int3rnaut

Would anyone be interested in disrupting this space? My friend and I have been working on something we quite like that deals with subjectivity/ethics concerns, but it's a tough space to be in, and we'd love some help. If you want to get in touch, email us at questionasker[at]liveDotCA

Be positive. Stay determined. Keep Hustling.

It sucks to be rejected with anything in life, but you only truly fail if you give up. You all seem smart and there are some great ideas here; don't give up and I am sure I'll be hearing about you all in the future. :)

"Once that barrier is gone I think it can create a much more immersive gaming experience that would benefit all gamers."

I wonder about this. I think the lack of tactile feedback as well as the higher intensity play style will never sit right with all games or gamers, but I do think there will be genres that become synonymous with the Kinect and become better than they ever were--and more than dancing and fitness. What I hope is that developers recognize this and don't just shove kinect down our throats but use it when it makes sense to do so.

It's important to be social (people want to work with social and nice* people) but it's probably not important to be a socialite--you know what I mean. Just remember that life is a social event; you're going to meet people all the time. And like with anything in life, you get out, what you put in. So don't be afraid to put in a little work in all avenues of your upcoming venture.

Be nice to everyone you meet; niceness should not be underestimated. Even if it's not important to your company, it's important to you.

I remember stepping outside of a tech 'mixer' packed head to toe with millionaires, and seeing a bottle picker, he asked me what was going on and I told him, and we chatted about our 'entrepreneurial spirit' and he gave me some wisdom on the art of hustle--he was by far the most influential person I'd meet that night. You never know, who'll help you on your way, or who you can help--so always be social, and always be nice.

"Programming has never been a strong passion of mine", if you look at the real successful people--the people that are happy, they do things that they are passionate about. If you're not passionate about programming or being a hacker--why put yourself through it? What ARE you passionate about?

I want to prelude my question with my own personal belief: I think Paul Graham and company are not only ethical, but good human beings.

Is there ever a risk of unintentionally assigning one of the ideas of a lesser group to one of these "All-star" groups without an idea? Like in a brain-storming session, who gets the embers going? I know there's a statement about this on the application (if you're worried about copying not to apply) but it would be interesting to know.

For those struggling with privacy concerns, I have a very workable (albeit ugly) simple solution to this problem that actually works: Create a second Facebook account.

You'll likely have to make other provisions--but if it's really a big deal, it's not that difficult or taxing, really. Plus you can have a bit of fun creating your fake you for these types of things.

A lot of book publishers now use facebook likes as a way of determining whether to buy manuscripts from specific authors--which is ridiculous because of things like fivver. I've studied this stuff for a while--I'm a bit dubious in that regard-- to see how such things can be exploited for benefit and it's a tremendous span--so many industries are trying to be web savvy and latching onto things like likes and views, and favourites--but all of these are as demonstrated in this post are fairly easily exploitable.

Yep, it has to do with Canadian law and the desire to retain a Canadian Cultural identity (thus we protect our Cultural industries). I don't think that applies any more though--or at least since 2010 when Amazon was permitted to open up a local shipping distribution center by essentially buying out our cultural protection laws with a couple tens of million (I think it was 20 mil).

Books were the first step, and if you notice other departments have started to be available on our .ca-- I assume it's just a logistics issue before they establish a near identical system.

In some ways it's kind of sad, because I do think it will hurt the Canadian arts in the same way Canadian film and television has become second-rate American entertainment-- but the damage is done and with the way things are set up and have been established over the last 20 years, it's inescapable.

I'm not a scientist, and this is perhaps irrelevant to this thread, but since Jayzee is here, I just wanted to say how much I admire the charming video they've had on their site. Not to be negative, but it's not the most artistic or beautiful explanatory video out there, but that's why I like it; it's the embodiment of the Lean Startup approach, and how you don't have to have to spend loads and be a master at that particular craft to put something out there to explain your product. For the longest time I was unsure if I should make my own or pay for someone to do it (not sure what you guys did but I assume it wasn't one of those $10,000 videos a lot of "starups" have.) but seeing this gave me inspiration and the realization that this isn't some blockbuster movie, it's supposed to explain the product--and well, you got me moving and learning animation and some other neat skills in my spare time--and you showed me a great lesson...so thanks!

Hope things continue to go well.

I've noticed a few teams in the NHL use iPads on the bench-- besides tracking ice time, and perhaps monitoring heart rate (I think the Sabres are the only ones who monitor this during games so far) what are some of the more obvious benefits of having a device at hand that isn't already accomplished from the pressbox and relayed down to the Assistant coaches?

