skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask YC: Where I went wrong?
I passed education in 95 and got the good job. But couldn't handle 9-5 job so, had to quite and start my product business - Try 1( to earn more money ). But at that time there was a big wave to go to US on H1 visa and I cound't resist to take that advantage to earn more money ( compare to product development in india in 1996 ).

It took some time to settle in US and then my brain started thinking again about how to become my own boss and to earn more money. So I joined few friends who already had idea but that didn't work well. I was last one to join that group so i didn't had much say so i just stopped working on that(Try 2).

So, I started working on my idea to create website with lyrics of all hindi songs in @Year 2000 (Try 3). That didn't go far because in part time it was too much work to do that and i didn't had any clue about whats VC and how to get funding.

So, I started working with friend on another idea about how to implement automated reminder system so that Dr. assistant doesn't have to make phone calls to remind patients ( Try 4). That didn't go far because I knew one Dr and he didn't show much interest and I didn't know how to find person who can help us in marketing my/our skills.

So, I started working with another friend to brainstorm idea about how to make paper view possible in small motels ( create a software and allow people from different rooms to select picture from available pictures - it is available in big motel/hotel but not in small motel ). At the end of analysis we found that it is not something we can do in part time without much funding( Try 5).

In meantime I started doing some work for startup which later got bought by big company but I opted out to join that startup fulltime so, i didn't get much money.

During that time I learn about value of Content Management System and found that there is a big market for that kind of software. We thought to use one open source software and then customize that software for different company but again ... who will market our skills for us ??? ( Try 6 )

So, I was back to my brainstorming session and my friend - came up with idea to invest in windmills which is alternate and growing trends to produce electricity. We found that investment is more and ROI is not as much as what software startup can provide ( Try 7??? )

Now I have applied to YC with one idea which is also seems not very good based on current market trends ( Try 8??? ) so we already have another idea ready to start working in short time - in case we decide not to waste more time on Try 8 ( if we don't get selected by YC or if YC selects us and doesn't like our idea)....

Anyway - where I am going wrong ??

To me

A. Part-time doesn't work
B Need to find marketing person who can sell our skills

What else went wrong?? Don't worry..u can tell me whatever u think...i need good feedback so that next one doesn't stay in try zone but i wanna make that success...
No matter what anyone says, there is still a need for local, unconnected software. Until someone develops an open layer in the browser for running offline apps, one that gets adopted by all the major players, the idea that the web will provide all necessary software for a phone (or even a laptop or desktop) is unrealistic. The problem is simply that there are still quite often times (like riding the bus, or a subway, or the oft-mentioned example of being on a plane) when there is no Internet connection and people still want to use their applications.
My plan is hanging out here and hooking up with a cofounder, which is where I'm lacking.

If you've got a good team, you should be able to make it work wherever you are -- as long as you're co-located.
There are lots of patents for things that are obvious to someone that is an expert in the field. Biotech is just as bad. I hope the recent patent reform makes something of a difference.
Right, it isn't necessarily built on a core of Java; it's core might be Java bytecode.
"Extends the code-as-data paradigm to maps and vectors"

Really? How?
It would be cool to get to know you! My email address is in my profile. (couldn't find yours)
Fusilli Paul.
That sort of crap has been around for a long time. It features the grimmest of the grim socialist/faux intellectual German taste in things. Severe, cold, cheap, right-angled, colorless, inhuman, inhumane, and above all efficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus

The best take down that I'm aware of is here:

http://www.tomwolfe.com/Bauhaus.html
First you might want to consider that you did nothing wrong.

I just did kind of a recap of my startup career over on my blog at http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2007/10/who_me_worry.... Perhaps tonight is the time for people to think about these things.

I read a really great article that was linked from here a couple of weeks ago. I'll use a baseball metaphor to describe it. I hope you'll understand the reference. The point was that it's not hitting the home runs that matter, it's getting the times at bat. That is, if you're always swinging, and you're always learning, it's just a matter of getting enough pitches.

You want to fail fast and learn from it. What I've found that sucks is that to qualify an idea, generate the site, and really get humming might take 4-8 weeks. This means you can't just try out ideas by joining a group for a couple of weeks. Ideas need to be beaten, nurtured, and planned. So if I had any criticism, I'd say "go out there and build something that works, then ask what did you do wrong". Because failing is fine, as long as you keep failing forward.
Q & A on Leaving Management for Development
"... We have lobbied Facebook to let us export data from your system. That really gets to the essence of a closed platform. Who owns the data? ..."

Good point, right to the heart of the matter rms: Who owns you? ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/376876671/comment72157...
It might be the users data but why would FaceBook let you export it out you might be creating your own Facebook. In theory you could scrape the users information but I think it would be against the TOS.
Me too.
Funny thing is, I don't ever remember learning _how_ to programme it, just that I always have been. Still have it too.
Oh, and +10 points for the Vic=20 manual, complete with schematic and entire list of memory addresses and their uses.
Intelligence: 99% Genetic? Individual Differences in Exec Functions Are Almost Perfectly Heritable
"... Natural language query technology is underused ..."

