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Yeah, it's frustrating. I was using Sparrow until it got acquired and then shut down. Then switched to Mailbox... which then got acquired... Whoops. I ended up

by vu0tran 11y ago

Yeah, it's frustrating. I was using Sparrow until it got acquired and then shut down. Then switched to Mailbox... which then got acquired... Whoops. I ended up so frustrated I created my own email client in my spare time and half accidentally got into YC S14 haha. You can check it out here: http://www.slidemailapp.com http://www.slidemailapp.com I'll admit, as a previous poster said, it's not without it's flaws but we try hard and we really do spend all our waking hours improving it since it's our baby and we love it to death. We've been beta testing the private current release with a lot of Hacker News users and I think we're fast approaching something really awesome! Feel free to email me at vu0tran@gmail.com for a beta invite and would LOVE to hear your suggestions of what you'd like to see in an email client!! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10313425 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10313425

jonursenbach 11y ago
What's your end goal with this? Surely it must be getting acquired by one of the big email providers.
- limeyx 11y ago
  ...and then get shutdown?
- timjahn 11y ago
  Exactly. By joining YC, the goal is automatically getting acquired. So the parent is solving the problem temporarily, until they become the problem.
- alanh 11y ago
  Without joining the rush to judgement, allow me to say that I find this to be a legitimate inquiry, especially given the nature of your appeal in this thread. Care to respond?
- vu0tran 11y ago
  Yup. Acquired for $101M then subsequently shut down in 1-2 years (just kidding of course). I don't know if it's in my best interest to answer this publicly, but screw it. The honest answer is I'm not entirely too sure, but an acquisition is always on the table for any startup IMO. I think whenever you ask a founder, "If someone offered you $100M, would you take it?", it's a pretty loaded question. There's really three outcomes to a startup: They die, they get acquired, they IPO. The thing is, if you think your company is valued at $1M and someone offers you $100M, of course you're most likely going to take it. It's 100x what you were expecting and it would be unwise not to take it. However, if you deep down believe that your company is worth more or can be worth more than the offering price and you have the proof to back it up, then it'd be unwise to take the offer. For me, I strongly believe that email has A LOT to go. I mean, it's nearly 2016 and I still can't connect my Dropbox to my Gmail app client or send stuff into Evernote / Trello? Given all the time we spend on email, shouldn't we at least have some better automation / AI integration by now? Something smarter and more contextually aware that can make my life a bit easier? So many people use email in the world. Literally everyone that has a Facebook account has to have an email account. I think the reason why we haven't seen a billion dollar plus company yet is that it's very ubiquitous and it's hard to build solutions for the masses. So companies give up, sell out, close down, and then we have to start again at ground zero. So to your question, what's the end goal? Well, if we're right about our beliefs, hopefully we can become the next billion dollar company. If not, then it's the other two options: get acquired or die. Which one will it be? No idea, but we're just working our butts off right now.
  - meesterdude 11y ago
    > There's really three outcomes to a startup: They die, they get acquired, they IPO. There's a fourth: they serve the needs of their customers over the course of years and decades. which, as someone in the market for an email client I can fall in love with and use for the rest of my life; is exactly what I want.
    - lewisl9029 11y ago
      It's interesting that this option wasn't even considered. Why does every startup need to aim to take over the world overnight? Is it not feasible to first take external funding to grow quickly in early stages, and then transition to a more organic growth model once you reach a point of profitability and sustainability (and maybe also slowly buy back shares in the company to eventually become fully autonomous)?
      - jarek 11y ago
        If that was an option, he wouldn't be in YC, half-accidentally or otherwise. Nothing against YC here, but long-term steady-state isn't what they're looking for. Remember that next time you start using a VC-funded tool.
        s73v3r 11y ago
        Again, how was that not an option? Why did he have to get into YC? What's wrong with telling them that the type of unsustainable growth isn't right for their business now that they've had a chance to look at things?
      - toomuchtodo 11y ago
        > Why does every startup need to aim to take over the world overnight? Its preferable to work on a project for a few years instead of half/full decades.
        NeutronBoy 11y ago
stdbrouw 11y ago
Nitpick: "If you delete the application from your phone, your data is gone for good" is the worst possible way to phrase what is otherwise an excellent feature :-)
- vu0tran 11y ago
  Haha, thanks for the feedback. Copywriting was never my strong suit ;) Any tips on how I can improve it?
  - elecengin 11y ago
    "We don't own your data - Your emails never leave your phone."
    - vu0tran 11y ago
      Thanks for the tip!
    - dschep 11y ago
      Devil(Luddite)'s advocate: "But how do I send emails to my friend's phone then?!"
      - poooogles 11y ago
        "Your inbox never leaves your phone", copy isn't my strong suit either.
klapinat0r 11y ago
vu0tran, I'm almost sold. It looks great, and I love the private part (which was the one thing I could barely live with in Mailbox). If you do snooze[1], I'll throw all my money at you :) [1]: which of course either requires server side (e.g. Mailbox) or (preferably) client side logic. I'd be fine with the latter, but I agree it's a non-trivial problem.

