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Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | pbh101: Being a college senior, I just want to point out again that credit cards aren't intrinsically bad; rather, they're a tool that can be used effectively or abused.I have a local Credit Union Visa and an Amazon CC, the latter of which I only use for Amazon because Chase Bank, the backer, is not nearly as friendly (higher fees, etc).I pay for almost everything with CC because I like the itemization. That being said, I don't ever use them as 'credit' per se, to cover money I don't already have in the bank. To me, they're merely a useful convenience. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | philipcristiano: You can get the card and cut it up right away so you never use it. By time the card expires you will have a decent credit limit, score, and interest rate and they will send you a new card. It would go faster if you used the card and payed it off right away but you can't use it if it is in the trash. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | speek: Does anybody here use a Credit Union in Massachusetts? |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | cconstantine: I was credit card free until my senior year in college. I payed everything with a debit card, payed my rent/utilities on time and didn't overdraft (ok, I did on occasion, but it wasn' a pattern). All that amounted to was that I had no negative mark on my credit report.In my last semester of senior year I got a low limit credit card and used it for gas. Only gas, and I payed it off every month. About 6 months after I graduated I applied for a mortgage and fell into the highest credit group (excellent, which was 700+ at the time, I think).This is the pattern I would recommend. Some people advocate having a long credit history as the best way to get good credit. I think the best way to do it is to have a low debt/income ratio and use credit responsibly.You can try to game the system in the short term, but doing that almost always screws you in the long term because you're human, and humans make mistakes. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | czstrong: I think it is a good idea to get a credit card and pay it off every month in full. This will build up your credit and will be good for you in many ways.Just an example. I'm a college Junior and I've had a credit card for about a year now that gets paid off in full every month. Just last week I created my first cell phone contract in my own name. I didn't have to leave a deposit because my credit was good. However, a friend of mine, who has never had a credit card and I guess has no credit, had to leave a 500 dollar deposit to be held by ATT for a year. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | tiomka: Do not be an ostrich, and follow the CASH ONLY rule. It doesn't make you any smarter, credit is something you should learn to control and take advantage of. Read/listen to this book: Philip Tirone - 7 Steps to a 720 Credit ScoreQuick summary tips:1. have 3 different sources of credit (amex, visa and mc)2. use 30% of the limit (if your credit limit is 1000, and you put 900 on and pay off it every month, companies will see it as if you are using 90% of your credit, which will lower it)3. Call every 4-6 months and ask to lower rate/increase limit4. NEVER cancel a card, length of accounts is an average, and it will hurt your score. (If you don't want to use a card, make it pay your light bill automatically, and set up an monthly autopay)5.a. Quick tip to increase credit score: find someone you trust/that trusts you, ask them to put your name on their card. Don't get the actual card, if they have great credit, it will positively affect you.b. If you cannot find anyone, go to Credit Union, open a savings account, put in 1000, take 3x300 loans out against the savings account, repay loans monthly, in 3 months your score will jump* I am 24 and have an amex card with $25,000 limit, they send me promotions to get a cash advance for a fixed $3.99, great way to self fund ;-) |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | timcederman: Starwood Express American Express card, in my opinion, has the best bang for buck. Plus they've waived my yearly fee several times now.If you are having trouble getting a card (like I did when I first moved to the US), Amazon Visa was an easy card to qualify for, and has decent benefits. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | ken: Your credit score isn't just how well you pay off credit cards.I have a "check card" (draws directly from my bank account, has a Visa/MC logo so I can use it anywhere). I assume this doesn't affect my credit score much, if at all -- it's rejected if I don't have the money in my account, so it's not really "credit" at all.In fact, I've never had a real "credit card", but that didn't stop my bank from loaning me money for a car (they could see from my paychecks that I could afford it), or from me renting apartments (my current landlord did a credit check and said I have "excellent credit").I think "you need a CC as soon as you go to college!" is mostly a scare story. Admittedly I'm not a big spender (e.g., I'm not buying a condo on credit), but I have yet to see any case where I was turned away from something due to my lack of a CC.While it's not a silver bullet, I see how they can be really handy, so if you're responsible about paying it off, go for it. