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jlukanta

122 karma · joined July 27, 2012

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jlukanta··on Amazon's new refunds policy will 'crush' small businesses, outraged sellers say
Thank God they are making this change. I had so much bad experience with returning items to 3rd party sellers that I vowed to never buy anything that is not directly sold by Amazon.
jlukanta··on What It Costs to Run Let's Encrypt
I did not mean that as an insult. I apologize if it came across that way. Others have made a better explanation of what I was trying to convey.
jlukanta··on What It Costs to Run Let's Encrypt
Maybe you aren't a great engineer?
jlukanta··on Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown
As always, you can copy and paste the title on Google and bypass the paywall or use the "web" link under the title.

For those who won't bother, this is the TLDR version:

"Chinatown’s 80-plus produce markets are cheap because they are connected to a web of small farms and wholesalers that operate independently of the network supplying most mainstream supermarkets ... Because the wholesalers are in Chinatown, they can deliver fresh produce several times a day, eliminating the need for retailers to maintain storage space or refrigeration"

jlukanta··on Can you fundraise in Silicon Valley while pregnant?
They could if they have live-in relatives helping out, such as the grandparents of the baby.
jlukanta··on Sans Bullshit Sans
I think this is great to test your pitch!
jlukanta··on Atlas by Layer – Open Source Messaging UI Components for Layer
Great job in building this library! Can you share why should one choose Atlas over JSQMessagesViewController < https://github.com/jessesquires/JSQMessagesViewController >?
jlukanta··on Ask HN: Thoughts on Rich Hickey's advice on becoming a better developer?
I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. You need both variety and focus to excel. The key is to know when to shift gear between the two modes. Why don't you just do whatever that you find fun and challenging? That's usually the best indicator of what you should do.
jlukanta··on IBM says 'several thousand' layoffs on the way
Response from IBM (via its Hong Kong office’s blog):

IBM does not comment on rumors or speculation. However, we’ll make an exception when the speculation is stupid. That’s the case here, where an industry gadfly is trying to make noise about how IBM is about to lay off 26 percent of its workforce. That’s over 100,000 people, which is totally ludicrous.

The fact is that IBM already announced, after 3Q earnings report, that the company would take a $600 million charge for restructuring. That’s several thousand people. Not 10,000, or 100,000. Moreover, IBM currently has job postings for more than 10,000 professionals worldwide, with more than half of them in growth areas such as cloud, analytics, security and mobile technologies. IBM’s new cloud leader, Senior Vice President Robert LeBlanc, told Fortune this week that IBM has plans to hire 1,000 cloud professionals.

A little perspective on IBM’s earnings is in order. The company still makes huge profit… $21 billion in operating pre-tax profit last year. And IBM’s “strategic imperatives” represent 27% ( and growing ) of the company’s total revenue… $25 billion in revenues, up 16 percent. We have high growth in a substantial portion of the portfolio, and those areas (CAMSS) have better-than-normal margins in areas that matter most to clients today — that’s the heart of the IBM transformation.

https://ibmhkblog.wordpress.com/

jlukanta··on How I Crashed and Burned in Y Combinator
Thanks for posting this. As others said, it takes guts to do it. I don't think you necessarily need to stick with your idea, especially if you aren't passionate about it. Quitting early is better than spending a couple of years being miserable because you don't think your work amounts to much.
jlukanta··on How my life was changed when I began caring about the people I did not hire
Google Cache mirror: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1tQlU00...
jlukanta··on What Happened When Marissa Mayer Tried to Be Steve Jobs
"Generally speaking, there are only a few ways to make money on the Internet."

And the article goes on claiming that e-commerce and marketplaces, hardware, and ads are those few ways.

This can't be true considering how much money Netflix (subscription), AWS (metered pay), mobile games (IAP) are making.

jlukanta··on Lecture 13: How to Be a Great Founder
If I recall correctly, what he actually said was product distribution is next in line in importance after product idea.
jlukanta··on Lecture 13: How to Be a Great Founder
From first row (left to right):

Oprah Winfrey (The Oprah Winfrey Show), Jan Koum (WhatsApp), Jack Ma (Alibaba), Evan Williams (Twitter), Caterina Fake (Flickr), Hosain Rahman (Jawbone), Dustin Moskovitz (Facebook), Paul Graham (YC), Adora Cheung (Homejoy), Kevin Hale (Wufoo), Leah Busque (TaskRabbit), Brian Chesky (AirBnB), Patrick Collison (Stripe), Benjamin Franklin (USA)

jlukanta··on Assange: Google Is Not What It Seems
It was actually Scott McNealy who said that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_McNealy
jlukanta··on Lecture 8: How to Start a Startup
I'm not sure why you got downvoted because our experience matches yours. Just like everything, this mantra needs to be put in context. There are different stages in a startup life. It is possible that some strategies would cease to be valid once you go beyond certain stage.
jlukanta··on Lecture 5, How to Start a Startup: Peter Thiel
Interesting point about market size. If it's true that companies often lie to themselves about their market, what can they do to identify their real market? Is there an objective measure or is it purely subjective?
jlukanta··on Amazon Mobile Analytics
Same problem here. I recommend having a far higher limit on free users. Maybe you can also charge less if the growth rate of active users is less than x% per month. They won't have money to pay anyway without traction.
jlukanta··on The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (1956)
Not everyone knows it has been posted. I for one do not mind.
jlukanta··on Apple event overshadows unflattering news at Snapchat, Tinder
http://web.archive.org/web/20130806090830/http://answers.ons...
jlukanta··on The Decline and Fall of IBM
It's interesting that he claimed IBM has probably been doomed since 2010, considering that the stock price in 2010 was around $120, and it is now $187.06. I guess 50% increase means the company is dying.
jlukanta··on What We Learnt From a Failed MVP
I find it difficult to come up with the right validation criteria. Would you share your thought process? How did you come up with specific numbers?

  Of a sampling set of people searching for Charades online, at least 25% will sign up
  to check out the game.
jlukanta··on Y Combinator Female Founders Conference LiveStream
I wonder if anyone kept a note of the speeches?
jlukanta··on iOS Design Resources
Thanks for the link! Very useful :)
jlukanta··on Thanks to Quora, now you can’t read anonymously
Not all views are shared. http://www.quora.com/Views-on-Quora/Which-of-my-views-will-a...

If you are too afraid to visit that link, try this one: http://pastebin.com/T2s9Vjxn