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Cloning a US startup for a european country ? | ndc: How about contacting the original site, maybe you can become its affiliate in France? |
When to stop obsessing over conversion | fbailey: Amazon gets nearly 10% in some areas, I worked with startups where we got the Conversion rates from 1% to 5% this was mostly adwords and landing page optimizitaion.At the end conversion rates define your cost per user and how much you have to make with each user. So don't stop worrying. |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | pmjordan: Start using it yourself, maybe even with a cron job that regularly pulls the latest changes into your local repositories. I give it 2 or 3 version conflict or deleted file incidents where your use of VC saves the day. |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | megamark16: When I started my last job they weren't using version control, so I just told them that if nothing else it would be very easy and painless to just check in every time we push to production so that we always have a snapshot of the last version. The problem with them was that their developer would go and mak... |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | stonemetal: I would tell him you want to setup a source control server (That you personally will administer so no overhead or extra work for him.) Have it be fully optional aka people who use it have to fully comply with current practices(Everyone has to be able to work as if it doesn't exist.) That way he gets zero ... |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | andrewcooke: one advantage you might use to "sell" the idea is that it lets people work on laptops away from their desk more easily (i'm imagining that a marketing company is full of people wandering round, brainstorming in cafes, etc... :o) |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | jarsj: Drop a note explaining potential disasters of using such a system to everyone including your lead developer's boss. Then wait for the disaster to happen. And then shout again pointing to your email. |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | Kliment: Didn't Joel write an article about that sometime ago? Ah, here it is: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000332.html The point of it is, use it yourself. If you use subversion or whatever else (seems you are familiar with subversion so go ahead and use that) then you can roll back changes, you can d... |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | mbrubeck: Here are my top ten, mostly web-related in some way because of my interests. These are the "loud alpha geeks" - the ones who broadcast their interests via regularly-updated blogs or curated links. (There are plenty of "quiet alpha geeks" who are just as "alpha" but not as easy to follow online.)Brad Fitzpat... |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | freebsd_dude: I prefer to read up on people whose work is timeless: Claude Shannon, John Tukey, Jon Klienberg, the bioinformaticians whose work will one day discover a cure for cancer, etc. |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | gte910h: I'd say you should start using Git or Hg or any distributed system immediately. No need to worry about getting complete adoption for those to be exceedingly effective. Svn (or any "centralized only" SCM) is less capable in an environment such as this as it requires everyone to adopt at once.After you have a we... |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | prosa: Joe Damato's posts are always fascinating reminders of the benefit of understanding what's under the hood.http://timetobleed.com/ |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | runevault: I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head who I consider a real alpha geek, but Rich blows my mind on a constant basis with clojure and how he's doing things there. Not just the technical work, but his taste in design is impressive. |
Any non-techies have advice for a good cover letter? | asolove: My father always told me (and it's worked for me):- The cover letter gets you an interview. From a huge pile of applications, it makes you somehow memorable to a hiring manager who would just like to make the right decision quickly. So don't bother with flowery nonsense and don't worry about being off-putting ... |
Any non-techies have advice for a good cover letter? | nkh: If you haven't seen the article below, it is a great resource to forward on to your brother. To quote it:For the background part, I like to see what someone has done.Not been involved in, or been part of, or watched happen, or was hanging around when it happened.I look for something you've done, either in a job o... |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | maxdemarzi: Upgrade your Idea skill into Design and you'll be worth something.Anybody can come up with an idea, many less can design how that idea will be executed. |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | terra_t: Didn't Edison say that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration? I think he's right.I get cool ideas for things to do every day, probably enough to fill a few man years. I've got to filter that stream down to a very small list that fits my available time and resources. Since I've got a long backlog of... |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | camperman: I've taken lots of Steve Yegge's advice - more than anyone else I've read - but I only catch up with what he's doing once a quarter or so. |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | apsurd: Seems like you are answering your own question. You know ideas are only the seed. Execution, iteration, and persistence is what makes things tangible.So make your idea engine tangible. The website thing sounds like a fine idea to try - mostly because you will foster connections with other people."I will be shor... |
