convore.json/groups/tech/rules-for-technology-start-ups/messages.json

[{"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953375.3434279, "message": "1. Think of one really strong use case (with an attached business mode) and focus on it (the classic Geoffrey Moore tornado thing.) Once that use case/business has momentum, then it can be leveraged to move into related spaces.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46280}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296953644.077693, "user_id": 69}, {"date_created": 1296954177.953366, "user_id": 1}, {"date_created": 1296962085.732306, "user_id": 159}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953511.700289, "message": "2. Much better to have 10k really engaged users than 10mm casual. (10k passionates are like having a huge marketing team... 10mm casual adds up to nothing)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46281}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296962089.19034, "user_id": 159}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953562.92348, "message": "3. Decide what kind of company to be and stick with it (ie, if you are an engineering-driven company, don't suddenly try to be marketing-driven, or sales)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46282}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296954184.82477, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953642.8840711, "message": "3a. (related to the above) Company strengths should align with founder's DNA (ie, if your company was founded by a programmer and a designer, the company's strengths are going to be engineering and design, whether you like it or not)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46283}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296953963.5901029, "user_id": 69}, {"date_created": 1296954187.6813409, "user_id": 1}, {"date_created": 1296962098.7506449, "user_id": 159}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953671.6191361, "message": "4. Figure out where you will write code to add value... for everything else:\n\n   * partner\n   * use open-source\n   * use 3rd partner vendors (even if they cost money)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46284}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296953957.5568409, "user_id": 69}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953722.7143109, "message": "5. have a clear explanation of what your product is for--killer use case that can be explained in one or two plain english sentences, that everyone working there gets and believes in (and is consistent with how the outside world sees and uses the product)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46285}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296953961.2850709, "user_id": 69}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953760.1697631, "message": "5a. (related to the above) No company mission statement--the only mission statement that matters is a clear description of what the company's products do and what problems they solve.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46286}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953835.2575779, "message": "That's what I have so far... all of this in IMHO, and IANACF, etc. (though I have worked at some companies that helped me formulate the above)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46287}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296953854.3967121, "message": "anyone else have a rule or advice for technology start-ups they'd like to share?", "group_id": 97, "id": 46288}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296954199.8748291, "user_id": 224}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954134.1907029, "message": "I also think it's important to remember for consumer tech startups that users don't see your code, so until you get major traction, prefer technical debt over extra time spent finding that major traction.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46290}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954296.6390381, "message": "@ericflo agreed, though everyone should be very aware (ie, shitting in their pants paranoid) that you there is very good chance you will hit a wall that may cause your company/product to totally collapse", "group_id": 97, "id": 46291}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954352.534735, "message": "still, hitting the wall is a nice problem to have (it means you major traction) even if is going to really suck while you're scrambling to bring the site back up", "group_id": 97, "id": 46292}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954380.7101679, "message": "I think that's much rarer than the alternative.  Really Friendster is the only example I can think of.  Look at Twitter, they focused on building a product so compelling that people kept using it despite egregious downtimes.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46293}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954453.6836259, "message": "My main thing is to focus on the user, the user, and the user.  If that can happen quickly with clean code, then so be it, but if it takes some dirty code, then so be that too.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46294}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954503.623991, "message": "Also, another point IMO is to keep a product focused.  It's so easy to add features that people want, but for every user that requests a feature, there's another user out there that might come to the product and find it too complicated.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46295}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954667.0789571, "message": "@ericflo right, that's why you stay focused on your core use case", "group_id": 97, "id": 46297}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954775.4903231, "message": "@ericflo you're right about twitter... also, back in the day, ebay had some periods of great fail", "group_id": 97, "id": 46300}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296954855.4065061, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954840.7360051, "message": "ah, yes, the late 90s... when I used to roll around cole valley in my 4-runner, blasting Biggie and Jay-Z", "group_id": 97, "id": 46302}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954891.261662, "message": "actually, in '98 it was upper haight, but same diff", "group_id": 97, "id": 46303}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954621.0799689, "message": "Instagram did this really