Hacker News Reader

Comment by maxklein | Hacker News Reader

That's a great story. You guys are obviously smart and have a good idea. Your weak points would be here:

- Have you fought with your co-founders yet to find out if you could survive such a fight? If all you've been in civil and polite, then you don't really know each other yet

- You have 'options'. Will you have the drive to really push through if things do not go initially as expected?

The impression I am concerned about is that you seem a bit soft and nice, if I may use those word. If I were you, I'd focus on making sure in conveying that you have the capacity to be tough also.

View on HN

We've fought pretty hard over design details—we're all very passionate about design and perfectionistic when it comes to the user experience, and sometimes our aesthetics conflict. I don't anticipate any more serious fights, but I've read enough startup stories to know that such things are always possible. I'm not sure that what you're suggesting is right, though. Are you saying that a startup that's been torn asunder by internal conflict and reunited by the founders' convictions is stronger than one where work has proceeded smoothly and uneventfully?

And yes, I do have that drive to push through. It's not every day that you get the chance to change the world. I'm not throwing that away, no matter how difficult things might seem.

As to "soft and nice"—well, thanks! I get what you're saying, but my impression is that knowledge >> toughness in the startup world. Being tough is mainly about understanding that you have other options, that you don't have to accept everything that's put in front of your nose.

When multiple intelligent people work together, there will be fights over totally uneccessary things. With time, either the fights will get worse, or there will be some type of resolution where everyone realizes that the fights are hurting and compromises are reached to ensure that there are no more fights.

Some people get to that compromise point, but some can't. If the fights are resolved in a bad manner and resentment continues to brood, when money arrives and people get greedy, those fights will come back, and this time they will be worse.

So you have to get the fights over with at the start and everyone has to accept their position and their status. Then you can work in a focused fashion forward.

Changing the world is great, but I can likely do that by planting a bunch of trees in the amazon. Very few business get to change the world - most just get to make money. Would just making a lot of money also be enough for you, even if you don't get to change the world?

Yes: Making a lot of money => Ability to change the world. The converse is not true. :)

I agree - you seem like a smart cat, best of luck with YC.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com