git-svn resources? | notaddicted: I have this bookmarked: http://andy.delcambre.com/2008/03/04/git-svn-workflow.html |
git-svn resources? | angelbob: Here's one I liked: http://flavio.castelli.name/howto_use_git_with_svn |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | anamax: > I hear something from someone and immediately come up with ideas about it. It's what I do. It's what I'm excellent at.That's not a rare skill. Lots of people do it. Many of them are also good at execution.The latter limits your market somewhat. You're competing for the attention of good executers who don't... |
Please review my start-up - planergize.com | dwohlfahrt: Geez... with all the negativity on here (I realize he's asking for criticism, but would it hurt to throw in a tad of positive feedback as well?!) I feel obligated to tell you that I think what you've created, while it still needs a bit of polish and refinement, is quite impressive and useful (especially mad... |
Who are the Alpha Geeks you follow? | MaysonL: Alan Kay, and his colleagues at vpri.orgGilad Bracha, and the newspeak crew at newspeaklanguage.orgTerry Jones, at fluidinfo.com |
What's wrong with the HTML in this line? | maxdemarzi: Maybe it's not a technical question, but a logical question.It's a direct to product link labeled as a company link? |
git-svn resources? | boyter: This is going to sound rude, but how about you do what the people paying you tell you to do? Thats why they give you money, to provide them value which you will not be doing while trying to circumvent their procedures and rules.Maybe they evaluated GIT and decided their business case suited SVN more?You wouldnt... |
What's wrong with the HTML in this line? | RiderOfGiraffes: I regard this as a chance to learn something about the technical details of HTML, so my answer whould not be regarded as definitive. Or even correct.However ...It depends on the variant of HTML, but surely "<p>" is not a, what's the technical term, container? In the variants of HTML that use <p> you ... |
What's wrong with the HTML in this line? | mooism2: They may be objecting to use of target, which isn't allowed in html 4 strict as far as I remember. But if they're expecting TV presenters to hand-write html, that's a bit picky. |
What do you use to manage your affiliate programs? | solost: Check out:
ShareASale.com
MyAffiliateProgram.com
CJ.com |
What do you use to manage your affiliate programs? | incredimike: My company uses CJ.com for our affiliate program. |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | jdietrich: Schizophrenics are also ideas guys. An idea is just a fragment of thought. It's one step above the sparkles you see when you rub your eyes. Having lots of ideas isn't a skill as far as I'm concerned, just and indication that you have an inflated sense of your own importance and ability.Knowledge and experien... |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | lukev: I'm a "doer", but I'm always looking for good ideas. I'll take your ideas, and you can have 1% of the profits afterward if I implement them.Find enough guys like me, and you could actually make a comfortable living.Not sure how you'd actually implement something like that, though. No way to prove an idea was ori... |
How would you spend $25 on barnesandnoble.com? | helwr: buy Zen-and-the-Art-of-Motorcycle-Maintenance (paperback, $7.21), spend the rest on coffee |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | mickt: I just wonder that if they're not savvy enough to use a RCS what other types of battles will you have to fight in the future?If I was in your shoes, I'd start looking for another job with a company with a bit more technical sophistication. Somewhere that the battles you fight aren't over trivial technology probl... |
How would you spend $25 on barnesandnoble.com? | cgherb911: art of the start by guy kawasaki |
How would you spend $25 on barnesandnoble.com? | patio11: I really can't recommend The Long Tail enough. It is overrated and overstated and still the single most important book I've ever read about marketing on the Internet. |
How would you convince your company to start using version control? | p858snake: Perhaps put a business case forward with the benefits of transferring to a version control system?For example:
* Easy rollbacks
* Easily work on separate branches
* etc |
How would you spend $25 on barnesandnoble.com? | navyrain: Although its not really in the same vein as hacker news, I really enjoyed Gang Leader for a Day: http://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp... |
