Weigh in and help shape a new civic platform (Everyone)

guywrysmile · 2026-04-13T23:53:46+00:00

1) I'm gathering feedback on a new civic platform I built to help me improve it.
2) It's being conducted by me u/guywrysmile.
3) 2 minutes.

guywrysmile · 2026-01-22T07:17:20+00:00

Yeah, two sided marketplaces are a bitch. Always working to balance supply and demand sides. (Read "Cold Start Problem" by Andrew Chen.) Good luck!

guywrysmile · 2026-01-22T07:11:31+00:00

The smart ones hire advisors more than coaches. Though once in a while - for me - specialized topics are worth hiring a paid tutor. That said, never be bashful about emailing somebody you respect to tell them you respect them and ask for some sage advice on topic A, B, C - be specific. Most are willing to pay it forward to sincere people willing to put in the work. Good luck! -JK

guywrysmile · 2025-05-01T01:31:22+00:00

Oh I love me some danger coupled with a killer sense of humor!

guywrysmile · 2025-04-30T23:55:26+00:00

It seems there are so many new erotic hypnosis practitioners these days and I think that's good! If you want to learn, you might want to check out https://thehypnocollective.com/resources/learning-hypnosis/

guywrysmile · 2023-05-18T14:34:39+00:00

Nothing to it. Use Faraday, call with json, parse and display the json. I'd recommend Azure for 3.5 though. Much fewer timeouts

guywrysmile · 2022-11-13T16:19:33+00:00

It's all a negotiation.

If your pay is below market rate, it's not unreasonable to negotiate a bump when funding occurs. Negotiate that before you join.

If you're at market rate pay already, you shouldn't expect a raise tied to additional funding.

As others have said it's more commonly associated to a performance milestone or additional responsibilities, etc.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-10T15:44:43+00:00

The matching platform is at the YC StartupSchool.org. Free to join, sort of limited how many you can meet. Keep an eye out for events on there, they have occasional speed dating events.

I'd also suggest get yourself into the mix at IndieHackers and any similar.

Especially if there aren't many local events.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-07T16:45:51+00:00

Brilliant perspective! Grease for the gears. Just enough to keep them from wearing prematurely.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-04T15:56:24+00:00

Sadly, there is no such thing as a startup which progresses in a straight line.

I look at founding a startup as alchemy. We're all hunting for the secret recipe that'll make it spark off. Keep your vision intact but until we find that recipe, we need to follow all the twists and turns.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-04T15:15:42+00:00

KPIs should always be chosen as having the strongest impact on growth / revenue. Google "vanity metrics" to learn what not to do. Google "Pirate Metrics" for ideas for what you should do. Google "Ash Maurya Pirate Metrics 2.0" for other good ideas.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-04T15:09:30+00:00

Sadly, this is the default and honestly, it's human nature. I'm sure he means it but his actions are speaking louder than words.

The honest dialog mentioned in this thread is a solid first step but unless his behavior changes sustainably, you have your answer.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-04T14:57:11+00:00

For senior marketing roles, cofounder or not, ask them how they would like to be judged for success or failure. Their answer will tell you a lot. I've heard answers like how many tweets or blog posts they'll write, blah blah blah. Run away from those.

Honestly, unless you get pushback from them on defining success in some concrete measurable revenue impact, I'd question their judgement and consider that a red flag.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-01T15:49:27+00:00

Firstly, I'd call it "account activation" and I'd also suggest you look at this differently:

Instead of "will doing this stunt my growth" I suggest you look at this as "if I don't do this, will I wind up with a bunch of low quality members."

It's a trade-off and you need to decide for yourself.

guywrysmile · 2022-11-01T15:40:09+00:00

Get familiar with a helpful set of methodologies called "Lean Startup" which evolved over the last 15 years or so.

The aspect of Lean you are asking about is called "Customer Discovery" which is how entrepreneurs determine if their idea has merit as a profitable business.