Because language itself is plastic, evolves and changes meaning. Users may ask a clear logical question and phrase it with language that may totally miss the restricted, non-plastic language domain of the data they want to query. [0]

[0] Bower, Bruce, Shifty Talk: Probing the process of word evolution

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071013/fob2.asp
Awesome! Thanks for the backing. We don't need the partnerships, we'd like them, simply because they would add to our bottom line.
John Furrier looks forward to screwing up another startup
John Furrier, the recently deposed CEO of PodTech, is working the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco in a lime-green shirt. His outfit, like his equally glaring smile, suggests that he's unbothered by leaving the Internet video network he founded.
Especially creepy for those of us just here for the news. It would be useful to be able to distinguish between posts and linked news articles from the front page.
Your startup idea. Why?
I've recently discovered the value of having a recursive (and very honest) conversation with myself. I ask "why?" to big statements and assumptions. I find that eventually I end up somewhere interesting. Is there a psychoanalytical term for this?

Here's an example of a real conversation I had with my daughter a few hours ago:

My 2 year old daughter asked why my SCUBA gear was in the guest room shower. I explained that it was there because my gear needed to dry out. She thought for a moment, then asked: "Why? Why is your gear wet?"

I explained that my gear was wet because I had gone SCUBA diving. After thinking a little bit more, she asked, "Why? Why did you go SCUBA diving?"

I explained to her that I was taking SCUBA diving lessons. She then wanted to know why I'm taking SCUBA diving lessons of course. So I explained that I was taking lessons so I could learn how to SCUBA dive. She let the matter drop then, but I kept thinking about it.

So why do I want to learn how to SCUBA dive?

I want to learn how to SCUBA dive because it's something that I've always wanted to do.

Why? Because I think what's underneath the water is fascinating and SCUBA diving seems like a good way to explore.

Why? Well, I can't hold my breath for very long so if I know how to SCUBA dive I can stay down longer and learn more about what's under the water.

Why? Because there's something so cool about floating under the water and exploring the environment.

Why? Because it's the closest I'm ever going to get to space travel.

Asking "why?" recursively helped me nail what it was about SCUBA diving that has interested me for so long. Strange as it may seem, I've been subconciously associating SCUBA diving with something like space exploration. Floating around? Check. Alien environment? Check. Dangerous? Check.

Being an astronaut, space travel, all of that stuff was the kind of thing that had me daydreaming for hours as a kid. I would have never guessed that my desire to SCUBA dive had anything to do with space travel.

So what's your big idea? Why?
I probably will not make it into YC being a single founder but I am a little different in that I have been working for years on my project and have 28,000 free users on the system.

I will likely pre-sell my product to my target market and fund myself that way.
I see a trend: "Who will market for us?"

The missing answer to this is the thing you're doing wrong.

You! In a startup, you do everything. If you aren't willing and able (or willing to become able through self-education or taking classes), then you shouldn't be in a startup...or you need to partner with a person who is capable of and willing to do the things you can't or won't do.

It's that simple. You have to build a team that answers every need in a business--and those needs are many. Some things can be removed from your plate with money, if you have some money. Some things can be put off until you have money. But some things, like getting customers, are absolutely vital. If you can't make something and get it into the hands of people that want it, you haven't done your job.

Also, you seem to like picking business ideas where you have no history and where having a history could make you far more successful in a shorter time. I once knew some folks who started a company that did water table surveys for city and state governments and they built an interesting business with two guys and a few contractors and no money up front. How did they get into something like that? Interestingly, they came in sideways...they had been in the oil and gas industry as drilling site managers (e.g. a non-technical management field), and many of the same geophysicists they had worked with in that industry worked in the water table business, as well. They had the in they needed to bump them into a multi-million dollar business without needing years to build a reputation (they had spent the years building a reputation working on oil platforms and in deserts and other crappy places).

If you want to be in windmills, you ought to work in the alternative energy industry...it'll teach you what those customers want, how it is currently delivered, and give you some ideas for making it better.

The thing about most companies that YC deals with, is that they are picking a problem that's new enough to have no established players, and requires very little money to start. That's a model that anyone in your shoes ought to consider, regardless of YC involvement.

Windmills aint it. CMS aint it (though some niche markets in that area might be). Lyrics to hindi songs...if you need VC funding for that, you're not thinking about the problem in the right way...that's just not a VC kind of business.

