one of the best decisions? People? Projects? | null | null | 7,214 | 6,918 | null | [
7427
] | null | null |
7,263 | comment | AurSaraf | 2007-03-29T14:21:14 | null | It would be fun for a few moments (for boys), but that's it.<p>Geeks are people who tend to stay OUT of the really stupid ego matches, which is what it would become.<p>Geek girls I've talked to, like every other girl, naturally understand that a good relationship hasn't more to do with intelligence than beauty - both are factors that can add a bit, but insignificant compared, so only guys would be lured in.<p>And remember that the only way to "win" an intelligence competition is to not participate.<p>Yes, there are criteria that has value in relationships (contrast with "people value in relationships") that could hold such a site alive. But it is really hard to judge them.<p>The really good tests would create a situation where any high value bloke that applies would have girls chasing him on his application stage, before he's even in. That would have good sides and bad; in the long run, it would obsolete the site. If you can find such a test, though, you can make a lot of money out of site like this.<p>There still is a lot to say about communities that pick their members. Email me if you want to continue the discussion, I have one good idea that I'd happily share.<p>A "dating site for geeks", though, should be done completely differently. No competition, no pressure. No meat market. Just a nice, calm place to meet people, talk about actual subjects ("star wars is hot", not "you're s0 hut1!"). Modeled after geek conventions and get-togethers (D&D, hacking weekend, ... Geeks use the same recipe for all). It would even succeed. I'm pretty sure something exists, though.<p>Aur Saraf | null | null | 7,206 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,264 | story | joshwa | 2007-03-29T14:21:39 | Mike Davidson: "What Will The TV Spot Look Like?" | null | http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2007/02/what-will-the-tv-spot-look-like | 1 | null | 7,264 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,265 | story | domp | 2007-03-29T14:25:16 | Make an infomercial for your startup, get free advertisement, coverage and review | null | http://www.centernetworks.com/i-want-videos-of-your-startup-free-advertising-awaits | 3 | null | 7,265 | 6 | [
7472,
7271,
7370
] | null | null |
7,266 | comment | AurSaraf | 2007-03-29T14:25:52 | null | Ahh, my specialty.<p>
SonOfLilit in gmail. | null | null | 7,185 | 6,918 | null | null | null | null |
7,267 | comment | nickb | 2007-03-29T14:27:06 | null | How did you meet Xobni guys?
| null | null | 6,874 | 6,874 | null | null | null | null |
7,268 | comment | nickb | 2007-03-29T14:29:51 | null | If the rumors are true, they'll have to worry about Google... | null | null | 7,034 | 7,034 | null | [
7556
] | null | null |
7,269 | story | domp | 2007-03-29T14:30:05 | Youtube becomes Flickr? | null | http://mashable.com/2007/03/28/youtube-flickr/ | 1 | null | 7,269 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,270 | story | Mistone | 2007-03-29T14:32:35 | Startup Camp 2 - Date and Location Announced | null | http://upcoming.org/event/169659/ | 2 | null | 7,270 | 3 | [
7306,
7326,
7282
] | null | null |
7,271 | comment | domp | 2007-03-29T14:34:46 | null | This sounded like a fun way to get your company name out there. You have to make an infomercial and then a few judges give you some feedback on your delivery. If you're the best then they give you free advertisement on their site for a month. | null | null | 7,265 | 7,265 | null | [
7314
] | null | null |
7,272 | comment | cwilbur | 2007-03-29T14:35:12 | null | Engineering can be a lifelong profession, but the longer you spend trying to be a good engineer the more likely you are to work for someone who just Doesn't Get It. Once a company gets to be a certain size, especially if the people in charge aren't technically skilled, politics and perception trumps physical laws; an engineer who can't make the case for a solution on technical grounds (this is the cleanest way to solve the problem) or on business grounds (this is the cheapest way to solve the problem, and we save $200K a year by doing it this way over the way we originally thought of) but on political grounds (this is neither clean nor cheap, but it uses this buzzword-compliant tech and will increase your budget by $1.5M and require 2 people to support) is not likely to be a happy engineer. | null | null | 6,926 | 6,926 | null | null | null | null |
7,273 | comment | Mistone | 2007-03-29T14:37:07 | null | a good point, I think it can work both ways, but my wife is a great sounding board and brings a unique / non techie point of view to the discussion which is extremely valuable. | null | null | 7,253 | 7,253 | null | [
