elaineo

Re #2 - sorry! I had to restart the server. Try again now :)

I agree with your post x100000. I loved Flightcar when they first started: http://elaineou.com/2013/11/25/free-airport-parking-relayrid...

As an early-stage startup, they had no choice but to provide fantastic service. Now it seems like they sacrificed customer service for growth.

Thanks, you're right -- "ruinous" is an exaggeration. It seemed like a lot of money to us, especially since we had made $0, but in the grand scheme of things it won't kill us.

Thank you.

We understand that we did some unacceptable things. We get it. As individuals, we don't have $20k. The fine is not just a slap on the wrist, it's financially ruinous.

That is fair. That's a mis-statement on our part. We should have said "we allowed users to monetize." Once again, Sand Hill Exchange never charged any sort of commission or took any revenue or profit. User deposits were limited to 1 bitcoin, or ~$250. Most users put in less than $10.

Whoa... Sand Hill Exchange never tried to make any money off the site. We did let people put their own money on the line.

There is a company doing fantasy startup investing with bitcoin: http://sandhill.exchange

I like that distinction. Elon Musk is commonly thought of as a founder of Tesla, but he didn't actually join the team until he led their Series A round and became part of the board of directors.

Ref: http://www.quora.com/Tesla-Motors-2/How-did-Elon-Musk-build-...

The idea has merit, but I suspect that the real reason is that rich VCs in the Valley don't want their tax dollars going to the rest of the state.

Disruptive tech themes for 2014:

-Bitcoin-based payment systems.

-Wearables providing new ways for marketers to spy on you.

-Sharing Economy, Uber for things we haven't thought of yet.

-Data mining in dynamic social graphs due to Snapchat, as opposed to the static graphs generated by facebook.

What's with the OpenDyslexic font? Is that supposed to be easier to read?

How to Be the Best Public Speaker on the Planet: http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2013/10/how-to-be-the-best-publ...

I wrote something up some time ago about my friends and I, many of whom switched from electrical engineering to software dev. We are the same age as you, and nowhere near as well off. But we are all infinitely happier for having changed careers.

http://elaineou.wordpress.com/2013/08/10/how-do-i-change-car...

Another vote for Java, because when learning to build an Android app, you'll be searching for answers on stackoverflow every 15 minutes, and it's easier to use the language everyone else is using.

I think we should differentiate between (i) single founders who can't find a cofounder and (ii) single founders who don't need a cofounder.

I think case (i) would be a red flag because it means the single founder sucks at selling herself, sucks at networking, or isn't resourceful enough to move to a location where there are more potential candidates.

In case (ii), where the single founder doesn't need a cofounder, that founder also probably doesn't need YC.

I can help you out. My own startup (www.gobarnacle.com) came out of Stanford and is looking for interns. If this isn't something you're interested in, I can connect you with some of the other Stanford-based startups since you're in Palo Alto. email me: elaine@gobarnacle.com

"When [Title III of the JOBS Act is] approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (expected in 2014), it will allow anyone to invest. Startups will be able to crowdfund their ventures like an art project on Kickstarter - $5 at a time - if they feel inclined."

Spend time around the people you want to be.

"Just about anything else you might want can be had by joining a startup, where you get paid to learn."

I do agree that the 9-year old girl should be getting more visibility than those other 2 guys, and I think that she will.

But at the same time, the idea here is that we want to more individuals like her to join the startup community. The current environment is hostile to women and children, as evidenced by the mother's onsite tweet. Therefore raising attention to these issues makes it more likely that the problem will be addressed in the future.

Thanks so much for posting that link! Alex is indeed awesome, and you are a fantastic dad for exposing her to these opportunities. Congratulations on a job well done to both of you.

Any plans to make this available as a plugin for ebook readers?

I am a starving programmer.

I don't know where you live, but I live in Mountain View, Calif.

Here's how I do it.

Expenses: I spent half a year living in my car. I now live on a couch in a garage. I pay $600/month. I have a high-deductible health plan. It's $70/month. I have a cheap car with minimal insurance. I'd estimate gas/insurance/maintenance comes out to $200/month

Living: Free food is everywhere. I go to a lot of meetups, food is often donated by corporate sponsors. Free internet is everywhere. I work out of the Mountain View public library during the day.

Income: I'm living off savings right now. When it comes down to the wire, I'll do a quick contracting job off elance.

I watch my expenses very, very closely. As long as you are young and in good health, this is sustainable for quite some time.

Click on Sort->Most Recent; Top right corner of newsfeed.

I think email has been relegated to formal correspondence only. Don't kids just, uh, tweet at each other?

Soon email will become like the telephone. These days I don't call anybody unless I need an ambulance.

Not really fair. The author makes it sound like if you don't make it big, you become an abject failure. What if a startup becomes a small, but sustainable business?

My parents are on FB, LinkedIn, and tumblr. If they show up on Reddit, I'm quitting the internet.

You could argue that iPad also copied the original MS Tablet, but the difference is the Apple version wasn't completely awful. If iOS7 is a non-offensive version of Win 8, I'll like it very much.

"Decline and fall" because IBM missed one earnings target after 4 years of positive earnings surprises (or more, I didn't look any farther back than 2009). Seems a bit preemptive.

The author's chief complaint seems to be that the management is incompetent, but IBM has been known for excellent financial management for the past 2 decades, and the CEOs have not changed recently.