Another problem I'm seeing is: You need an idea that you can commit to. Find something you really believe in, and do it (or join the team that is doing it). It sounds like Try 8 is still-born already. When you start using phrases like "waste more time on", then you can be pretty sure you have an idea you don't believe in. If you don't believe in it, how the hell do you think you're going to convince customers and investors to believe in it?
I wish I could let this product go for the price of free, but it would get into to many hands, which would make it dangerous, if let's say it got into the hands of identity stealer.
Don't confuse a language with its implementation
App-Camp 2007 to Facilitate Discussion about Open Platforms this Saturday in San Francisco
Orson Card's "Redemption of Columbus" is based on this idea. They figure out how to calculate a change in history that will create a better future. This leaves the possibility open that technology can reach a state where the meta-timeline can be retraced and everyone resurrected.
Astrophysicist Replaces Supercomputer with a Cluster of Eight PlayStation 3s
Ask PG: When do we get the email/call?
Do we get the Yay or Nay at 12 tonight? or later tomorrow?
You mean it could take 8 whole weeks? That's like...two months! We could all be dead by then.

I'm obviously from an older school of thought. I plan on giving an idea two years...if it's not good enough to justify that, then it's not worth any of my time.
http://ycombinator.com/w2008.html
Even Free Can't Compete With Music Piracy
So, is that just sometime tomorrow?
An abacus.
sorry i don't think jews need perfecting..thanks for the neo-nazi down votes.
For two cycles ago, I got the interview invite at 23 Oct 2006 16:55:00.

The rejection last cycle I got at 10 Apr 2007 21:05:49.
Within 8-12 weeks I should know if a project is going to fly, assuming everything works okay. That's not break-even, that's just knowing the thing has wings. My pattern is to take some time to try to knock it down, then prototype, then bring in some users, then evaluate my market traction. That's just for the initial call. That's milestone A.

YMMV. If I spent 2 years on every potentially good startup idea that came along I'd be 260 by now. Once you're flying, sure, give it a couple of years.
PS3s are so good for this because they are sold below cost and are some of the best physics processors anyways. I thought that there might be money in writing some software to allow for easy PS3 clusters and after two more minutes of thinking realized that there was no money it. Still, it's a great example of just how powerful computers are getting.
I voted you up. If I would have hacked Ann Coulter's webpage I probably would have defaced it in a much more malicious way.
Do not ask "When?".
Instead ask yourself "What is time?" ;)
I've been accused of posting this as a shameless attempt to get attention from YC.

I'd like to deny this charge. In fact, it's a shameless attempt to tell the _readers_ of news.YC about all the cool stuff I've been doing. YC has nothing to do with it.

What can I say? You can either talk about what you're doing next, or you can go out there and do it. :)
Same here! I still remember going to the mall pleading my case to Santa.
Yeah in my experience it's been at least $350+ for the year, once you factor in all the various fees.

If you want to do it all yourself you can probably shave half off of that.
>I've been accused of posting this as a shameless attempt to get attention from YC.

I would bet that they only look at the news.yc posts for the most promising applications anyways, and then only as a mostly incidental thing.
Sometime tomorrow. Trevor and Robert haven't finished voting yet. Then we have to get together and argue about the borderline cases. We'll probably send out emails in the evening.
Wow. I had no idea HyperCard was available for the II, but according to Wikipedia, a version existed for the IIgs. Was that it?
I think you missed my point.

Here we are on news.yc on the day before the big announcement.

Do you have any idea how many people are poking around the site, looking for what happens? It's like having 5 minutes with 50 of the coolest people you'd like to meet.

Kapiche?

I mean, the article was from the heart, true, and in line with the narrative on the board. But that doesn't mean there can't be a value-added situation going on here as well.
That sounds very similar to the conversation he had with Michael Arrington at TechCrunch40 (which was also at The Palace).
Is it stress or boredom?

Finding a less stressful job doesn't seem like it should be that hard, but maybe I've just been lucky.

What I've found helps is getting some (and setting some) explicit expectations up front. If your company repeatedly violates these, it's probably time to move on.

Recently at the startup I work for, we were doing a big push for launch (80 hour weeks, etc). One night I finally hit a brick wall and just couldn't be there anymore, like when you're just sitting there looking at the screen not able to work. My PM was being slightly a dick and not hearing me on this, so Office Space style I snuck out the back and just left. The team even had a conversation about whether they should fire me over this infraction, as if I'm their 90-hour a week wage slave.

Another guy stuck it out, but resented the company so much for it that he quit a few days later and wrote a scathing letter to the all hands list / posted it on his blog. Point being, don't let anyone push you around.

And if you're a little savvy with clients / marketing yourself, just know that you can always make 2x as much as a full-time job by contracting, where in theory you should have more control over stress, schedule, etc. (ability to choose decent clients / fire sucky ones, etc)
I just want to say that was a great article. I think your baseball metaphor really gets to the point. It doesn't matter that you've tried so many times. The fact you are able to go out on a limb and try to create something from nothing shows you're already on the right path.