Beautiful GUI vs. Total control? | niyazpk: For me (and AFAIK for many people here), it is not about either.We want to get the work done, and run the businesses. We want to solve people's problems. We are prefer tools that helps us solve these problems in the easiest and most efficient way.If an application/OS/tool has a user friendly and intuitive inte... |
I'm an idea guy. Apparently I'm worth nothing? | mpf62: I know of a company that makes a living for about two dozen people selling (or better developing) ideas.Maybe you find some inspiration on their website:
http://www.brainstore.com |
Beautiful GUI vs. Total control? | dawson: I'm more of a "Beautiful GUI" type of guy |
Beautiful GUI vs. Total control? | kilian: If you think linux equals total control, try Gnome :) (not a jab, I love gnome particularly because it doesn't have the settings-everywhere model)My gut instinct says "beautiful GUI", but that comes with the big IF it satisfies all I want to do with it. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | fariz: How far along is the company? What's your current status, do you need the money? How much do you believe in the product? What % of the workload is going to fall on you, and how much do they need your skillset? How do their resources look (money, time, etc)?There's a lot of things you'll need to explain before be... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | Tichy: Have they done any work before? If not, getting the same share seems fair enough. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | jerguismi: If two of you are doing coding, what are the two other guys doing? What kind of value are they adding? Negotiate the equity based on the value you think you add.I wouldn't even consider joining that kind of startup, I think 4 people is not manageable if everyone is working just for equity. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | seven: I think this is very realistic.No salary is a big no go for me. This is something I could only do with close friends that I have known for years.Think about it this way: If those 3 guys really believe somehow in their project, they should be able to find some money to give you as a minimal salary.If they expect ... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | hga: You should get "a lot", but unless they're just beginning and you're very close to effectively being a partner rather than an employee, the same or very close isn't realistic.Be sure to do your due diligence on their character. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | Estragon: You will be bargaining. Ask for a big share to begin with, possibly more than a quarter of the equity. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | ido: 3 founders, only 1 of which a technical person?Don't waste your time. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | swombat: As an employee, you don't work for no salary, period.As a cofounder, you should get a significant share of the business (around the same % as the others have). |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | patio11: I don't remember who I'm quoting, but I think it is instructive: "There is a word for a technical employee who works for equity rather than salary. It is: 'co-founder.'" (And if not co-founder, a close runner-up is probably "fool.") |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | sachinag: This is where vesting schedules are everyone's friend.I generally think that you should get a grant for the same number of shares that the three founders do, but if everyone's on a vesting schedule, they'll still own more than you for the next four years from today. After that, you'll all be on the same econ... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | astrec: Read the equity equation if you haven't already done so: http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html |
Should one avoid using niche technologies for a startup? | davidw: This site would not exist and none of us would be here had pg not been successful with Viaweb, which utilized Lisp. I think that PG and company were probably bright enough that things would have worked out with other technologies too, but Lisp made them happy and more productive, I guess. |
Should one avoid using niche technologies for a startup? | scottdrake: I can't tell you how many startups I've run across who are deperately looking for programmers who know [insert cutting edge/obscure technology here].Because they can't find anyone they like, they are stuck making bad/deperate hires or with the prospect of rebuilding the codebase. The list of technologies th... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | gizmo: If they don't pay for your living expenses I would classify you as a co-founder, not as an employee. The share you get should correspond to how much you contribute and how much they have done already. Anything from 15%-35% can be reasonable, but it very much depends.The real questions are:a) can you afford to ta... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | elblanco: 25% |