by vu0tran 11y ago

jonursenbach 11y ago

What's your end goal with this? Surely it must be getting acquired by one of the big email providers.

limeyx 11y ago
...and then get shutdown?
timjahn 11y ago
Exactly. By joining YC, the goal is automatically getting acquired. So the parent is solving the problem temporarily, until they become the problem.
alanh 11y ago
Without joining the rush to judgement, allow me to say that I find this to be a legitimate inquiry, especially given the nature of your appeal in this thread. Care to respond?
vu0tran 11y ago
Yup. Acquired for $101M then subsequently shut down in 1-2 years (just kidding of course). I don't know if it's in my best interest to answer this publicly, but screw it. The honest answer is I'm not entirely too sure, but an acquisition is always on the table for any startup IMO. I think whenever you ask a founder, "If someone offered you $100M, would you take it?", it's a pretty loaded question. There's really three outcomes to a startup: They die, they get acquired, they IPO. The thing is, if you think your company is valued at $1M and someone offers you $100M, of course you're most likely going to take it. It's 100x what you were expecting and it would be unwise not to take it. However, if you deep down believe that your company is worth more or can be worth more than the offering price and you have the proof to back it up, then it'd be unwise to take the offer. For me, I strongly believe that email has A LOT to go. I mean, it's nearly 2016 and I still can't connect my Dropbox to my Gmail app client or send stuff into Evernote / Trello? Given all the time we spend on email, shouldn't we at least have some better automation / AI integration by now? Something smarter and more contextually aware that can make my life a bit easier? So many people use email in the world. Literally everyone that has a Facebook account has to have an email account. I think the reason why we haven't seen a billion dollar plus company yet is that it's very ubiquitous and it's hard to build solutions for the masses. So companies give up, sell out, close down, and then we have to start again at ground zero. So to your question, what's the end goal? Well, if we're right about our beliefs, hopefully we can become the next billion dollar company. If not, then it's the other two options: get acquired or die. Which one will it be? No idea, but we're just working our butts off right now.
- meesterdude 11y ago
  > There's really three outcomes to a startup: They die, they get acquired, they IPO. There's a fourth: they serve the needs of their customers over the course of years and decades. which, as someone in the market for an email client I can fall in love with and use for the rest of my life; is exactly what I want.
  - lewisl9029 11y ago
    It's interesting that this option wasn't even considered. Why does every startup need to aim to take over the world overnight? Is it not feasible to first take external funding to grow quickly in early stages, and then transition to a more organic growth model once you reach a point of profitability and sustainability (and maybe also slowly buy back shares in the company to eventually become fully autonomous)?
    - jarek 11y ago
      If that was an option, he wouldn't be in YC, half-accidentally or otherwise. Nothing against YC here, but long-term steady-state isn't what they're looking for. Remember that next time you start using a VC-funded tool.
      - s73v3r 11y ago
        Again, how was that not an option? Why did he have to get into YC? What's wrong with telling them that the type of unsustainable growth isn't right for their business now that they've had a chance to look at things?
    - toomuchtodo 11y ago
      > Why does every startup need to aim to take over the world overnight? Its preferable to work on a project for a few years instead of half/full decades.
      - NeutronBoy 11y ago

stdbrouw 11y ago

Nitpick: "If you delete the application from your phone, your data is gone for good" is the worst possible way to phrase what is otherwise an excellent feature :-)

vu0tran 11y ago
Haha, thanks for the feedback. Copywriting was never my strong suit ;) Any tips on how I can improve it?
- elecengin 11y ago
  "We don't own your data - Your emails never leave your phone."
  - vu0tran 11y ago
    Thanks for the tip!
  - dschep 11y ago
    Devil(Luddite)'s advocate: "But how do I send emails to my friend's phone then?!"
    - poooogles 11y ago
      "Your inbox never leaves your phone", copy isn't my strong suit either.

klapinat0r 11y ago

vu0tran, I'm almost sold. It looks great, and I love the private part (which was the one thing I could barely live with in Mailbox). If you do snooze[1], I'll throw all my money at you :) [1]: which of course either requires server side (e.g. Mailbox) or (preferably) client side logic. I'd be fine with the latter, but I agree it's a non-trivial problem.