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | ph0rque: Hmmm... sounds like the next step would be to make a cross between twitter and tumblr (twimblr?) that lets one do micro video, audio, or text updates. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | brk: It actually looked really interesting to me... I applied for one of the Tech Crunch invites earlier, but if you're passing them out here, even better ;) My email is in my profile page. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | rw: Invite please (email in profile). |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | rms: Definitely not too limited, people a lot older than 13 years old use Eee PCs. Sounds like a great gift. |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | brk: I have one, it's very handy, lots of cool things you can do with it.HOWEVER, I think it's more of a laptop augmentation than full replacement. If he wants to really hack around with it and load any additional software he'll soon find himself out of storage. The screen is a tad small and lo-res, and the keyboard is cramped (but maybe not so much for a 13 year old).I'd look around for desktop in the same price range and/or at craigslist and ebay "gently worn" offerings for the money of an EEE for this application. |
Feedback on our technology - 'nested guis' | pjackson: Nice idea. Nice presentation.Awhile back, YC listed some ideas they wanted to fund. Simplified browsing was one of them. Seems like your technology could be applicable to simplifying the online experience for people who want that.It doesn't look tuned for that now, but it's an idea.I'll sign up. Thanks. |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | weegee: thanks for your input, I'm looking for something he can carry with him to school and use anywhere. and I'm trying to find a computer he can call his own without spending too much money. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | pedalpete: This is interesting. Twitter limited the length of its posts (i believe) due to limitations in SMS and Texting.
What you have done is to put a limitation on users just as a product differentiator (I believe).This is actually more innovative than I believe you will probably be given credit for. Forcing people to be concise and get to the point, but now allowing for a new medium.Nice work |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | SwellJoe: I have an XO (not the same, but same form factor and screen size as the smallest/cheapest Eee). The only thing that makes me hesitant to say, "Hell yes!" is the tiny screen. It's usable, and has pretty good resolution, and maybe my 33 year old eyes just aren't up to the task, but I find it uncomfortable to use for anything serious. Catching up on email or the news is fine...hacking, not so much.But when I was a kid, I loved tinkering with various computers--including limited ones like the Timex Sinclair and Tandy portable computer line (I couldn't afford the model 100, so I had one with like 2k of memory...basically a calculator with BASIC). But I had my first computer (a C64) when I was 8 and loved computers pretty much all along.I think it's gonna depend on the kid, but I'm guessing anyone without a laptop would be very pleased to have a laptop, even one with a few limitations. |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | mixmax: Great idea - get'em while they're young...:-) |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | markbao: Also requesting an invite. Thanks! |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | wave: I think the logo needs a redesign. You can spend $200 and get a better design at http://99designs.com. Allow people automatically submit their video updates to their Twitter accounts. Talk to FriendFeed and add your service. Add width and height to the embed code. Can't say anything more because it is still in private. These are just my suggestions.Overall, good job. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | aupajo: Invite please :) |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | Tichy: I love my Dell Latitude X1, and apparently it does not cost much more than the eeepc on ebay (new - it just isn't available from Dell anymore). And it's a real computer with a similar form factor to eepc (still holding up very well and I have had it for two years now). In my opinion eeepc is just garbage - sorry. I think it is one of those things that let's people go "oooooh, cute, want", and two days after being bought it ends up unused in the corner.Try to find a Latitude X1 on ebay (I am running Ubuntu Linux on it - also, I just learned it can be upgraded to 2GB RAM, despite officially only supporting 1GB).I use it as my main computer for everything except playing 3d shooters. The keyboard is fine, the 12' screen is OK for traveling and at home I have attached it to an external 24' screen. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | brandnewlow: invite please, windycitizen@gmail.com |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | alexsolo: Invite please, asolomo@gmail.com |