Should one avoid using niche technologies for a startup? | jswinghammer: It's probably wise to use a more common framework. Even if you are more productive initially being able to hire people when you're off focusing on some other aspect of the business is important too.I'm not sure there is a huge productivity difference between the modern frameworks unless you really know no... |
Should one avoid using niche technologies for a startup? | prosa: The best path forward is the one that lets you iterate easily and bring a product to market as quickly as possible. Until you have validated your MVP with customers you are burning cash with the risk of zero return.When and if (and it's a BIG if) companies are expressing interest in acquiring your technology, y... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | sailormoon: 25%, of course. |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | jasonlbaptiste: a) how far along are they? (just starting, coded some stuff, beta ready,etc.?)b) do you think there will be minimal money in the company at some point soon?c) is this a product you really want to see built? In other words: if they were two of your buddies, you were having a drink late one night, would... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | sw1205: It has been a month exactly since we posted Favilous for review.You all gave us such excellent feedback and we have been working through each of those to try to enhance the site. We also have a lot of exciting new features that we are working on in the next month or two.We have redesigned the homepage in line w... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | Jim_Neath: The bookmark tools slide down animation is incredibly jerky is safari.Also the front page doesn't tell me enough to get me excited about your product. How does it differ from Reddit/Delicious? What makes it special? Why should I sign up? |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | jbbarnes: Hi guys,I have gone back to your last submission and think you have, largely, done well.You have taken the comments on board and implemented them pretty effectively. 275 users is pretty good going too.I would like to be able to convert my existing bookmarks however before I sign up with you..Keep up the good ... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | anamax: > How much should I ask for?More than you can get. (Unfortunately, biz folk respect folks who play games.)It comes down to alternatives, yours and theirs.You shouldn't join if you've got better alternatives. They shouldn't pay you (salary, equity) more than it would cost them to get "good enough" from someone... |
Should one avoid using niche technologies for a startup? | icey: I don't think acquisition will be as much of an issue as recruiting employees will.If you think you can find people to work for your company who either know those languages or can learn them quickly enough to not kill your productivity or your product, then go for it. Otherwise, you may want to think about making... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | whyleyc: Here's a link to the original feedback - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1060022 |
PhD students - how do you find a remarkable research topic? | mechanical_fish: You could do worse than to listen to Hamming:http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.htmlBut, having said that, when you ask:Is it dumb luck, inherited gift, or the result of a process that can be learned?The answer is "all of the above". You need to follow good procedures that you will learn with experience... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | nandemo: Cool.Bike-shed-color style: when I tried the tour, I was told to click the "Play" button. I did, but then I found it doesn't really "play" it. It's a "next" button, you have to keep on clicking it. |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | metamemetics: Impression:I'm not sure why I'd sign up. It says something about bookmarking, but like most people I already have a bunch of bookmarks in my web browser and wouldn't want them in two different places. Does it integrate the two?Or is it another sharing stuff with people site? If so how does it differ from ... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | zinxq: Unless they have a ton of the product already built, I agree with everyone here - you're a founder.If they had a product up and running or even with customers, then you have to give some consideration.The "idea" itself is worthless. Its all about the execution - and as a no-salary, techie - its going to be your ... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | FreeRadical: The tour looks beautiful! |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | johnconroy: stylish. I like the idea of saving a bookmark to look at later... does the service email you at your primary email address??? |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | jaydub: I think the design looks cool. Personally, I would like to see the fonts in the main graphic a little fuller & "fatter" if you will. I think those bullet points are part of your key selling points, so they should probably be bold and strong in order to draw more attention. |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | NEPatriot: In your responses here you state you are aiming this product at the masses.