well", "group_id": 97, "id": 46296}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296954793.5575781, "message": "@djchall Ah yeah, I remember that", "group_id": 97, "id": 46301}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971254.7865651, "message": "@ericflo to put it another way, your product should give users what they want, but not in a way they expect", "group_id": 97, "id": 46469}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971258.4317219, "message": "like a good ending to a movie", "group_id": 97, "id": 46470}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971283.100848, "message": "Basically listen to your users asking for a faster horse & buggy, and give them a car? :)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46471}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971506.538461, "message": "7a. know what your exit is--your company is a business, and you most probably have investors. it's not a bad thing to think about what kind of exit you want. if you're a feature company, then your job is to create a product or service which would add value to an existing platform (but the tricky thing is that you really need it to be able to add value to at least two, otherwise you have no leverage at the bargaining table.)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46475}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296971762.977741, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971593.3134429, "message": "#7 is the principle that mark zuckerberg seems to intuitively understand, better than just about anyone else in the tech industry--at every opportunity he's resisted the urge to create a feature company, and instead gone for massive scale", "group_id": 97, "id": 46476}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971687.648633, "message": "8. just because you have an API, doesn't mean you're a platform (a platform is an ecosystem, and that means you have all of the support services necessary for developers to make a living--documentation, SDKs, conferences, developer support, developer forums, etc.) -- the definition of a platform is... could someone support themselves working exclusively in your environment?", "group_id": 97, "id": 46477}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971958.386224, "message": "#9 is also one that probably bears further explanation. In general, as a technology start-up, you will have a cost structure that makes providing services uneconomical.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46496}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971971.7599599, "message": "that's because you are most likely going to be based in a place where the costs of business are high", "group_id": 97, "id": 46498}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972074.0505929, "message": "it creates an unhealthy symbiotic relationship that will make it very difficult for you to think about your product in terms of being a general solution", "group_id": 97, "id": 46500}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972202.774189, "message": "i'm using it in the sense of a services group.... ie, a division of a company whose mandate is to customize the comapny's products to a customer's specification (presumably a company who's backing up brinks trucks full of money to company headquarters)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46507}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972229.6475141, "message": "so i don't mean it in the way an engineer would think of a service", "group_id": 97, "id": 46508}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971134.7796929, "message": "okay, thought of some more", "group_id": 97, "id": 46466}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296971182.1237531, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971158.0907769, "message": "6. listen to your users, then ignore them (you need to understand their problems, but if you just build what they tell you, you'll end up with a frankestein product--you're like a psychiatrist dealing with an addict--the user wants a quick hit, but you need to solve the underlying problem)", "group_id": 97, "id": 46467}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971196.225332, "message": "@djchall Oh yeah, listening is super important.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46468}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971324.4044471, "message": "@ericflo yes, that is another famous quote quite apropos to the current conversation (:", "group_id": 97, "id": 46472}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971437.0079689, "message": "7. imagine the path to becoming a billion dollar company. The thing that makes tech so difficult, but also fun and challenging is that you have to simultaneously execute on a very narrow, focused use case, while at the same time knowing how that is going to lead to a huge business. You're probably not going to become a billion dollar company, of course, but it's essential to have that plan in mind to prevent you from designing your product/company to paint you into a corner where you have no credible exit strategy.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46473}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971464.967751, "message": "that's actually the rule that's really hard to understand.... i could probably write a book on it", "group_id": 97, "id": 46474}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971724.5172551, "message": "to be clear about #8, it's perfectly fine (more than fine, it's good) to have an API, but just be clear about setting expectations", "group_id": 97, "id": 46478}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971878.528043, "message": "if you can't tell, the API vs. platform confusion is a pet peeve of mine", "group_id": 97, "id": 46491}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296971900.39958, "message": "9. Scale not customization. In general, if you are a technology start-up, you want to create products, not services. There are large services businesses in technology (IBM) but they are mostly legacy businesses and with the lowering of costs of communication, and the emergence of SaaS companies which eliminate the advantages that large companies have in terms of providing basic business infrastructure. Because of that, the future belongs to small, nimble services companies that may be individuals, or small partnerships, or whatever, based wherever.