Feedback on our technology - 'nested guis' | lacker: When I tried to use the storylinez site, it was taking a long time, around 1-6 seconds to completely respond to each hover. So it's hard for me to give more intelligent feedback than "it needs to be faster".Especially with such a hover-centric navigation model, if reaction is not quick, users will have a hard time figuring out how to make things happen. I was reduced to hovering over random UI elements to see if anything happened.I would recommend you take some of your non techy friends, sit them down at a computer, tell them "Hey, why don't you find some funny videos or something cool using this storylinez site", and see what they say. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | CatDancer: Taking your questions in reverse order, I would first recommend not borrowing money to start or grow your business. Get investors instead. If your business should happen not to work out the first time, you walk away free and clear and can easily start another business. If you've borrowed money and your business fails, you still have to pay back the loan. This is an amazing gift: if you fail the first time, your net worth may be zero, but at least it won't be negative. [http://www.paulgraham.com/boss.html]If you do decide to borrow money, you do not need to have built up your credit score. All you need to do is talk to a lender who has the intelligence to look at your actual situation. (As Dave Ramsey likes to put it, a credit score is lending for dummies). To get a mortgage for a house, for example, to qualify for the best rate, all you need is to have paid your rent for two years early or on time, to not to have bad debts, and to find a bank that does manual underwriting. You do not need to have borrowed a dollar before in your life.A VISA debit card will give you exactly the same level of protection against theft and fraud as a credit card will. Look it up on their web site.There are a few minor inconveniences to not having a credit score. For example, yes, I did have an insurance company initially want to charge me a higher insurance rate because I hadn't "established my credit". But all I had to do was call them up and explain that I didn't have a credit score because I didn't borrow money, and if they didn't give me a good rate I'd go to an insurance company who would look at my actual situation. And they gave me a reasonable rate. A five minute conversation. (If you want to be an entrepreneur, this kind of negotiation is trivial).So if you don't need to "build your credit", why is everyone you know (and all the comments here on Hacker News) saying you should? Propaganda from the credit card industry is pervasive (their advertising budget, iirc, is second only to the auto industry). They have spent a great deal of money, time, and effort coming up with plausible sounding reasons why you should buy their product (credit), and ensuring that everyone has heard of them.Your "credit score" is in fact a measure of how much profit you are making for the credit industry.Maximizing your credit score isn't going to help you, making products or services that people want is what is going to make you successful. Don't spend your time optimizing the wrong thing. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | zain: I'd love an invite. my handle @ inzain.net |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | Mystalic: Let me give you some analysis:- Interesting concept, video is slowly gaining ground, so it seems like a natural evolution from Twitter. WITH that said,
- The design does need work - it's simple, which is good, but it's unappealing.
- Good front pitch on the site, but not great - it needs to be more interesting.
- You need to justify WHY I should take the extra time to hook up a webcam and record my 12 second snippet than just Tweet it - this seems like too much time for something as simple as a status update. Convince me this is a better method and just as easy and you'll get customers.
- Trot out the appealing people. We're a very physically-minded society, the cute girls and interesting guys will get you hits, maybe even a viral one.
- Great job on TechCrunch! I'll keep watch. And yes, I'd enjoy an invite (ben@benparr.com) |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | saundby: I have an Eee PC 4g model 701 and both my 13 and 16 year old love it, and are aching to have one of their own. They're both saving up to buy themselves 2Gs, though if the prices keep falling they may be able to afford something better.I get along with the screen and keyboard fine, they don't even notice that they might be a problem.I think they make great systems for kids this age. |
Feedback on our startup - http://12seconds.tv | truebosko: I like the idea, the problem is if I owned this I have no idea where I'd go from here. To be honest, I don't want to sit there and watch 12 second clips from my friends on what's up so I'm trying to think of how this would keep me coming back after the initial fun factor is lostI'm not bashing your site, it works great .. but I am just curious how it will pan out in the long run. |
The most interesting work you could imagine doing? | tonystubblebine: Building and running my own company. I guess I fall into that rare class of founder who doesn't need to ever flip. |
