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guybrushTon Ask HN: Product/Market Fit (Customer Dev) as a Service?

That is certainly one interpretation of the OPs question. And you are right: there is no silver bullet/magic formula/secret recipe. There are some nuances in the way the original question is framed. So the framing that 'a way to quickly and accurately determine if your idea is on the right track' is not good - ideas aren't good or bad, they are never on the right or wrong track - they are what they are, just ideas. Its the execution of an idea that paves the way and propels the idea in a specific direction. So, while there isn't (and may never be) a great tool/process/discipline to evaluate ideas - there are tools/processes/disciplines available to evaluate execution.

So, I read the question slightly differently - and I would say there is definitely something here. I can imagine a consulting service (problem-solving and execution discipline for startups - kinda like what mckinsey does for the fortune 500 :)) that could bring structured problem solving, fact-based de-biasing (countering delusions of optimism), focussed execution, research, 'talking to users' (the famous YC mantra) and (I don't have good name for it) lets call it "learning from experience and experiments of others" etc may be possible as a service.

Its the help a startup needs between "office hours" and execution. I do think that there is a piece missing here, that can be developed.

guybrushTon Navdy

Neat product and like others have noted here - well done on the marketing. Doing other things while driving is dangerous no doubt, but it is also a very practical reality. Any product that embraces this practicality and tries to maximize eyes on on the road is a good step forward in making driving safer.

A random idea: Adding a camera to this could open up the dashcam market. In Russia for example, dashcams a very common and are a part of the driving culture (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashcam and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance).

guybrushTon Apple Pay

I can only guess: but I believe that this will fly if the iPhone 6 is a hit, but it could really soar if the Apple Watch sells very well. Paying with something on my wrist seems more natural (slightly better UX?). If the products end up 'failing' (which for apple means sell like iPhone 5C) then this will just drag on like any product from an extremely large company like Google or Apple that just lives because they can push it on users.

guybrushTon Apple Pay

Couldn't help smiling at this marketing messages from Apple about Apple Pay - “We have security integrated throughout both hardware and software in a way only Apple can." “Apple Pay is easy, secure, and private.”

I would have loved if they would have gone beyond the marketing messages, and explained in some more detail about how they have made this secure, what improvements they have made (to TouchID etc) over previous versions and how a user can use it without worry.

guybrushTon iPhone 6

Truth be told, even though I switched from iOS to Android recently (and been quite happy), I have admired Apple when they stuck to their guns w.r.t screen size. It showed to me that they were being sensible about respecting the dimensions of our hands. The iPhone (hardware) just feels quite comfortable to use and hold. Also, iPhone 4's design was excellent - I kinda got used to the distinctive feel of an Apple phone in my hand (with its cuboid geometry).

iPhone 6's exterior just looks a bit strange (now we are going back to the original iPhone?) - it feels off in a way that I can't fully explain. But who knows, maybe it would be just fantastic to hold and use. [Like how the quick reports coming out from people who have held the Watch saying that it feel really nice]

guybrushTon Traction Book – A Startup Guide to Getting Customers

Hi, Got it on Kindle. Going through it. I will definitely be reading it with great interest. I have a question: What would you say are your top 3 learning/'key insight' from writing this book? [These need not be just top 3 things to do to get traction. But anything that you realized/gained from the whole experience/time that you spent researching/writing/thinking this book.] Edit: corrected typo

guybrushTon Earn a Master of Information and Data Science Online

Its difficult to deny the need, relevance and popularity of the topic of this degree. I just think that there may be a startup idea here: just offer an opportunity to learn the curriculum as a vocational training/course over 4-6 months, along with a practical project at the end of it (say a Kaggle problem). I can imagine a tie up with companies to solve problems, very much like Kaggle and tie ups with companies looking for analytics talent.

guybrushTon YC Demo Day Session 1

Hah! I had the exact same idea. I created a landing page, posted it on HN and asked:

1. "Is my startup idea legal?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7167200

2. "Is it possible to 'shop without borders'? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7166333

Interesting discussion ensued. Read more about my tiny non-existent precursor to Backpack :) I am so intrigued by the fact that they actually went ahead, launched and executed! Hats off. I never progressed beyond just thinking about it.

guybrushTon Gavin Andresen, the Most Powerful Person in the World of Bitcoin

One of the reasons why this talk is so impressive is that the interviewer is also 'supernaturally smart' - every question is on point, and one can see how much the interviewer's understanding of Bitcoin evolves during the course of an hour. Superb interview.

guybrushTon Flynn Beta (YC S14)

As others have raised points about need for better documentation and "didn't understand what exactly it is", I wanted to say that the Story of Flynn is missing a very clear "Why Flynn?". That seems to be at the root of why others aren't fully able to understand you. So, Why Flynn?

Some sentences selected from the post: "It regularly took longer to deploy apps to AWS or our own servers than to write them....It wasn’t just about deploying stateless web apps, it was scaling them....Ops could manage a single platform that provided self-serve resources for development, testing, and production to the rest of the organization...."

I know its not popular to say this: would Google App Engine have solved this, since it was made for this specific use case? The "ops" could have been simplified (yes, GAE has problems - there is lock-in, pricing etc. but that kicks in only after Tent.io has many many users - and that would be a good/welcome problem to solve.

