aberman

I'm not sure which comments to answer first: The ones that say WePay is nothing like PayPal and the comparison is misleading, or the ones that say WePay is just a feature of PayPal and therefore undifferentiated.

We'll just keep building the product and let people decide for themselves.

Not the best video in the world, but check this out: http://vimeo.com/18765571

If you were to make a demo video of PayPal, what would you show?

I know nothing about this industry, but I can say categorically that hipmunk has the best UX of any airline search site on the web. It just makes me happy.

> Also I suspect a billboard advertisement for something with such a small user base (vs. the average person who will see this)...

Probably true for most billboards, but the 101 on the peninsula might be the one place in the world it makes sense (box.net has some great ads; AOL and Zynga have ads looking for job applicants)

"After thinking about it for a moment, I guess I'm totally wrong."

And yet, your totally wrong and snarky comments above get up-voted. Go figure.

"The secret of dating in SV/SF that I wish I knew when I moved there: the women are all in Palo Alto, Pac Heights, and The Marina."

And you said you were here for 10 years? Based on the amount of real-estate you devoted to talking about getting girls, I'm guessing you're not too good at it. Yes, it's harder to get girls in SF than in NYC, but the people droning on about it are as hopeless in SF as they are anywhere else.

Silly me. Edited my comment. Thanks :)

Did you read the post?

I mention PayPal 17 times to explain why the comparison doesn't make sense, and to explain where the comparison came from.

> WePay offer 1/3rd the functionality of what Paypal offer

This is factually untrue. We offer different functionality, like multiple accounts under a single login, the features that make it easy to accept donations and sell tickets, the ability to share accounts, etc.

> Even this comment is ridiculous

What about that comment is ridiculous. The fact that mastercard got bashed for also being honest? Not sure why that would reflect on the quality of the comment itself. Is it ridiculous that I tried to be honest?

I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the the founders. I can say, categorically, that your analysis of their motivation is wrong.

Yes, they are interested in growing their business, but their commitment to helping people remember loved ones in a positive, loving manner is inspiring.

I can see how you think the blog post is cold, but unfortunately death is the backbone of their business. You can't judge them for taking an objective look at the numbers. I loved 1000Memories from the beginning, since it solves such a real problem - a ton of facebook users will die, and facebook is an awkward place to honor/remember loved ones. They are providing an elegant and thoughtful solution.

My gf said she couldn't figure it out. I seriously almost broke up with her on the spot. I LOVE hipmunk.

I'm not recommending that companies do this to figure out how to acquire customers.

I'm saying a person should do this to help determine whether an idea is worth pursuing.

upvoted and appreciated. thanks for the insight.

um, the business model I recommend is building products that solve real problems and charging people a fair price to use it.

Testing ideas has nothing to do with determining a business model. Not sure how this relates to WePay's ethics or whether it makes us money or not. Bizarre.

"Do you respond to others who provide you feedback like this? I sure hope not."

I don't, no. But most people that are genuine in their feedback about a blog post on a very specific topic don't preface it (every time) with "how can a company that handles your money do such a thing!"

I actually think your feedback is poignant and helpful, but the way you frame it is disingenuous.

If I had more time, I'd go through all your previous HN comments disparaging WePay for different reasons. Somehow I doubt your motivation for doing so is a sterling commitment to morality. If it was, I doubt you would introduce your criticism with: "A company built to handle other people's money...", and instead, just focus your criticism on the point you are attacking.

I think you are being a little melodramatic. This is to vet an idea, not a sustainable way to build a business. I even said that it could/should be more of a thought experiment. And besides, I'm not recommending that you maliciously and deleteriously deceive people.

pg on naughtiness: "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not goody-two-shoes good. Morally they care about getting the big questions right but not about observing proprieties. That's why I'd use the word "naughty" rather than evil. They delight in breaking rules--but not rules that matter. This quality may be redundant, though; it may be implied by imagination."

I agree. I need to be more disciplined about that...

I named fb as a counterexample. I think you can definitely succeed without validating or invalidating your idea first, but it's a much bigger risk, and you are building a very specific kind of company. How many facebooks and twitters are there in the world?

I wouldn't complain if this was reposted once every six months.

Thanks for the reminder :)

It's not Virgin America's policy.

Also, in regard to me not being a "customer" (and that justifying their attitude): how do you define "customer"? If I don't have an active ticket with them, am I no longer a United customer? What if I bought one in the past, and have every intention of buying another on in the future?

So, you wouldn't say "they lost a customer"?

Actually, I don't find flying particularly frustrating. Waiting on the runway, getting kicked off my flight because it's overbooked, getting stuck in the airport - it goes with the territory, and I am okay with that. My grudge with United (and subsequent love affair with Virgin) was about the way they treat their customers.

Great post, and so true.

Unfortunately, "user acquisition hackers" are basically priceless. A hacker that builds great product is hard enough to find, a hacker that BUILDS TRACTION?! Holy God would that be amazing.

We (WePay) applied at the last minute on a whim, and it was honestly one of the best decisions we have made as founders.

Damn! The one time I actually wanted to read about the drama!

Unless of course you follow that argument to its logical conclusion...

Do you really think this drama is going to push founders into the hands of YC RATHER than Ron Conway, Chris Sacca, SV Angel, Dave McClure, Mike Maples etc? Especially when most YC companies end up raising from these guys after YC anyways? Honest Question...

I just finished reading it, and that's partially what inspired this post (I talk about it in part 2).

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I would read "accidental billionaires" (the book that "the social network" is based on). I think it shows how another type of culture can develop on it's own.

This is gold. It really struck a cord. Thank you.

jeeze man, it's 60 hours a week (assuming that we never leave early or take a day off).

It's nowhere near the hours worked by a first year analyst at an ibank, or by a first year associate at a law firm.

Bill is not saying we are particularly proud of how much we work, just that we aren't apologizing for it. Especially when we are talking about the first 5 employees in the company.

Trust me, I don't want to be working 12 hour days a year from now, but it's what the company requires right now. I enjoy coming to work every day and working on something I love. I'd much rather do that for 12 hours a day, than watch the clock for 8.

You nailed it. He has been an inspiration.

Fair enough, but just to be clear, these were the first five employees (including my cofounder and me).

Now, some of us still work those hours, and some don't. We don't "monitor" hours or tell people they can't take time off or leave early - and a lot of people take full liberty to do so (and they should).

Some of our employees have kids and leave earlier, put the kids to bed, and hop on IRC to help out if/when they can.

I am TOTALLY aware that as we hire more, the avg hours worked by the avg employee will decrease over time. I think that's normal. I imagine that the early employees will always tend to work a little longer - or at least they should.

Thanks for the shout-out!

Unfortunately, we don't do international (non- U.S.) transactions...yet