The most interesting work you could imagine doing? | noodle: either starting/running or being a part of a small company looking to solve bigger problems, like the one laptop per child project.problem with that is that the work is so interesting that it doesn't pay well, which is a problem OLPC fell into, too. jobs like these tend to require that you not need to have the job to make a living. |
Would you really use this on a girl? | markbao: It could get more mainstream as more dynamic information can be shared via "dropcards" than on business cards. I think it's a pretty good idea, but I would prefer business cards. |
Would you really use this on a girl? | byrneseyeview: If someone is working with business cards and gadgets, they really need to try it in Japan. Business cards are extremely important there, but they have many early adopters in the population, too. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meishi for more information. |
Would you really use this on a girl? | iamdave: Well, I think this is a great idea if you consider the importance of business card against the idea that the business card holds all this contact info that you're going to get anyway. |
Would you really use this on a girl? | TransientMuse: Aren't they using the same shortcode as chatterous.com? |
ASK HN: How to become security expert | iamdave: Assuming you're talking about network security (and if you're not the principles still apply), I would recommend nothing more than learning about what you want to secure first. Learn about networkring, the ins and out of networking. Where I went to school to even get into the network security course you HAD to get an associates in the general networking course. In that case, I'd look at the Cisco networking academy. (Http://cisco.netacad.net)If it's software, the very same. Learn about the software you want to secure FIRST. |
ASK HN: How to become security expert | cperciva: Start by reading code. Then go read some security advisories. Then go back and read some more code.Before you can do new work in computer security, you have to understand what's been done already... and the only good way to do that is by reading advisories and looking at the vulnerable code and how it got fixed until you say "oh, so THAT'S what a <insert vulnerability type here> looks like". |
Way to map one database schema to another? | attack: Interesting idea. I always just wrote a python script to do the translating and transfer. |
Which services have figured out a way for revenue after gaining users | nostrademons: Google. That's the one everyone points to.There're a bunch of other ones that look like they're not making any money, but actually are, usually through advertising or corporate deals. Reddit. FaceBook. HotOrNot. PlentyOfFish. LiveJournal. MySpace. Skype. YouTube (though I believe YouTubes revenues are less than Google expected when they bought it). |
Way to map one database schema to another? | nreece: I remember using Red Gate ( http://www.red-gate.com ) to do this for a fairly large SQL Server database. Which DB are you using? |
Which services have figured out a way for revenue after gaining users | noodle: if you have any intent of getting money out of a startup or running a successful business, you need to design and build with the revenue model in mind. even if its a purely ad-driven model.companies have fund success building first and monetizing later, but its the exception, not the rule. |
Is credit necessary and how/where do you bank? | ca98am79: I suggest getting a credit card that gives 1% cash back or some perk like this - you can see some really good deals like this on http://www.mymoneyblog.com |
good electronics hacking course in the Bay Area? | mechanical_fish: I see the tuition on that course is $1725.Between your copy of H&H, the Internet, a kit of parts (I used to go to Halted's in Sunnyvale to look for random electronics parts; Digikey and Mouser are also your friends) and a few hours of tutor time when you get stuck, you can get a lot of education in this stuff for $1725. I know for a fact that you can hire a Ph.D. in EE for $100 an hour to teach this stuff... because I'd take that job in a heartbeat, just for the fun of helping someone fiddle with soldering irons. Too bad you now live on the wrong coast. ;)Grad students or talented undergrads should be available for much less than $100 an hour, unless times have changed a lot.You may not need many hours of lectures. Try asking a guy to explain the things you're stuck on for an hour or two and see how that goes.The other thing you should do is try (perhaps using the very same method you're using now) to sign up with three or four other people, then get together for a Big Op Amp Circuit Building Party. Just discussing your problems with other people is helpful and fun. Build iPod headphone amps for all your friends. Build stereo preamps. Build stuff from Make magazine. |
good electronics hacking course in the Bay Area? | toddh: The Crucible in Oakland has a few good courses. |
What software has made you go "wow?" | listic: Second Reality, in particular, the Mandelbrot fractal zooming part. Realtime Mandelbrot zooming, in 1993, on a 486
- this really made me go "wow", if you know what I mean.
Then it was that Globe zooming thing in 3DMark, don't remember which one - it should impress casual observe more, but I was not so impresed - I know that modern 3D card and CPU should be able to handle it.