So I'm going to attempt to review your site from this angle.Before putting on my typical user hat let me say that I like the concept quite a bit and the site design is very nice.I am putting my 'mass market consumer' hat which means ... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | vaksel: employees never make money in a startup, unless the company becomes Google size.Let's say they give you 10% equity.And let's be realistic. Even if the company succeeds, can the company become a 20 million dollar company in 5 years? 10 million? 5 million? 2 million? Or is it more likely to just be a $500K/yr bus... |
Please review my website | njrc: I like the idea of easy registration, but I am not really sure that No Registration Required is all that attractive to me (as a buyer or seller) for this type of application.Other user goods marketplaces give an idea of seller's histories, in form of ratings, reviews, and so forth. I think that can be really help... |
founders wants me to join for just equity, how much should I ask for? | mark_l_watson: I would not do this. Several years ago, an investor was putting together a team and offered me 30% salary and some equity - with a 1 year commitment to see if the business would fly. Because the business plan seemed so good, I was going to go for it but then promptly backed out when I was asked to forgo ... |
Please re-review my new website www.favilous.com | cjg: I couldn't immediately get the video to play (IO_ERROR), looked around for something else that would tell me what the site did, failed, gave up. My recommendation - add a text based explanation of what your site is for. |
PhD students - how do you find a remarkable research topic? | yannis: With hindsight I would suggest the following:(01) Most PhD Research is unremarkable. Do some research in your field, list all PhD theses over the last 30 years and give them a score. How many made a mark on the field? My guess possibly 1/1000. You can do the same with journal papers, possibly 1/3000.(02) Citati... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | there: raise the price. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | allenbrunson: clickable link to my game:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hearts-net/id353101111?mt=8 |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | davidedicillo: The algo used by Apple to calculate the rankings take counts (most probably) of the past 4 days of sales. My suggestion is now that you are up there to push sales as much as possible. A sale would definitely help, maybe $1.99 ($0.99 is synonymous of low quality) and see if you can get any friends or peop... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | gte910h: Toss out a new version with a "tell people about me" feature where they can email a link or twitter about it. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | rubyrescue: just clicked through to your blog - the more interesting story is how you crippled the free version that had 30k downloads and the subsequent fallout. really interesting! don't back down now! |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | ajross: Number 33 in the App Store is only making $100/day? |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | charlesju: Buy some fancy clothes before the IRS takes half. hahaCongratulations. Breaking into any top ranks of the app store is always exciting. I would ask yourself if there is a long-term, after-work, or short-term play here and act accordingly. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | aresant: Your application seems slightly more niche for your category, I'm not sure that a lower price is going to necessarily drive up sales but I absolutely encourage you to test - I dont see how lowering the price could send you backwards.I have experience with two completely opposite end of the spectrum apps in the... |
What to do after graduation? | hga: Isn't a BA in the U.K. considered to be perhaps 3/4 of a US BA? That would tend to indicate you should do some serious study, even better do some real research and coding.The best way to get accepted by a university's graduate program is to get one of the professors to say "admit this guy". Arrange some research... |
What to do after graduation? | scorpioxy: Personally, I would either get a meaningful internship or spend it partly relaxing and studying.A meaningful internship doesn't have to be at MS or GOOG. It could be anywhere where you'd build a real system so you'd get to see first-hand how such systems are built(technical and non-technical challenges). Bon... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | gursikh: This is probably what you were going to do anyway, but here goes:1. Reduce the price by a dollar. Track for a week, see if profits increase. If they don't jack the price back up.2. If they do, reduce the price even more, track the profits. If this causes profit to decrease, jack the price back up.The idea is t... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | colinplamondon: You're not stable yet, since volume goes WAY up once you're in the Top 25 of a category. It then goes through the roof when you're in the Top 5. Even though you're seeing great sales now, you need to push into the Top 25 to see phenomenal sales. To be safe, get into the Top 15, that way you have more ma... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | hockeybias: I completely agree with davidedicillo. |
What to do after graduation? | PostOnce: Start a startup? You have the education and you have the tools. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | dirtbox: Honestly? Make a sequel with more features/games ASAP and drop the price of the first to $1.99. You'll have your very own cash cow.Assuming of course that it didn't take you a year to create the first. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | vijayr: Have a feature like "buy one get one free", so someone can buy a copy for himself and gift a copy to a friend. Its better than lowering the price. |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | hyung: If I were in your position, I'd do a few things simultaneously:- Cut the price to $1.99.- Contact as many app review sites and forums as possible and tell them that, thanks to support from the community, you've decided to reduce the price for a few days, and give away a few copies of the game.- Give the sites pr... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | varaon: I've read through your blog posts, and while I agree with your "crippling" of the free version, I don't agree with how it was done.With Hearts Solo, are there not better ways to make a trial version of a game than to randomly interrupt a match? Most trial software makes the user aware of how they will be limit... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | danielh: I can't comment on the pricing, but IMHO both the description and the support website have room for improvement.Half of the short description I see in iTunes describes what the app can't do (no multiplayer over Internet). Only when I click on "more", I see the wealth of features. You could write "play with you... |
got to 33 in the App Store. Now what? | mikek: Please let us know the results of your experiment in a future HN post. There is not much info out there on the results of these kind of experiments. |
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