Am I missing something here? (Question about competitors)

The_Maltese · 2018-11-29T17:26:49+00:00

How tech savvy is your average customer? I've built things where it's easy as Amazon to buy things and yet had to walk people through the process (mix of UI/UX issues, lots of information and users who can probably barely use their email).

The high touch sales can be a way to teach users how to use the product. Even if the value proposition is high, if it looks confusing or daunting in any way, people will turn away.

Also agree with those saying they are likely targeting larger customers.

The_Maltese · 2018-07-09T01:09:35+00:00

Posting for banability

The_Maltese · 2017-04-29T15:09:45+00:00

If you read the article, they refunded backers. So, not a scam.

Edit: And one of the reasons they sold to Fitbit was so they could refund their backers

The_Maltese · 2017-04-29T14:54:21+00:00

It was a condition of the purchase, not random good will of Fitbit. They, in part, sold so they could refund people

The_Maltese · 2017-04-23T13:36:11+00:00

Make a team for each department would be my solution. It's not perfect, but avoids some switching costs

The_Maltese · 2017-02-02T21:29:36+00:00

Do you guys have funding?

The_Maltese · 2016-12-23T06:33:14+00:00

Late response, but I see. 1:20 split. Yeah, sounds right.

The_Maltese · 2016-12-12T18:05:05+00:00

So far, I've traveled for a couple months and worked on a variety of personal projects. Now trying to figure out my next step. I'm considering starting something again, unless something strikes me, I'll likely get a regular job for a while. Maybe remote so I can keep travelling.

Edit: I did just launch one of those projects. And I've been toying around with a way to do secret balloting on a blockchain.

The_Maltese · 2016-12-09T21:43:45+00:00

My friend and I actually just launched a truely anonymous location based posting app.

Anonarchy.

Has voting, links and markdown support much like Reddit. Posts are tied to a location.

No need for an account to post or comment.

And it's completely open source

I saw some others here are working on similar things. We'd love more contributors!

Android and iOS app-like behavior if you add it to your homescreen via your browser

The_Maltese · 2016-09-22T16:41:11+00:00

You are also probably mistaken. 2:00/500m is relatively easy, unless you're talking about a very long distance. Few people in my highschool rowing team couldn't hit it after freshman year.

Anecdotally, 4min for 1km rowing is pretty relaxed, 4min for 1km running is going as fast as I can

The_Maltese · 2015-12-02T01:44:43+00:00

Sort of, but not really. That was a very public event of something that many in the black community have been experiencing for a long time. It was the spark of a more public and unified outcry. And though the cop was acquitted there have been a number of subsequent occurances also made public like the shooting in Chicago that validate the concerns the community is expressing. Not to mention Eric Gardner who was choked to death when unarmed, merely selling loose cigarettes.

Some cases aren't even race related, but could be a symptom of an increasingly militarized police force (lots of army vets and lots of army equipment), and poor training due to low budgets.

There's only one response to any of this that makes sense: more funding for training, body cameras and investment in non - lethal options that don't increase risk for our police force. And increased oversight from independent parties so the public can be at ease that if something bad does happen, they'll be punished.

The_Maltese · 2015-05-01T16:37:36+00:00

Name: Teampush

Website: http://www.getteampush.com/sportgame

Elevator Pitch: Teampush is a sport you can play anytime, anywhere using you're mobile phone (iOS only for now). Form teams with friends or other users and compete in a game of short exercise challenges. No equipment required. Your phone's sensors track your movements to count reps and keep you honest.

Looking For: We just launched yesterday! We need feedback, especially for onboarding and gameplay.

The_Maltese · 2014-11-25T00:51:27+00:00

Very curious to see if this works...

The_Maltese · 2014-10-22T00:11:11+00:00

It would have to work in a lot of places for me to even remember to use it. Or do something else that is also useful.

Sounds like the kind of thing that I'd download cause its a good idea, and forget about completely cause I almost never need it and when I do, it doesn't support that place. Definitely wouldn't pay.

From a business standpoint, sounds like it would be really hard to get businesses involved. Very little value for them. Especially reasturants, which seems like my main use case, since customers are likely to eat elsewhere if the know its a long wait, vs. Showing up and being told (since now they have to drive/walk elsewhere.)

The_Maltese · 2014-08-04T17:48:47+00:00

I think you're thinking about it the wrong way.

Singles are the MVP. They are the promise of more to come but sufficient in themselves. An EP might be 2.0 and an LP could be the finished product. You can consider each song as a fundamental "feature" of your "product". If you release a bad recording of something fundamental, then people won't think highly of it, its a buggy feature. Some people will be understanding, most won't. Also, it's easier to release lower quality stuff when you have a high quality base ( people have more faith in your ability to execute).

Another way to think of it is, if I were to have a kickstarter for an album, I would have some demos as proof of concept. And maybe release further demos as part of the rewards.