Afterwards, it was Google Earth that made me go this kind of "wow" |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | dhotson: Firebug is a pretty obvious choice. Highly recommended!I also use Flashblock.. oh and Sage for RSS. |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | LogicHoleFlaw: My personal favorites in Firefox for personal browsing are: Adblock Plus, Colorful Tabs, NoScript, Nuke Anything, Popup ALT Attribute (for XKCD), and Tree Style Tab.For web development I find Web Developer and Firebug indispensable. |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | zacharye: In terms of browsing, these are the add-ons I don't know that I would fair well without:easyGestures, Adblock Plus, ChromEdit Plus / Smart Bookmarks Bar, Greasemonkey, Foxmarks Bookmarks SynchronizerAlso a fan of some others such as Zotero, Delicious, Tab Catalog and a few others. |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | AlfaWolph: vimperator |
Is the Asus Eee PC a good gift for a 13 year old? | weegee: Thanks to all. I ordered an eeepc 900 with Windows XP from costco.com. |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | AndyKelley: I can't wait till everyone starts using Adblock (Plus) and it completely throws off the Internet economy. |
What are your favorite browser add-ons? | unalone: Inquisitor is the only add-on I use, for Safari. It's a beautiful add-on and it's the only thing that does something for my browser that makes me more productive. |
Problem getting through Hotmail's spam filter? | qhoxie: My company has the same problem currently and we have not been able to resolve it. We have taken seemingly every step I am aware of to fix the issue, but they continue to block. One possibility is the IP you are sending from is flagged, which is more common than you might think. |
graphical html editor that doesn't corrupt data? | nickb: Mac? PC? Linux?In any case, you best bet is Dreamweaver. But consider this... pretty much all of these editors are useless when you're working with dynamic web pages. That's why MS has killed FrontPage for example. Your best bet is to use a nice CSS editor (CSSEdit for example) and a good text programming editor (vi/emacs/textmate). |
graphical html editor that doesn't corrupt data? | babyshake: Firebug. |
Running your web app on top of a python http server | macmac: Looks like these guys are using Twisted:http://www.python.org/about/success/projectpipe/ |
Online legal forms subscription. Worthwhile? | steelhive: My local library here in Ohio has a Gale Legal Forms subscription for Ohio legal forms which it makes available to its online patrons for free. Other libraries in the US offer something similar. I don't know what's available at UK libraries but it's worth checking out. |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | eyao: I'm with this start up as well, and I want to resonate that this has been a huge problem for us. We have been getting a ton of bounced emails so if anyone has recommendations on what to do with those (the ones that actually look legit) then please let us know! |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | oldgregg: i feel your pain-- we've made do using google apps for domain, configuring SMTP is... quirky, but at low volume you should be fine. |
What IDE/Editor for RoR Development on Mac? | Hates_: Textmate |
What IDE/Editor for RoR Development on Mac? | bbgm: I am sure there are many, but I am more than happy with Textmate |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | greatreorx: When an email bounces, do you flag it in your system so that you don't continue to send emails to it? Not speaking from personal experience, but I've read that certain major webmail companies will penalize your server if you keep trying to deliver mail to an invalid account within a certain time frame.You seem to have everything else covered, that's the only thing that comes to mind. |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | brk: What "service" are you using? I've always just done a linux/sendmail server in a datacenter somewhere and manage all sending/receiving/lists/etc from that. |
Rate My Startup | noodle: my immediate thoughts: - i dislike the name. for something producing somewhat important documents, it has a trendy, difficult to remember/spell domain name.
- i dislike the fact that i can't see any examples of what gets produced. i *have* to sign up and go through everything just to see an example of the end product to see if the process was worthwhile.
- i dislike the fact that i have to sign up before i can do anything.