Kaleidoscope is going to be massive! I told my sister about it this morning, and within an hour all of her non-Iphone friends were using it. I think you really stumbled onto something huge here Ryan.

I'm really curious though--How and why do you go into something so fashion-centric (I'm assuming to be a bit out of your comfort zone) with such a high barrier of entry? Obviously it's in the e-commerce sector, but fashion is it's own beast.

Good luck and congratulations.

Do you think there is ever a risk to being "over-funded"? I know it sounds stupid, but it's an honest question.

There was a great comment in the VB comments about how the ads are more distinctly targeted--and that makes a lot of sense and is reason enough to pay a bit more per CPM, but in no way should it be a 100x type situation that is going on. Oddly enough, there was a post the other day featured on HN about how not to get into "local" because of issues like Small Business Owners were not likely to adopt-- I can't help but think part of the reason there is this apathy at that level is because all of these titans of this industry are sucking their early adopters dry with reckless cost demands.

I think the smart money is probably to pay off your debt, but I'm going to repeat what an older gentlemen once said to me, because it meant so much to me.

  "Sooner, rather than later, Invest in yourself."

 I don't know if that will really help you with your predicament, but truly, sometimes the best thing you can do in life when the chips are down is just to bet on you.

Hey davj,

I'm working away on learning javascript as well (currently fueled by codecademy!) any tips for starting a project like this? I'd be really interested in hearing how you took that first step. Oh and...Interesting little project, I really like it and I admire your drive, but you need some knitted keyboard cover pictures to really make this Pinterest-ish. Haha! Hope to hear back from you.

Startups are a lot of work, and I am sure you're starting to realize that with the hours you put into it every day (it gets worse!)--and while I'm sure you could do it, as you sound like a very bright young individual I think you should just enjoy being a kid and exploring all of your interests and pleasures in life. And eventually if it's the right path for you, you'll just know it. You're young; you've got your whole life to work. And remember, just because you're in Quebec doesn't mean you can't meet interesting people and grow as a person. Enjoy being young--it goes by so fast.

I'm more interested in seeing what Mr. Milner will do with Zynga than any of his other investments, especially since ZNGA just closed higher than it's IPO for the first time the other day. As an outsider and a game enthusiast, I'd argue they haven't been pushing the envelope in quite some time (if at all)-- and yet he's still backing them. That to me is interesting, and has me wondering what they have in their pipeline.

From a purely artistic standpoint, imitation is a large piece of the modern creation process, if only because of it's increased use in modernism/postmodernism. Everyone's influenced by someone or something, it's just the way things work.

In terms of what is acceptable, I tend to lean towards the notion that it's fine for someone to be inspired, or imitate as long as they've added their own artistic flare/soul to the piece and it's not just a forgery. As in they've only imitated a part of the piece, and not it's entirety. The issue with this whole process though is, art is subjective.

You know what, I agree but there's a right and wrong way to approach the problem, especially with kids. I mean that's why parents should be involved in the first place in situations like this.

I really like your story man, and I'm glad you're succeeding but I just wanted to voice my opinion on one of the things you said-- "Back at home I immediately found out the cards were worthless. I had paid the kid $100 for the cards, and eventually pestered him". Even if the kid knew, I think it's wrong for an adult to come back and reneg on a deal with a child. There's a big power imbalance there. You seem like a great guy, I just kind of found that a bit unethical.

Is there any actual evidence of this? I'd be really eager to refute this, but I'd be more interested in learning it was true. Most "New Studios" I know fall into the exact same trap that their predecessors have fallen into because none of the major players in this new breed of studios are doing anything different. You can streamline things as much as you want but you still run into the same systemic issues that plague the whole industry.

This was a problem I was faced with, and I decided to just do both. So far it seems like the right step if only because I'm able to learn on the fly and there's a bit of a pressure for me to actually pick up some of these things. Though it does have it's flaws.

I'll be honest, when you try both, there will be times in that journey that you completely neglect the "code learning" process because other parts of the startup and life just require all of your time and energy. And as such it gets pushed to the backburner. But you have to keep going back, and make excuses for yourself to learn something outside your comfort zone. It gets harder, not easier because by the time you start learning how to crawl, you want to learn how to run and actually help out but this is a long long process. I truthfully fear I'll never get to the plateau I want to be at, and while those fears are justifiable, don't think about it as just being able to mash code into creating a project--think about it as being able to do your part of the puzzle better. With a growing understanding of the process and tech side you'll be able to contribute, communicate, and create much more efficiently. Chip in when you can, you'll be even more appreciated, but don't be hard on yourself if it never comes. Just keep trudging forward.