7290,
7291
] | null | null |
7,274 | story | mattculbreth | 2007-03-29T14:38:44 | New GPL3 license deals with contentious issues | null | http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/105150097/20070329-new-gpl-3-draft-resolves-some-contentious-issues.html | 3 | null | 7,274 | 1 | [
7276
] | null | null |
7,275 | comment | brlewis | 2007-03-29T14:41:25 | null | For a marketing brochure I sought feedback from two professional writers and from my wife. The best advice of the three was my wife's. Moms are the main customer, but one of the professional writers is a mom too.<p>If you're racing with competitors to get the attention of people who live their lives on the web, having no other commitments is an advantage. That's not what I'm doing. | null | null | 7,253 | 7,253 | null | null | null | null |
7,276 | comment | mattculbreth | 2007-03-29T14:43:28 | null | I'm still not sure this license works well enough for me to use any GPL-licensed components. I created and sold some software several years ago that communicated with MySQL, and those guys wanted me to open source due to their use of GPL. Even though my code was completely independent and my own, they still wanted it open source due to some obscure language in that license.
| null | null | 7,274 | 7,274 | null | null | null | null |
7,277 | comment | busterdog | 2007-03-29T14:44:28 | null | I think a lot of this stuff applies to starting anything new. I thought about church planters who work for non monetary rewards. Same stuff applies to pioneers in any endeavor.
| null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,278 | comment | Mistone | 2007-03-29T14:46:34 | null | great stats on how a massively popular startup actually can earn money. While they may not have broken even yet, $9.34 million in 2006 is nothing to scoff at. | null | null | 7,226 | 7,226 | null | null | null | null |
7,279 | comment | zkinion | 2007-03-29T14:47:18 | null | All they need to do now is get past the hurdle of locality. Okcupid and plentyoffish haven't even done that really, outside of california or really condensed areas. I'd be using it right now if it had more women in Vegas. Once that milestone is gone, amazing growth can begin. <p>Mr. Forman seemed like a nice guy when I met him at the startupschool reception. I wish them the best of luck. | null | null | 7,136 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,280 | comment | cwilbur | 2007-03-29T14:49:28 | null | The reason to start a startup when you're young and single is because you have no commitments. Once you have kids, you can't afford to take that kind of chance with your life because you're also responsible for their lives. But a spouse/significant other who's genuinely supportive is like a partner in the company who's sharing your equity -- if you make it big, he or she makes it big too.<p>On the other hand, a spouse or significant other who's <i>not</i> supportive -- or who means to be supportive but who doesn't actually offer much support, which is worse -- can put enough of a drag on things to make the company fail. <p>And as brlewis notes, a lot depends on the pace you're trying to run the company at. If you're using the traditional VC-funded web startup model and working 100-hour weeks in the hacking zone, your relationship with your spouse/SO is going to suffer. If you're using the consulting/micro-ISV model and expanding the business gradually, it's likely to put a lot less strain on the relationship. | null | null | 7,253 | 7,253 | null | [
7304
] | null | null |
7,281 | story | domp | 2007-03-29T14:49:37 | A look into Silicon Valley | null | http://www.startupjournal.com/howto/management/20070329-memos.html?mod=RSS_Startup_Journal&sjrss=wsj | 1 | null | 7,281 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,282 | comment | mattculbreth | 2007-03-29T14:50:35 | null | This looks interesting. Anybody here going, or went to last year's? | null | null | 7,270 | 7,270 | null | null | null | null |