i'll get back to you once i actually generate a plan. the idea is interesting, though, and does have potential for the right crowd. |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | aasarava: I've been able to get emails through to Hotmail/Live/MSN accounts from my own mail servers after explicitly notifying the Microsoft postmaster of my domain and valid SPF record. (Just having the record wasn't enough.) Here's the form I use:
https://support.msn.com/eform.aspx?productKey=senderid&p... |
Rate My Startup | tortilla: 1) Name is horrible. Srsly. :)2) You should show screenshots at a minimum. Also show the final product/output. Maybe a sample Business Plan pdf to download.3) Site looks like a blog not a web app.4) Slogan is kinda wrong: Because Business Plans Are Hard. -> What are you doing to solve this? Would be like Basecamp saying: Because Online Project Management is Hard. |
Rate My Startup | vaksel: on top of what everyone said(horrible name, no screenshots, looks too much like a blog), the theme is just plain horrible, puke green isn't exactly a great color, and you made it so light, that it actually hurts your eyes to look at it |
Rate My Startup | matthewer: I really do want to see what I am getting involved with. A visual example that walks me through the process. |
Rate My Startup | auston: I think your name does need work and the principle behind the app is really good, I wouldnt want to waste my time writing a full BP.But you should make that landing page more friendly, right now it's a like a shy kid in the corner. Nice & interesting once you read into that person, but not to enticing on the surface.Add some bigger/bolder text to emphasize your value proposition. As well as pictures/videos of actual use. |
Running your web app on top of a python http server | DintyMooreNE: Justin.tv uses a custom twisted-based server for all of their media serving. They consider it part of their proprietary advantage. |
Rate My Startup | antiismist: ... or you could write the plan out as plain text (i.e. the hard part of coming up with the plan is coming up with the plan, not formatting it):http://www.paulgraham.com/vwplan.html |
Rate My Startup | sspencer: Make sure to include Neal Stephenson's disclaimer from Cryptonomicon"EXTREMELY SERIOUS WARNING
Unless you are as smart as Johann Karl Friedrich Gauss, savvy as a half-blind Calcutta bootblack, tough as General William Tecumseh Sherman, rich as the Queen of England, emotionally resilient as a Red Sox fan, and as generally able to take care of yourself as the average nuclear missile submarine commander, you should never have been allowed near this document. Please dispose of it as you would any piece of high-level radioactive waste and then arrange with a qualified surgeon to amputate your arms at the elbows and gouge your eyes from their sockets. This warning is necessary because once, a hundred years ago, a little old lady in Kentucky put a hundred dollars into a dry goods company which went belly-up and only returned her ninety-nine dollars. Ever since then the government has been on our asses. If you ignore this warning, read on at your peril — you are dead certain to lose everything you've got and live out your final decades beating back waves of termites in a Mississippi Delta leper colony.
Still reading? Great. Now that we've scared off the lightweights, let's get down to business. " |
Rate My Startup | drewcrawford: This is going to be detailed. My thoughts, in order, as I use your site. These comments are mostly negative, but I hope you can take them constructively. It's not a personal thing =) I'm trying to help you.1. Name. Srsly?2. Color scheme. Fix it.3. Why should I use this? It creates a "business plan", but is it any better than the one I already made for my investors? As a user, I want to know that you can eitherA) add pretty pictures / make up for my lack of design skillsB) Suggest things I might have forgotten, or otherwise improve what I could write in word / google docsC) Add some sort of 'social' element to business planning (e.g. sending it to a list of people I manage, commenting, something like that)Otherwise, I have no reason to use your product. You need to figure out what it is you are providing (i.e. value) and put it on the front page, where I can see it.3a) Also, I want to see what the final result looks like. Sample business plans! Put the output formats in a bullet/feature list (PDF, hosted automagically, DOC, whatever it is you support, because i have no idea).If I were a random user not reviewing your site, I would have left at this point.5. Why do you need an e-mail? I didn't receive any "Thanks for signing up!" mail from you, so I'm assuming you're going to spam me with feature updates later?6. What is a strapline, and why is it italicized?7. I'm assuming the "Author" is me? Don't you already have my name? Didn't I type it in 10 seconds ago?8. What is drstunner and why is it autofilled in every box?9. Explanation text is a good idea. Some of it appears