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46493}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972041.2634101, "message": "not to mention, services businesses create huge opportunity costs for management, because once you are dependent on a few customers for a whole lot of revenue, you are naturally going to have to listen and attend to those customers", "group_id": 97, "id": 46499}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972093.0932381, "message": "I dunno, is Facebook a service company?", "group_id": 97, "id": 46501}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296972129.867728, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972124.836695, "message": "@ericflo no, they're an infrastructure company", "group_id": 97, "id": 46502}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972130.9102509, "message": "they don't provide services", "group_id": 97, "id": 46503}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972147.2289031, "message": "unfortunately service(s) is an overloaded word", "group_id": 97, "id": 46504}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972247.2589221, "message": "That makes sense", "group_id": 97, "id": 46511}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973252.1669869, "message": "10. Don't try to do everything yourself. In 1950, a tech company had to build everything themselves because the required inputs simply didn't exist. At every point, in both thinking about the software code that you are writing, as well as any other activity, you should ask yourself \"is there someone else who has done/can do this better/cheaper?\" In the age of the internet, there's very little excuse for reinventing the wheel, unless that's your actual business. This means that you need to be very good at what you do, and a very good partner in what you don't want to do. And most importantly,you need to be good at distinguishing between the two.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46518}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296972323.272104, "message": "this conversation has been valuable, because i really need to rewrite rule #9 to make that clear", "group_id": 97, "id": 46512}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973246.7051899, "message": "just wrote another rule, those this may be a restating of #4", "group_id": 97, "id": 46517}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [{"date_created": 1296973310.1943171, "user_id": 1}], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973306.110867, "message": "i should probably clean these up and blog them, but i think i'll let them marinate a bit", "group_id": 97, "id": 46519}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973478.6030021, "message": "some of them i'd like to expand on... others i think are better left the way they are, like buddhist koans", "group_id": 97, "id": 46524}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973498.493499, "message": "people might actually do better with their own interpretations than mine (:", "group_id": 97, "id": 46525}, {"user_id": 1, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973348.083822, "message": "@djchall These are great, I'd love to see them in longer form.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46520}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973352.8892391, "message": "@ericflo thanks for your feedback", "group_id": 97, "id": 46521}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1296973365.8051341, "message": "i hope all you lurkers found it interesting (:", "group_id": 97, "id": 46522}, {"user_id": 218, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297001679.2913389, "message": "@djchall not to bust your balls, but what makes you qualified to dole out rules for tech startups?", "group_id": 97, "id": 46606}, {"user_id": 218, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297001709.28948, "message": "Likely just my ignorance, but it sounds like a list culled together from Hacker News aphorisms.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46607}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012529.7626171, "message": "@justinlilly well, i've worked in software for about twenty years", "group_id": 97, "id": 46619}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012677.6636789, "message": "i've worked at four start-up companies, as well as a small software company, and spent some time at big companies, as well", "group_id": 97, "id": 46620}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012716.0645051, "message": "not to mention i've spent a lot of time talking to friends about their experiences", "group_id": 97, "id": 46621}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012724.3408599, "message": "and observed the world around me", "group_id": 97, "id": 46622}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012798.391103, "message": "one thing that i did which was a big learning experience was when i was at sand hill econometrics, we did a big study of start-ups that failed", "group_id": 97, "id": 46623}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012809.7901011, "message": "i spent a year feeling like I did nothing bug read fuckedcompany", "group_id": 97, "id": 46624}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012817.174777, "message": "*but", "group_id": 97, "id": 46625}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012887.9423831, "message": "but you're right, a lot of these things have been said before, and possibly said better", "group_id": 97, "id": 46626}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297012907.4630301, "message": "however, the writing is all my own... i didn't copy and paste any of this stuff", "group_id": 97, "id": 46627}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297013504.487833, "message": "one part of my background which is relatively unique is that my parents are economists and while I never got a econ phd, i have spent a lot of time working with them on various things, where i picked up a good understanding of the economic forces that shape the tech industry", "group_id": 97, "id": 46629}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297013555.002557, "message": "for example, during the DOJ's antitrust case against microsoft in the late 90s, my father and I worked together on several papers", "group_id": 97, "id": 46630}, {"user_id": 224, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297013570.305522, "message": "i also helped him when he was advising oracle on strategy", "group_id": 97, "id": 46631}, {"user_id": 218, "stars": [], "topic_id": 1766, "date_created": 1297021110.548588, "message": "cool.", "group_id": 97, "id": 46647}]