Maybe I am missing something - but I would really like to understand "Why Flynn was made?". Thank you in advance for the clarification.

guybrushTon Towards daily imaging of Spaceship Earth

An early user of Google Earth, I still remember being blown away completely when I first saw it (repeatedly wondering and debating with friends: how did they do that!?). Since then, I have always wondered when and if those images were updated? Could this project be used to get a real-time stream of 'earth from above' one day, for everyone to see? This project is quite amazing - thank you for sharing this.

Sweet words indeed from the post: we’re on a mission to image the whole world, every day and provide universal access to it...fresh and frequently updated, global imagery..

A very random thought: what if one day we have cameras streaming real-time pictures, and what if they could be turned the 'other way', would it be possible to see space in real-time?

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

poof131 - you are absolutely right on all counts.

...getting terminated is a little more than just perspective. It is an event which can have significant repercussions for a person: mortgage payments...

This is the key issue. To be honest, even I am realising the impact this can have, only after it happened to me.

Financial: all plans made carefully, thoughtfully and intentionally are suddenly meaningless.

Personal: lot of awkward discussions :) friends, relatives, business acquaintances (e.g. I did the mistake of updating my LinkedIn - COO one day, and 14 days later deleted the "employment status". As someone pointed out, this is a first world problem - there are much worse things that can happen. I agree. But still, it really annoys me to explain myself to everyone who asks. Some even wonder, if I was "fired" :))

Work: searching for a job is not fun (at least for me), and having found something I love, commit to it (after much consideration) and then being yanked out of it so soon, felt cruel.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

I sincerely wish you the best...

Thank you!

if you had a similar offer in a month, would you do it differently?

You know thats such a good question. There are many excellent suggestions in this discussion. I would definitely add a cost in the contract - a cost (e.g. severance etc.) in case I am asked to leave for reasons other than performance. This should mitigate the casualness which hurt me last time.

What won't change is that startups are looking for great people, and some people are looking for great startups :) But I would definitely structure the deal with a startup very differently, as a result of this discussion.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

Thanks for pointing me (and all of us) to this link.

A - I love that this exists!

B - This needs to be discussed with startups more often by co-founders, employees and investors.

I know this is idealistic, but then startups (and people associated with them) often are. Startups can aspire to things/goals that larger companies can't. This (discussion about ethics) is as important, if not more important, than the "How do we grow" discussion.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

My experience (and this discussion) tells me that you should refuse to work for any company without serious contractual protection. Startup or large. YC or non-YC. Its just sensible.

I have found a new appreciation for things I used to consider bureaucratic at a large company (I am looking at you - HR department at a large company).

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

he worked his professional network and went out on a limb for this startup.

Some in my network (former consulting clients and business friends) ended up buying the service. So the company benefited in a tangible way (real $'s). I worked as if this was "my company". So yeah, I do feel screwed for the reasons you say and more...

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

"if you are currently in talks with a YC company for employment, or were hired in the last few weeks, drop me a line with the name of the company and I'll reply privately to you with a yes or no."

Yes... and Yes.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

This is a reasonable approach. I will try this.

Sidenote: In my last discussion, some of the phrasing was eerily similar - "That is unfortunate and unexpected, as I was looking forward to working with you guys" - "we're businessmen here" - "part ways as friends".. etc. Just that I didn't push for what you are suggesting. Thanks again!

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

100% agree. I was a consultant for 6 years. The contract, terms of engagement, and expectations are vastly different as a consultant and as an employee. The sum of all different parts of the 'opportunity cost' are much higher as an employee, than as a consultant.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

Thanks! This is my wife's favourite comment. I wonder why. :)

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

Thats a good theory. I have considered it. The CEO and I did have a long conference call with a lawyer much before they offered me a position. So we were all informed about the steps procuring a visa would entail. However, the steps involved are painful (lots of boring admin work). But still, a very plausible theory.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

You are right. The key is to find a structural solution to this, since this is a common occurrence (i.e. joining startups early stage) - and spread information about the "best practice" way of avoiding situations like the one I went through.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

You articulated the situation (and my thinking) very well. Any thoughts on what future early employees could do to protect themselves?

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

"..so that none of us find ourselves in your shoes."

Thank you for this comment. This is a very important discussion to have. And I don't think naming the company is a good answer (it is a point solution - you may not want to join this company but thats it). With this thread getting some attention, I have higher hopes than that. I think we can come up with good strategies, resources, and an agreed upon code of conduct that future early employees can use to protect themselves.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

Disclaimer: I have made mistakes hiring people, and have paid them for their troubles, even going so far as to be a reference for the other opportunities they had available and telling them it was our mistake.

I really respect this.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

>Try to get those offers back. Explain what happened. I tried. My next choice office is gone (the company found someone else). I was a bit bummed, which is partly what lead me to post here on HN, and seek advice.

Thanks for the advice. Its good to know about my rights and options available.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

I did plan for a lot of scenarios - except for the one that happened. For example, I planned running out of funding (in which case we discussed a viable bootstrapping strategy). All my planning assumed that I would be part of the team.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

They have offered to pay me for the two weeks.

guybrushTon Ask HN: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason

So in my interview, I mentioned that I had thought of launching the exact same company about a year ago - and one of the reasons why I took this role was because the idea for this service is very close to my heart! I like how they were executing, so I decided to join them instead of competing.

guybrushTon Ask HN: How much time do you spend on HN a week?

An unhealthy amount of time. If I have to quantify - then I'd say about 8 hours. Reading the comments, some of which are super insightful is addictive.