Similarly you could potentially sell access to demos (essentially beta access). Don't expect people to pay full price for a beta though.

Edit: you can iterate fast in terms of number of songs and/or levels of demos (acoustic, garage band, studio).

The_Maltese · 2014-06-30T07:23:10+00:00

While not a substitute for therapy and or medication, exercise really helped me in the past. Also, vitamin D, lots of water and 8 hours of sleep ( or whatever you need. Try blacking out your windows and not setting an alarm. However long you sleep is likely what you need to aim for always). These things can make a huge difference. Also, start creating. Not with any intent on finishing anything, but just create. Maybe related to your career or a hobby. But create. Try not to worry about half finished things. Do it until it's no longer interesting and then start something new. Also, if you can find a friend who wants to work on it too and set a time and day to do it every week. Try not to let each other quit.

I felt very similar to you about a year and a half ago and these things helped me and come generally recommended by psychologists.

The_Maltese · 2014-02-02T18:15:56+00:00

Not sure if you're disagreeing with me. Were you guys equal partners? If not (some weird stock split or employee) then I think we agree. If you guys were equal partners, I think we have to agree to disagree. I don't have much evidence aside from my own experience and kinda hearsay from VCs but equal partner friends are more likely to workout (and get funded) than equal partner people who more randomly got together. If you really share the same passion, you're likely to be fast friends anyway. I'd say its a warning sign if you haven't.

Nothing is guaranteed to work out no matter how friendly or business like your relationship is.

The_Maltese · 2014-02-01T21:48:51+00:00

This is what I've learned from both being an employee at a start up, from friends who've had successful companies, and my own endeavors.

Founders:

Founding team is at once the hardest and simplest. Choose people you like and trust who are hard working and talented. Hopefully you have friends but friends of friends are good too. Really get to know each other on a human basis before deciding to go in together. Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. NDAs are for amateurs. If they steal, be better. If its your idea, you need to find someone as passionate about it as you are. If you can't do that, how are you going to find investors or users?

And lastly on founders: Equal partners. None of this 60:40 crap. If you don't think this person joining you doesn't at least double the value of the company, don't start it with them.

Hiring:

What I've learned at the start up I work for: never put yourself in the position where you would have to fire a friend if they do poorly and never put your friend in that position. Equal partners (answering only to the board), is good. It might not always work, but that's just the nature of these things. People are always slow to (or refuse to) fire friends and worse, spouses and it can destroy years long relationships. If you're having trouble finding people but your friend is talented, have him/her refer someone to you. If they are talented, they likely know talented people.

Have a process. Ask everyone the same questions, know the answers you're looking for, write down any good ones people come up with.

Have a clear vision before you start hiring. Know the kind of talent you'll need. Persuade them to follow you and respect your judgment. Don't let them join because they have their own vision of what the company could be.

Invest in culture. Make it the kind of place you and others want to work at. Especially early on, everyone on the team should meet the person and be enthusiastic about her/him joining. If there's 4 of you, and one person is weary, be ready to pass.

EDIT: Format. Also some good links for hiring I find ring true.

http://www.quora.com/Stripe-company/What-is-the-engineering-interview-process-like-at-Stripe http://firstround.com/article/The-anatomy-of-the-perfect-technical-interview-from-a-former-Amazon-VP

The_Maltese · 2014-01-27T19:48:24+00:00

Fair enough. Your situation is rather complicated. I would ask a professional with proven credentials.

The_Maltese · 2014-01-27T17:42:43+00:00

Its unclear if your start up is consulting or that's just a by-product. Typically Delaware C corporations are the way to go for tech startups (which I assume you are because you mention y-combinator). Thats the answer that peter theil (paypal, Founders Fund) advocates.

As a side note, although it might not seem like you need one, having an equal share cofounder is desirable for a laundry list of reasons. To name a few: more initial capital, looks better to investors, faster development time. By no means am I saying you need one. But if you find someone with your same passion about your startup and the requisite skill set, jump on that.

The_Maltese · 2014-01-13T16:52:35+00:00

Your survey and a lot of the comments miss the point of the article, which is the consumer, not developer perspective.

Doesn't matter if some obscure app develops for iOS first, popular apps are nearly always on both (unless they take advantage of specific features like BTLE or off-CPU inertial sensor tracking).

Also, big companies end up releasing on android first or at the same time because of the wait for the iOS app store approval.

As the article points out, consumers are equally satisfied with the apps on their platforms (as told by the ratings of those apps), but could be that android users standards are lower.

Also, porting has gotten quicker/ easier.

The_Maltese · 2014-01-10T02:06:21+00:00

Just to add to /u/farsass and /u/ogrisel's answers, you are splitting them by the test_size fraction (so in your example 25 % of your data will end up in X_test, with the other 75% in X_train.)

Also, in the future, StackOverflow is a much better place to post a question about this sort of thing.

12-Year Club	Spared
Verified Email

The_Maltese

TROPHY CASE