jcc80

I like the site - very nice. Has a somewhat similar look to mine...only better (http://www.growtap.com). Well done.

"vigorously insist" & "sleaze"? Someone may have a case of the Monday's...:) Maybe you read something into it that wasn't written (you'll notice I ended w/ "if it makes sense.") Anyways, point was you don't know where you'll end up so think big and go for it.

"At least for me, pitching a business as a platform when it really isn't tends to degrade what might be a really interesting vision and story in and of itself."

I suppose, but that's a pretty small downside. For others pitching yourself as a platform can lead to more buzz, more possibilities and of course...maybe a higher valuation. And, fact is you can't know where things are going so you might as well build & position yourself as a platform if it makes sense.

Hey - no problem. Not like I spent much time on the original site. No need to apologize either - everyone these days loves an apology it seems! (sickening) I thought about it before you responded and my goal isn't to get anyone in CS in trouble or anything or make a big deal of it. Just seeing the article reminded me.

If you really support transferring domains out that's all I was wondering. I was told I would be sent an EPP code to switch registrars and never was. Asked for it to be sent again, then again, did the whole, "Did you check your spam?" exchange of emails, etc. The people I spoke w/ through email seemed genuine. For whatever reason I was just never sent the code and eventually gave up. Probably just honest mistakes - it happens. Anyways, continued success.

You've surveyed the customers on the domain renewal price compared to GoDaddy and they prefer the $39.95? Or, they are given the option to purchase/renew from GoDaddy at checkout? Or, maybe what they don't know won't hurt them?

"If you don't, you're free to buy your own domain at GoDaddy (or anywhere else) and point it to Weebly, completely free of charge."

Sounds good. Didn't happen - tried to move a domain off the platform after a year. After 3-5 emails with support the domain eventually just expired. Glad it wasn't anything critical - just a simple site I had thrown together for a family member's business which was remade in Joomla.

I think the product is great for many people, the founders sound like nice people. Just unsure if the experience I had trying to get the domain back is a tactic or incompetence/honest mistakes. Of course I hope it's the latter because that'll get fixed.

Are the domain renewals still $39.95 through Weebly? Maybe if they raised the price on that they could have already built their new office.

Part of what hasn't been mentioned yet in favor of co-founders is that on the right team everyone makes everyone else better. Or, in this case, with the right combo you both make the product better together - over time. When I see someone focusing on the immediate benefits of a co-founder, I wonder if it's short sighted.

For an analogy that may resonate with this community - think about a hacker house or group of programmers that are friends. Those relationships can make each of you better programmers. In effect, you're each helping each other move from, say C or B players, to A players. Imagine if you only thought someone at an equal or higher level than you could teach or help you with something.

You might carry more weight for the first 2 years, your partner's skills may become more valuable for the 2 after that. That's either a reality you accept in creating a true team or a point of tension for you - depending on your personality.

Of course, a solo founder can be a part of a community that helps them become better, just another perspective.

It definitely depends on customers - for example the normal HN crowd is not the normal retail crowd. Most people are not informed consumers. But, even those guys I worked with back in undergrad have moved on and used the same techniques to sell $100k+ deals. Though it's kind of unfair to call them techniques - it's just their personality. They just get people excited and get them to say yes, whether it's for a DVD player or a $50k project. There's a science to it, but I'm guessing everyone here probably already knows that.

It's the same as anything - how you look, your body language, the way you speak, the volume you speak at - it all matters and always will whether we like it or not.

In undergrad I did some retail electronics sales. When I first started if I didn't know the answer to something I would find out and be back to the customer within 30-60 seconds. That's all it took for them to not buy over and over.

Meanwhile, the best selling reps would say, "Absolutely!" to questions they had no idea what the answer was. Even if they were wrong the customer likely wouldn't come back and if they did they could usually be pacified enough.

Interesting lessons back then. I solved the problem by learning everything so I too could say, "Absolutely!" Took awhile though opposed to faking it.

I think they ripped it off because Square's design is great. And, personally I think it's pretty decent they acknowledge it. I've seen plenty of designs ripped off and nobody ever has the guts to give credit.

Yes, this post makes a lot of assumptions. I don't understand why I would question the motives of people who just want to use my site/product to complete tasks as simply as possible.

And binary thinking? Just because I do one A/B test doesn't mean the matter is settled. The "winner" of the first test can be tested against other options, whether it's right away or 6 months down the road. It goes on and on & hopefully we get closer and closer to "perfect".

That is really funny. Too bad he did intranets and not landing pages/ecommerce - would love to see how playing "hard to get" works out for conversion.

iPhone: Frankly, originally purchased because that's what the c-level people at an old job had. But, beyond that I just want my phone to be simple - UX/UI, updates, etc. and I'm a sucker for great design.

