The Boss - First, $99. Then, Millions. | Hacker News Reader

The Boss - First, $99. Then, Millions.

nytimes.com

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I wonder if there are photographers that specialize in the "I'm a rich douche" headshot. Probably pays pretty well...

Actually, yes. I know of a few.

This guy has a huge ego (check out his blog).

But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was.

EDIT: Not his blog, his site.

But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was.

He would have been, practically and legally speaking, able to walk away from that deal totally without consequence. Remind me who was taking the risk again?

I was under the impression that he would have to pay in 90 days.

Otherwise, it's one hell of a deal.

Technically, yes he would've had to pay. But he had no money and neither did his family. If he didn't pay there was no one and nothing to go after, he'd simply declare bankruptcy.

Technically, as a minor he could just say "Whoops, my bad" and the contract would probably be voided, but practically speaking simply refusing to respond to someone on another continent leaves them pretty much screwed, even without taking any step to resolve the situation legally.

"Pay me."

"..."

"Pay me or I'll spend several hundred thousand dollars on a lawyer to recover my $30k!"

"..."

"Pay me please?"

"..."

As a minor was the agreement legally binding?

From the article it sounds like he got his brother to sign, reading slightly between the lines. So his brother would be the one on the hook, legally, if that were the case.

A contract signed by a minor is voidable (can be cancelled without penalty) by the minor, but is not void (legally inoperable as if it never existed).

HOWEVER, if a contract is cancelled, both sides must return anything they received the other side party to the contract.

Not entirely true. He could void the contract, but then he'd have to turn over any profits made to the guy he bought the code from (unjust enrichment/quasi-contract).

Just because there isn't a remedy under the contract doesn't mean there isn't a remedy at equity. Usually, the equitable remedy is worse (from the minor's point of view) than the contractual remedy, b/c the equitable remedy is not limited to losses/gains/terms under the contract -- it is limited only by what the court deems is "fair".

He lives in Santana Row (also where Blue Lithium used to be located), I saw him while I was visiting my sister a few weeks ago and she and her husband told me has a massive ego as well (they've met him a few times).

But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants. I personally think being humble gets you much further in life, but that's just me.

"But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants."

Why's that? It excuses nothing.

1- license tech now, pay later

2- ?

3- profit!

Honestly: 30 days? $100K revenue from a new tech venture when you're 16 working in the afternoons and can't code? Reaaallly?

I realize these were crazy times but .. I smell a fish.

Especially since they were crazy times, but not because of crazy revenue. Those were the days of big cash outs, not big revenues.

I enjoyed the article, but it was all over the place. It ended rather abruptly too. Props to this guy for jumping on board when he did, and getting out when he did.

yes, the article was a written form of ADHD.

The guy is pretty impressive for a lot of reasons. It's better read in his book/autobiography: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Learned-Rewards-Entrepreneurship...

It's a great insight in his building a business against his parent's wishes (while still a minor), how he managed things, partnerships and legal stuff that went sour, what he did between his first exit and his second company (built a restaurant, invested in stocks and quit, etc.) and more. It's a good read.

I started to read the article and it sounded like a very short version of the book. I read the book (on a recommendation from HN) and took a lot from it. In particular I found the dynamic between the programmer who made the technology and himself (who did the business development) interesting. He made the programmer what I thought was a fair deal, worked his ass off selling, and things grew fast. The programmer got really pissed and created all kinds of headaches. Reading this gave me a chance to evaluate any future business relationships I might have as a programmer.

Overall the book isn't on my must read list but I still thought it was pretty good. I

might enjoy reading his personal site

http://www.chahal.com/

I'm not sure whose site is funnier, his or Eric Litman's:

http://ericlitman.com/

We need a ".ego" TLD.

Looking at where he came from, and where he is now, he's got plenty of reason to flaunt it. He came from the slums, and made tens of millions! (It doesn't mean it's not tacky, but he's got the street cred to say he did it (mostly) by his own skills.)

I haven't been to california in a while. I didn't realize San Jose was the slums now. Things have changed.

Please also note the watch he promimently displays on his wrist.

I remember him from the show, "Secret Millionaire," where millionaires dress as poor people for a week, then give away money to citizens that helped them out.

While I respected him for doing the show, I remember thinking at the time that he was way too into himself. He'd wear v-neck, designer shirts even though he was supposed to look homeless.

Then he'd cry a lot, and say, "And I normally never cry, but this has gotten me so emotional.." Which means he probably cries all the time to make himself look sensitive.

And he spread out his giveaway, which made the episode boring. Where other millionaires gave $100,000 per person, he'd give multiple people, $10,000.

All around bad episode. Now I'm mad..

This story has so many missing pieces it's not even worth reading.

What I want to know is who's the engineer he suckered into getting his first codebase up and running?

What do you mean, missing pieces? It's all right in there!

I didn’t know how to program, but realized that advertisers would need a way to track visits online. I thought I could buy software to help me, and found a guy in London who had technology that he offered me for $30,000.

See? It's as easy as ABC. Identify problem, find a programmer who has the shrinkwrapped solution sitting on his harddrive, convince him to give it to you for the promise of paying $big_sum later (as we know most programmers are slightly retarded anyways, he'll do it), launch, cash out, write book, buy rolex, make douchebag stock photo, done.

If that's not a guide on how to launch a successful startup then I don't know what is.

It basically summarized his book up in 2 minutes. It leaves out all the details and good information. It's articles like these that do entrepreneurs a dis-service:

a) You don't get the nitty gritty important details on how he really did it. You should definitely read his book to find that out btw. b) The focus is on the zeros and commas, making everyone think they can make million on teh internetz easily.

The NY Times consistently prints these 'millions in minutes on the Internet' pieces. They did the same think with Markus Frind, Mr. Plenty of Fish, and I've seen others as well.

I know it's fun to rewrite the same story over and over about how you fall out of bed into a pile of money, but it gets a little old for those of us who know you really fall into a pile of hard work and meager reward.

Are the rest of the details in his book? If so, it's acceptable that a ~650-word newspaper account just provide a taste/tease; it's all the medium can do.

If it's an ad for the book it's acceptable. But it's unclear exactly what it is - it doesn't even mention that there's a book. It sure isn't much of an article.

ClickAgents! I remember them! I still have an uncashed cheque from them from 1999 or something. Somehow my personal website managed to make USD$40 or something. It would have cost me $30 to cash in Australia so I just kept it as a momento of times gone by.

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