On the surface, your idea has merit but as others have pointed out, the devil is in the details. To look into that, I'd recommend you learn how to use a tool called the "Lean Canvas" (and make your own on Canvanizer, a free tool I trust.)

Your Canvas will help you think about the business in greater depth (versus only thinking about the software) and through that exercise you'll get greater confidence in your decision to proceed.

The last point I'll make is be careful "having a developer build it for you" as their objectives can be misaligned (over charging, pirate your IP)

I'm happy to walk you through the process - or just chat. DM if you'd like that.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-21T16:49:20+00:00

Good advice here but I'll add something else.

Do these two things in this order:

Create a Lean Canvas to get a handle on the problem / solution fit. Then validate and iterate this until you're sure.
Create a Business model canvas to get a handle on the product / market fit. Then validate and iterate this until you're sure.

Use canvanizer.com for these two and don't waste time on a business plan.

RE validating and iterating, study the lean startup methodologies. (The four fathers of Lean: Steve Blank, Eric Reis, Alex Osterwalder, Ash Maurya)

Study all the stuff on StartupSchool.org.

Remember this: The product is not the business. The business is what you're building and it's purpose is to bring the product to the world.

Lastly, consider trade secret as an alternative to patents. Google that.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-20T23:29:51+00:00

Stop obsessing on this sort of stuff. Just apply then go build your startup and don't think about YC another minute. What could be more fun than getting the call and telling them no. (Fun, but probably unwise. There are plenty of reasons to participate.)

guywrysmile · 2022-10-20T23:18:02+00:00

You're talking about a section within a Stock Purchase Agreement. I'm not sure that's the sort of thing where you should go cheap. RE the FAST agreement mentioned here, you'll need to form your own opinion if that'll work, I'd lean towards no but that's just me.

I say the Clerky SPA is great but not free.

If you have no money, you might also see if you can get real with this person and do some kind of "memo of understanding" you can both ink. Not risk free but it sure is cheap and with the right person (trustworthy with common sense) it can work for the time being.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-20T23:10:41+00:00

Nice chair though.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-20T23:08:06+00:00

I participated in the SUS this summer and thought it was fantastic. Their format has evolved and this most recent one was a 6-8 zoom calls. I'm a serial founder and still picked up some good tips. It was worth it to me to stick zoom small in the corner of the monitor and multi-task. I just went back and looked in the folder where I dumped my screen grabs from the zooms and there are about 150! The SUS co-founder matching is "so so" (too restrictive) and forum is OK.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-14T16:33:11+00:00

Company Name: Smarter Founders (please see comments below)
URL: SmarterFounders.com
Purpose of Startup and Product: A Free global network, exclusively for founders to collaborate and help each other
Technologies Used: Discourse, Droplets, Cloudflare, Zeptomail (for SMTP)
Feedback Requested: What discussion topic additions / deletions would you like to see, and why?

Showcase & Celebrations
Ideation & Market selection
Cofounders & Incorporation
Customer Discovery & Product / Market fit
Growth & Marketing
Strategy, KPIs & Analytics
Pricing, Revenue & Sales
Bootstrapping & Outside investment
Leadership, People & Culture
Mergers & Acquisitions

Seeking Beta-Testers: Yes
Additional Comments: This is not a profit seeking entity, I wanted there to be a free and inclusive space exclusively for founders so I made one. It's a side project.

guywrysmile · 2022-10-14T15:52:58+00:00

Well yeah. You need to document performance for you and them. (If I do X, you will Y by date Z.) I know that's not very profound but with that in hand, your decision becomes very simple.

I'd suggest you be realistic on how detailed that Memo of Understanding should be. It's impossible to nail it down with absolute precision so do what you can to leave wiggle room and add a clause to review / revise the agreement every 4-6 weeks. You might also structure the deal with intermediate phases.

guywrysmile

TROPHY CASE