I remember pg saying somewhere that a lot of making a successful startup is skill, but another large part is luck. If you keep putting yourself out there, you might fail, but each time you get to that point, you increase your chances of getting lucky greatly. As long as you can take something away from each try you really didn't lose anything except a little time.
You can, just look at the domain (or lack thereof).
I appreciate the feedback, thanks!
I've started out looking to do just that. I'm amazed by how bright and receptive these people are. It's a breath of fresh air.
I had an IBM, it had like 800mhz of processing power!
Are you not moving because of school, financial reasons or other?

There's often an unspoken fear about becoming a smaller fish in a bigger pond around this issue.

Ever met an aspiring (like, they want to be Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts, not just a local star) actor/actress who's 35 years old but never tried moving to LA / NYC? You've got to wonder if they have some kind of subconscious reason holding them back...

I'm in no way implying that's going on here, just asking.

Family / financial reasons would also be right up there as to why someone would never make the leap! (I just moved to SF by the way... :))
At my house, an Apple //c was way out of reach for Santa. I had to wait until I was in high school and had saved enough money ($1200). It was another 2 years before I saved enough to buy my first car. ($1500). I still have my //c and have booted it up occasionally. About 4 years ago I bartered some computer parts to someone in exchange for him making image files of all my disks. They run great on an Apple emulator. It definitely holds alot of great memories for me.
This is a very interesting point. The music industry
has now taken so long to come up with a new business
model that piracy has become the most convenient way
to get music. Their stupidity has generated a whole
infrastructure for music distribution that they now
have to compete with.

They're in even worse trouble than I realized. And
the movie business is next.
You know you have been eaten by a 'shark' when you become one yourself. The only way out is through.
Ah, ok. Well, there's never any shame in posting something you wrote here. I appreciated what you wrote and submitted.
There's a chance he wasn't actually using that account. Regardless, they didn't even cheat well! They could have cheated and still made millions just by giving themselves a 10% calculated advantage. Instead, they played the best that they could on every single hand.
John leaving Podtech ... I didn't see this coming. For some reasons, I feel that I need to defend John because I think the article is unfair and dare I say, perhaps even hitting below the belt. I knew John in late-2002 when we were both between startups. John is a visionary and has what it takes to go from nothing to something. With all the money going into web 2.0 startups, this is bound to happen. It reminds me of what many of us went through in the 1999/2000 with the telecom bubble and the trouble we had with VC money. Good luck, John. I am convinced that you will rise again.

--Denny--

Denny K Miu

How to Turn Your VC into Your Worst Enemy?
http://www.lovemytool.com/blog/2007/10/vc-worst-enemy.html
I've gone back and forth on the fail-fast vs. go-deep approaches. After working at my first startup, I leaned towards the go-deep approach, because they went through 4 business plans in the year I was there, and if they had concentrated on #2 (they were literally a week or two away from having paying customers), they might have had cash to survive #3 and 4.

Then when I was graduating from college, the fail-fast approach started making more sense, because people were making tens of millions on really simple startup ideas like del.icio.us, Flickr, and Reddit. These succeeded because they happened to hit the right niche, because they had supercool, detailed technology. Nowadays, I'm leaning back towards depth, which sucks for us, because our idea is a fairly shallow fill-a-quick-need idea and my cofounder is more into the fail-fast hit-the-lotto approach.

My two years in financial software has kinda rubbed off on me: I think that the real optimal strategy is to do whatever everybody else is not doing. So startup #1 failed because it was flitting between ideas on the eve of the dot-com bust, when everyone else was doing the same thing. Flickr, del.icio.us, etc. did well because they were founded right at the tail end of the dot-com bust, when the recession had killed off everyone else going after the easy pickings and left a lot of untapped niches. Now may be the time to go deep, because there are a zillion Web 2.0 folks picking off every single social networking idea, every AJAXified calendar, etc.
I am currently applying for a management position. My boss tells me that that I will have to leave the technical side. I guess I don't understand this corporate culture, I have been running my own consulting firm for 8 years and I am new at this job. I don't see why you can not do anything technical after you are a "manager". My vision of a manager is more like that of a coach that helps the developers improve their skills, and can discuss technical approaches with them. A see a development manager like a technical leader that has a good vision of where technology will go.

I suppose these activities will take up my time in this position:
- Meetings. (I could handle a couple of hours a day)
- Evaluations. (kind of bad)
- Recruitment. (I actually like this)
- Budgeting. (bad)
-

I would really like to do this:
- Talk and help the developers of what they are doing.
- Research new technology.
- Look for ways to improve the development environment. like tools and techniques.
- Organize study groups.

Am I being too innocent? What do you think?

My point is that the role of a technical manager doesn't necessarily have to be just boring clerical work.
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!" - African "aid" actually actively destructive