to be voiced awkwardly. Random example: Why are those things "drivers"? Minor grammatical issues. Yes, i am a grammar nazi.10. Asterisks. So I'm expecting some type of markup?11. This autofilled text is really annoying. At minimum it should clear when I click in the box. Worse is the complete lack of grammar--my subconscious concern is one of these could end up in my final plan.12. I just realized that the stuff in the "Notes" green box has a section for each input field. You need to move that somewhere next to the input field I'm working with. Otherwise it's scroll-->type, scroll->type13. The Financials section is way simplistic. Maybe I'm thinking about a subscription or advertising model, or maybe I charge for something that is sufficiently different than (or unrelated to) primary costs or users. Imagine if eBay, or Google, or Mint were using your site. I looked for a way to turn off this section (impossible) or use my own chart (also impossible).14. Trying to use the "Plan" section on the right for navigation... it's not in any sort of order. I have no idea what section to go to 'next' in the flow. Wait, why is this a flow again? And why is the 'overview' the last stop?15. Ah, so it generates PDFs. Twenty minutes later, I now know what your product does.16. And those PDFs look like crap. Headings and normal text, aparrently. In landscape format. And advertisement for you on every page. Investors will be signing up in droves once they learn that I used "bzplnr".17. The asterisks... are asterisks.18. Clicking "generate..." again gives me "Matt Siegel's" business plan, which is certainly not me, generating FUD about trusting you with my secret plan.You need to look hard at 3/3a, which is where most people will leave. What value are you providing? Right now, the only value is the somewhat-helpful text that I didn't realize was associated with input fields until halfway through. This app is one big form and you need to do some usability work here. Filling out forms isn't fun for anyone, but your task is to figure out a way to make it fun.The finished PDFs look like crap (I can't even do bullet points). The lowest common denominator here is google docs-like markup. The real performance metric is Word templates. Until you at least support textile/markup/google docs styling, nobody's going to hand this PDF to an investor. And you're not really going to see users until you surpass word templates. |
Rate My Startup | mooders: Thanks to everyone for the comments.I have taken the site down for a few days whilst I implement some of the good ideas here.Be back soon with v2.0!Cheers once again. |
Best way to handle Email as a startup? | shafqat: Sounds like a real problem which could be solved with a startup?! Anyone have ideas? |
"found a hardware firm with the same low investment as for software?" | noodle: the more complex the product and/or mass-market target the solution, the more big money is required.i'm considering developing some hardware for a niche market. i won't need VC because i'll be able to hand assemble and produce most everything involved, and its not so complex that i'd need to quit my day job or hire help or take forever doing it.which is not totally dissimilar from software. the big difference is overhead. hardware has tons of it, software doesn't. |
graphical html editor that doesn't corrupt data? | Tamerlin: I'm using Expression Web. I recommend it. Of course, I'm also the sort of person who would use a nailgun when possible rather than a regular hammer, even though I can get what I need to done with a regular hammer and a bit more work. |
Your hobbies? | froo: - I play a bit of tabletop miniatures wargaming, I enjoy it more than chess as the games are generally less serious, yet more social- I like to read - most often you can find me reading non-fiction books, currently reading "Dont Make Me Think" by Steve Krug- I enjoy to BBQ and having friends over for a good meal.- I code, I'm working on something currently that I'm considering applying to YC with (I'm unsure though) thats being built utilising the Django framework.- I used to play mmo's a lot (generally the Everquest series) until I figured out how much time I spent on those games on average.... I no longer play mmos as a result. |
Your hobbies? | rms: Posting here |
Your hobbies? | Anon84: Reading and Photography. I'm nowhere near cool enough to be a painter so I have to let the camera take care of the painting for me. |
Your hobbies? | cousin_it: Music: guitar, singing, beatboxing. Foreign languages. Origami. |
Your hobbies? | DanielBMarkham: Aside from programming and start-ups, right?- Listening to college lectures on my i-Pod (variety of topics)- Photography (especially HDR and low-light stuff)- Muisc (keyboard, MIDI, synth)- Blogging- Traveling- Reading- Watching and participating in political discussions- Hiking |
Your hobbies? | eru: Unicycling, juggling: Very geeky and still impresses 'normal' people. In contrast to math - another hobby of mine.Board games are nice as well. |