A lot of tech people seem to unfairly look down on non-tech founders looking for a counterpart, even if such as in your case you bring a lot to the table, and from the moment you start your endevour you'll always be judged and perhaps ridiculed for not being part of that circle. And that will fuel you to learn, but don't forget what got you to this place in life, and why you weren't a coder to begin with, you've gained and learned many things in your life--all of which will come in handy and bring a different and unique perspective and possible answers to the pains you wish to solve.

Never stop learning. And good luck!

I've never been even a fly on the wall in such circumstances, so I can't comment on the accuracy of what you are saying but look back to the text... "Like real world resourcefulness, conversational resourcefulness often means doing things you don't want to". I think what could be taken from this is, those that are resourceful find a way to get from point a to point b, and while communicating with arrogant or difficult people is never easy, there are ways to handle the situation to get a desired outcome--sometimes you just have to push your own ego aside, and give them what they want. It's kind of like when you get into a trivial argument with your loved one, and just to end the fight you cave in, and tell them what they want to hear, just so you can get back to the good times.

I really like the questions you ask yourself, it's an interesting exercise, but maybe you could add, "How can I get better?" That's what I ask, because I feel like instead of growing from your experience (You made it to the interview process at YC! That's an accomplishment!) you kind of seem a bit bitter--even if they are arrogant, and I really hope they aren't, don't let it affect you. Be better. And do you know what? It sounds like you're a smart guy with the ability to make some really interesting things in life, you've got no reason to be bitter. Don't sweat the small stuff, just be better.

I like this. It's really cool. One idea that could be really beneficial is if you crawl auction sites/domain selling sites, and create a subcategory for domains that are for trying to be sold. You've got the registared domains already, but it would be so helpful to see which of those are "available to be had" so to speak.

I know it would be relatively small but can anyone wager a guess as to how much each of the 2gb freemium packages costs Dropbox? At 50 million users it has to add up--I've always wondered about Dropbox's conversion rate (free to pay) but it must be relatively high to support the current monetary system.

There was an article concerning custom-essay writing on HN a little while ago* so this isn't particularly ground breaking for me, but it does beg the question, why commit your time and energy (startups take up a big chunk of your life for at least a few years) to something so slimy? There's obviously a need for something like this as lazy people are willing to pay but wouldn't you rather do something more meaningful?

*http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2775789

Full Disclosure: I've gamed the school system, and have not always gotten the full power of my education. I've done this by reading book reviews, google book snippets etc to reduce reading loads--so I have been there in a sense. I just don't understand that place of wanting to create a startup around the immoral. I'm not judging, I'm just curious.

Convore is very much the same in that aspect. I've always thought it was one of the most well designed websites I have ever seen, and constantly look to it for inspiration when approaching my own unique design issues. They do such a great job of keeping things as you said, super simple, and cleanly designed.

Congrats on the Pivot folks, hope things go well for you.

I think people with disabilities or disadvantages in whatever capacity have the ability to hack the system and find the power to overcome these issues but maybe just in a different way than someone without these problems would solve this problem. I guarantee you, there are kids like me who've gotten fantastic grades at University levels without the scholarly understanding, effort, and aptitude that other people exhibit--but we find a way (and I mean more in taking advantage of the system rather than crossing the line to cheating).

Still looking at genetics, look at height--then look at all of the athletes who've defied "sports logic" and excelled in their sport despite the naysayers and their "disadvantage"-- Muggsy Bogues, Doug Flutie, and Martin St. Louis to name a few.

I think knowledge does come easier to some kids, but there are always people with the drive, ambition, and passion that find a way to persevere despite their issue. I know it's cliche but, those that want it, find a way.

As a gamer I can't help but wonder, why is this the missing link in IOS gaming? It seems like a step backwards. There are some really fantastic games on this platform that have made use of the on-device controls and the ones that don't well they seem to be uninventive and poorly created clones/ports of console and computer games. I can't speak for everyone, but what I like about the IOS gaming experience is I can quickly and conveniently take out my device for short bursts. I can't imagine waiting for a meeting and pulling out a controller. In most circumstances if I wanted a controller experience, I think I'd rather wait to play on my console. The problem here isn't that this is a dumb invention, it's not, it's really cool, and I applaud the hack, but I question if this is the "missing link" when there are fantastic and well controlled games already available on this platform.