I'm sad to learn that I'm among the more cynical - jk. But, is it possible to write this while not considering how it's going to influence the prospective hire? I don't think so.

I know a guy who lost one of his legs in a boating accident. After a few years he was able to run again with a prosthetic. No big deal there...

Is this a first year philosophy class? Reminds me of kids in law school. Ad hom this, straw man that...pointless discussion. We can all go look up the definitions if we want & decide for ourselves. Let it go & discussion the actual issue.

Fact is having a second means to communicate (a .me or whatever address) doesn't mean speech isn't an issue here.

http://www.thedomains.com/2011/08/05/federal-court-rules-dom...

So, if we have a group of people that, are broadly speaking, all the same type and we think adding someone with a different set of characteristics will lead to the group performing better as a whole...we shouldn't do that? We should instead higher the "best" individual regardless of how it impacts the group?

The goal is to get the most productivity from the team/group. Sometimes that means hiring for attitude over aptitude or ...oh yes, diversity - be it race, gender, degree, life experiences, etc.

"Heck, part of the reason..."

"Sorry to hear that you chose your 4 years of school based on meeting someone from the opp gender."

You have people skills.

edit: quotes

I don't know anyone at the company, but I do read their blog, follow on twitter, etc. and think they're probably great guys. But this tweet just said it all for me:

"Consumers who wish to opt out of all KISSmetrics tracking can use the free tools http://adblockplus.org & https://easylist.adblockplus.org/

It's completely absurd that people have to download anything to not be tracked - whether the data is anonymous, not shared between clients, etc. As mentioned, they are purposely defeating user intent. What about the next company after KISSmetrics that isn't as "ethical" w/ user data? That's why this type of thing needs to be stopped dead.

EDIT: little more clarity

I've used pickfu a few times - usually get results in 24 hours. I'm bad with colors so it's nice to be able to ask 50 people for $5 which look they like better of a site. It's great because I want real feedback - great when people really tell you if they hate something instead of getting the real world "Oh, nice" responses.

Also used it to ask about domain names.

Edit: I like the site - good layout & like the KISS approach. Good luck.

This is all very disappointing. What am I supposed to read about now? Where is the drama, intrigue and scandal? Oh well, guess I will do some actual WORK.

>Then why do we need airbnb at all?

Website more pretty. They also have an intro video with a lady talking. Craiglist does not have a pretty site or video with a lady talking.

She "backtracked" once the co-founder started talking to her about taking down her blog or changing it to put a positive spin on things. Before that she was only talking to the CS reps/CS manager, who were offering support (emotional mostly it seems) & asking how she was doing, etc.

"intense pain to its users" "completely powerless" "flailing about" "drowning in money coming from his mistakes" "slow-motion train wreck"

You my friend, have a way with words. Comments like this make me sad that a "lol" response is not an option.

Personally, I do not need "complete information" - whatever that is. I doubt I could express another opinion again if that was the standard.

Airbnb is on trial, I think, because people think they acted like jerks in trying to get someone to be quiet. Internet folk generally do not like people who try to silence others.

Regarding their actual obligations - as far as I'm concerned and legally, the risk is on the host. Of course, for their own benefit it'd probably be a good idea to help her out.

The point was that he doesn't need to know the founders and companies that well - asking the woman to take down her blog post or change it was a sleezy move.

Carr is saying that they could be awesome people but that they clearly lost their way here. Unless you think the woman is a complete liar...which I for one - with incomplete information, do not.

Not only are they not an insurance company, but they aren't mental health professionals either. I understand the woman wants help but it sounds like initially the CS reps were very kind and asking her how she's doing etc. Then, a co-founder gets involved and it's all business and that's when things took a turn.

I've ripped on them for asking her to take down the blog -that was a huge d-bag move. But, it's not their jobs to be this woman's counselor. I imagine if I was in a similar position I would rely on family & friends. Not a company & their investors. I mean, after they cut a check (which doesn't sound like it's happened) how often are they supposed to call and ask how she's doing?

edit: I just read her blog & she said she had no contact w/ the CEO, Brian Chesky so far. It was another co-founder who asked her to take down the blog it seems.

While it's just a quick short article - I think the author would be surprised to learn that many people understand they are sacrificing the career path to pursue their startup and that they understand the odds against them. If at the end of it all you look back and say, jeeze that didn't pan out, I should have worn a suit and stood in line like everyone else, then yeah, you made the wrong call.

But, if you're like me, even if you're dirt broke (yes) and have failed hard (yes), you don't care because you enjoy the ride and are learning along the way. I haven't chosen to skip the career route because this is easy - but because it's the only thing I can do. I doubt the author would understand that...or maybe it's just a throwaway article written to get a few hits.

I'm glad this post isn't totally greyed out yet, because that's hysterical.