Your hobbies? | edw519: 1. Hacker News2. Bridge (I wonder why more hackers don't play; it's the perfect game for us.)3. Foosball4. Boggle5. Eating, drinking, & traveling with friends & family6. The Pittsburgh Steelers7. Drinking beer, preferably along with one of the 6 above8. Fitness/diet (when I'm not doing #7 above) |
Your hobbies? | wlievens: Board games, computer games, sci-fi.Geek stuff :-) |
Your hobbies? | steamboiler: 1. Miniature Wargaming2. Reading3. Playing the Piano4. Traveling5. Trekking |
Your hobbies? | joshwa: Hmmn, photography seems to be popular. I do food/travel photography:http://joshwand.com/food/ (though I actually make some money on this, so don't know if it qualifies as a hobby)Flight Simulation (X-Plane)Cooking (I've taken up real BBQ lately)Eating (see: http://lunchmapr.com (due for a big refactor))GardeningLearning Mandarin |
Your hobbies? | darjen: Swing dancing (lindy hop),
Playing the piano/keyboard,
Reading libertarian articles. |
Your hobbies? | mannylee1: -Mountain Biking
-following the Startup Scene
-following the Cleveland Browns
-Going to the Beach |
Your hobbies? | drewcrawford: 1. Coding (it's a hobby too!)2. Music (piano/keyboard/vocal)3. Arguing (politics/economics)4. Reading (to support #3) |
Your hobbies? | ALee: As a startup (with the little little amount of time):1) Brewing Beer
2) Watching Arrested Development (or Battlestar Galactica) during dinner
3) Playing Rock Band, or sometimes jamming on musical instrumentsPersonally:1) Any physical activity- something with achievement or competition is always nice, MMA is nice
2) Meeting new people
3) Reading about politics
4) Rarely blogging |
Your hobbies? | noodle: 1) hacking. i have a fulltime job that lets me play with projects on the side. both hardware and software stuff.2) fencing. sport/olympic fencing. great sport, i like it, and i'm a national and occasional international level competitor.3) martial arts. not the same as fencing. used to teach for a living, still like to learn.4) gaming. i've enjoyed a MMORPG or FPS in my time. |
Your hobbies? | thisisnotmyname: 1. Cycling
2. Tennis
3. Chess |
Your hobbies? | wynand: 1. Programming2. Leaning new (human) languages3. Hiking4. Philosophy and politics5. Extended conversations with good friends about 1, 2 or 46. Gardening (a bit) |
Your hobbies? | niels_olson: fulltime: medical student, husband, dadparttime:- learning the deep magic- the community projects where I practice what little neophyte magic I know- cycling- photography |
Your hobbies? | chris_l: Reading, traveling, zazen, going out and sports |
Your hobbies? | klein_waffle: Am I the only one who wants to call "bullshit" on some of these claims of having a hobby?A hobby is something you can actually get better at. Watching TV is not a hobby.A hobby is something to which you give sustained effort. Some people claim to be into cooking and have dinner parties, but if you do that less than twice a month I don't think that counts. I realize that many of us have been ruined by modern convenience living and the programmer lifestyle, so it is an effort to get a meal for four or more together. But cooking for other people is supposed to be normal; it's not hobby material.And photography: everybody has a digital camera now. Get real. Unless you have gotten in a vehicle with equipment specifically for the purpose of photographing something and no other reason, you're not really a photographer.I hesitate to call MMOs a hobby. They do meet the definition, but the physical experience -- sitting in front of a computer , collaborating with others in virtual spaces -- is very close to the sort of work most of us do for eight or more hours a day already. I think if you garden or do bicycle couriering, you're allowed to claim that MMOs are your hobby, but otherwise no.Please understand that I'm not condemning anyone, but I think a lot of us are deluding ourselves. We don't want to admit how narrow we are, and how we really spend our leisure time. I'm willing to bet that programmed entertainments, like TV, movies, games, or pornography top the list of actual hours spent. It's sad, because at the age of 80, I don't think anyone's going to look back on their lives and say "DAMN! If only I had gotten through all my Galactica DVDs...." Maybe RescueTime should do something about this.As for me: I used to have hobbies, but now I don't. It's a serious problem and I think it contributes to an ongoing low-level depression. I do read an enormous amount, but as stated above, this is not a hobby. It's a really bad situation. I think my hobby is dreaming up startups which, for visa and other reasons, I can't do much about. |
Your hobbies? | Parthon: 1. Programming
2. Playing computer games
3. Bowling
4. Playing Piano
5. French!
6. Cycling
7. Travel
8. Exercise
9. Watching Movies - they have to be good though |
Your hobbies? | raghus: 1. Travel & Photography2. Astronomy (I have a small telescope)3. Birdwatching |
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