7,283 | comment | BrandonM | 2007-03-29T14:53:49 | null | The problem with motivation for an undergrad is when you realize that everything doesn't need to be the way it is now. Let me clarify. Most of us have been raised our whole lives with the mantra, "You have to go to college to succeed." I know that my parents didn't go to college, and they were always saying, "You don't want to end up where I am, working in a factory," etc.<p>The problem with that model, however, is that a standard undergraduate education is beginning to become old-fashioned and irrelevant. How many stories do you hear about students going to four years of school only to graduate and be unable to find employment? While the problem is not nearly as bad in engineering as in other fields, it's still the case that more and more people are going to college, and as a result, a degree doesn't look nearly as great as it did 20 or 30 years ago.<p>I personally have started to become disenfranchised with the college model in the US. As an undergrad, I have visited some undergraduate committee meetings and talked personally with a few professors, and the bureaucracy of the whole thing is somewhat disgusting. Even if a professor wants to make a change to the curriculum (for the better), he or she must endure countless meetings and votes, even for something that is clearly a good idea. It may take a year or more just to make a minor structural change in a few core courses.<p>Moreover, department heads are not much worried about the success (or lack thereof) of undergrads. For whatever reason, national groups that rank colleges look mainly at entrance criteria, so as long as the college can successfully lock out those students with low ACT scores (which are largely irrelevant), they look good on paper. Meanwhile, they hire new professors based <i>only</i> on their research and some interviews, without much regard for teaching backgrounds.<p>In the end, once you go off and create your own startup and work on your own projects, you start to see that college is largely not helpful to an undergrad. The stuff that is stretched out over four years could probably be learned quite easily by most in two or less, if it was all restructured a bit. College, in effect, is just another corporation, one that is in the business of paying professors and researching new ideas. It just happens that most professors do not produce enough ideas quickly enough to justify their income, so undergraduate students make up for that by paying tuition.<p>Once you realize that you can be successful without completing (or even starting) your undergrad, the dedication, motivation, and finances necessary to complete college just don't look like such a good trade anymore. Most courses follow a textbook, anyways, so just buy the textbook, study it yourself, talk to people online, and you will probably do just as well. The only downside is that you'll be missing that shiny piece of paper. | null | null | 7,182 | 7,179 | null | [
7503,
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] | null | null |
7,284 | comment | danielha | 2007-03-29T14:56:52 | null | I have a few invite codes available. They're email invites so post your email or send me an email about it (address is in profile). | null | null | 7,173 | 7,136 | null | [
7439,
15308,
7365,
7303
] | null | null |
7,285 | story | domp | 2007-03-29T14:59:05 | Anyone go last night to Web Innovators Group in Boston? | null | 1 | null | 7,285 | 2 | [
7287
] | null | null |
|
7,286 | story | danielha | 2007-03-29T14:59:36 | BritePic: Redefining The img Tag | null | http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/29/redefining-the-img-tag/ | 5 | null | 7,286 | 2 | [
7498,
7765
] | null | null |
7,287 | comment | domp | 2007-03-29T14:59:51 | null | This is who was there and demo'd. <a href="http://webinnovatorsgroup.com/wiki/webinno11">http://webinnovatorsgroup.com/wiki/webinno11</a><p>I found a few little blogs about it. I'm wondering if anyone had some feedback on the demos presented.<p><a href="http://cardvio.blogspot.com/2007/03/web-innovators-demo.html">http://cardvio.blogspot.com/2007/03/web-innovators-demo.html</a> | null | null | 7,285 | 7,285 | null | [
7759
] | null | null |
7,288 | story | domp | 2007-03-29T15:04:35 | Stupid Quotes from the dot com days | null | http://tofslie.com/clientquotes.htm | 3 | null | 7,288 | 0 | null | null | null |
7,289 | comment | zkinion | 2007-03-29T15:05:18 | null | Yeah, the largest problems with dating sites today is the "creepy" guy issue, and the problem that marginally attractive girls are in the minority, and get literally bombarded by guys. Hopefully, this can eliminate these problems with the bidding system. Women are still typically the choosers in modern socity, and this lets them have more filtering. | null | null | 7,148 | 7,136 | null | null | null | null |
7,290 | comment | jkush | 2007-03-29T15:09:40 | null | That's a good point too - my wife has zero understanding of the programming world and no desire to understand it at all. She's great for telling me when my ideas suck or when they might work.<p>Because of YCombinator's relocation requirement, I can't apply. I completely understand why they have that requirement and what's more - completely agree with it. Unfortunately, relocating is not an option for me as we have a 2 year old. Even though I live in Maine and Cambridge isn't that far away, it just wouldn't work.<p>My drive to found a startup is very strong - I'm not afraid of failure (god knows I'm good at it!) but I'm struggling with how to do start something up with a wife and a child. The whole micro-ISV, consulting thing is not something I want to do. <p>I know the conventional wisdom is "don't do it". But that's just not an acceptable answer for me. <p>Does anyone have any advice for me? I would absolutely appreciate it. | null | null | 7,273 | 7,253 | null | [
7580,
7504,
7537,
7300
] | null | null |
7,291 | comment | jkush | 2007-03-29T15:09:45 | null | duplicate post - my apologies. | null | null | 7,273 | 7,253 | null | null | null | true |
7,292 | story | rfrey | 2007-03-29T15:11:22 | Dvorak being Dvorak | null | http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/29/dvorak-apple-should-pull-the-plug-on-the-iphone/ | 1 | null | 7,292 | 2 | [
7301,
7322
] | null | null |
7,293 | story | Readmore | 2007-03-29T15:12:30 | Scribd, the "YouTube for documents," copyright violations and all | null | http://venturebeat.com/2007/03/28/scribd-the-youtube-for-documents-copyright-violations-and-all/ | 5 | null | 7,293 | 1 | [
7311
] | null | null |
7,294 | story | Readmore | 2007-03-29T15:13:43 | Apollo and Slingshot - Taking the web offline | null | http://venturebeat.com/2007/03/27/adobe-slingshot-others-pressuring-microsoft/#more-3796 | 3 | null | 7,294 | 2 | [
7397,
7538
] | null | null |
7,295 | comment | zkinion | 2007-03-29T15:15:51 | null | C-corp is fine, don't worry about it.<p>Resident agent == US citizen or service.
Any other officers/owners can be offshore.
| null | null | 7,240 | 7,240 | null | [
7332
] | null | null |
7,296 | comment | nostrademons | 2007-03-29T15:19:10 | null | They said they're a yCombinator-funded startup, but they also said they're based out of New York. Does YC now have startups in other cities, or did they move to New York after the SFP/WFP program?
| null | null | 7,136 | 7,136 | null | [
7426
] | null | null |
7,297 | comment | mes | 2007-03-29T15:26:58 | null | <i>[3] There need to be some number of big companies to acquire the startups, so the number of big companies couldn't decrease to zero.</i><p>No there don't. There only needs to be some number of entities with deep pockets and marketing expertise. Those entities could be small companies and individuals, or networks thereof. <p>While it might turn out that a large black-box structure like today's multinationals is the most efficient organization for accomplishing certain important tasks, it doesn't seem obvious to me that it must be so.<p>
Michael Sullivan
| null | null | 6,668 | 6,668 | null | null | null | null |
7,298 | story | jsjenkins168 | 2007-03-29T15:32:54 | IP Agreements - Safe to launch a startup while still working? | null | 9 | null | 7,298 | 12 | [
7299,
7331,
7307,
7513
] | null | null |
|
7,299 | comment | jsjenkins168 | 2007-03-29T15:33:43 | null | This is something Ive been wondering about for several months now. I figured the group here might have some useful advice.<p>Like most other tech companies, the company I work for required I sign an Intellectual Property agreement stating that any ideas or work that I produce while an employee is property of the company. So this clause would include any work related to a startup. I know, this really sucks.<p>PG talks about this in several essays. Basically what it sounds like is that if there is ANY indication that you started work on a startup while under an IP agreement, VCs and acquirers will simply not touch you. Has any one else found this to be the case?<p>From what it looks like so far, my options are:<p>1) Jump ship and not look back. This puts big financial strain on us though as we don't have funding yet.<p>2) Leave as an employee, and rejoin as a part time contractor without signing an IP agreement. This would pay the bills and rent in the early stages but would probably be pretty draining physically. I also lose my unvested shares in the company but meh.<p>3) The CEO will sign a document releasing our specific idea from the IP Agreement. Has anyone heard of this happening with success before??<p>Or we could probably just start working in secret and building the product, but this is probably not a good idea because we wouldn't have early customer feedback. I definitely believe in "release early, release often". Or an easy solution would be to get accepted into YC but I know chances of that are pretty slim :(<p>Any advice is appreciated. | null | null | 7,298 | 7,298 | null | [
7309,
7350
] | null | null |
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