melanie_io

4 ms·

1.
by melanie_io 14y ago
Do you think that is a marker for success in life? A photo sharing app 'geared for massive growth'?
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by melanie_io 14y ago
So, profitable business, totally bootstrapped, growing at 20% a month. I guess you could call that "taking it easy." If you think my argument is not well-reasoned, then you should refute it, not just insult me. Lastly, and I don't think the
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by melanie_io 14y ago
So, under this reasoning, you are saying all bootstrapped entrepreneurs are average and a waste of life, simply because they choose to go it alone, and not take funding. Hmm, what was that? Something about man, made of out straw...
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by melanie_io 14y ago
OR, most people realize that building a wildly successful photo app / car sharing service / daily deal site does not 'make a dent in the universe.'
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by melanie_io 14y ago
I think you either did not read the article, or did not understand it. I am certainly not advocating 'giving up' in any sense. I doubt you would say that DHH or Tim Ferris have 'given up' and 'settled in their twenties.' I even say outright
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by melanie_io 14y ago
That is a fair point. However, even if you adjust the assumptions for expected value to be 3% (vs 25%, which is what I use), it is still an expected value of $43,000, over 14x greater than that of your average "I want to be the next Instagr
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Build a Business, Not an Exit Strategy(melanie.io)
142 points by melanie_io 14y ago|81 comments
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Charlie Hit On Me One Silicon Alley VC’s Quest for Love and Other Startups(betabeat.com)
2 points by melanie_io 15y ago|0 comments
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Thank you Eric.
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by melanie_io 15y ago
TechStars is an absolutely amazing program, and we had a fantastic experience. I could not be more complementary of the program itself. My post was only commenting on the TV show, and trying to clear up some events that were portrayed by Bl
11.
by melanie_io 15y ago
I agree. I think TechStars had nothing but the best of intentions, and they were sold a bill of goods from Bloomberg that the show would be a documentary. I think this is why they were so adamant about each company participating: because th
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Please do not let the show color your opinion of TechStars. I would do the program over in a heartbeat, and made lifelong friends and mentors along the way. Tisch / Cohen / Feld and the entire organization is fantastic.
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Check out The Founders series mentioned above - it is fantastic.
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Every company was required to participate: the choice was (1) do the show or (2) drop out of TechStars. Bloomberg followed all 11 (not 10) companies throughout the entire program, but focused only on 6 companies because it was impossible to
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by melanie_io 15y ago
No, they literally just made it up, and paid a narrator to do a voice-over.
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by melanie_io 15y ago
I did not have to show up last night. But I also did not want Bloomberg to be able to guide / direct the last word on ToVieFor. In addition, Tisch and Cohen fought VERY hard to make sure the finale episode was positive, which I knew ahead o
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by melanie_io 15y ago
You are right - this is exactly what I DID expect would happen - even though it was sold to us as a documentary on a business channel. Unfortunately, every company in our TechStars class was forced to participate. So, the decision for all o
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We Are NY Tech: $100k 'Raise Cache' Event for HackNY(wearenytech.com)
1 points by melanie_io 15y ago|0 comments
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Back in the real world, it is actually happening the other way around. Retailers and brands (which have all the power and money) are becoming the content creators and poaching talent from the publishing industry. Quote below from a Business
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Yep - there is a huge market for this, one that Net-A-Porter and Mr. Porter dominate (~$200 million in revenue). They take care of the sizing issues with flexible returns and personal stylists. Since 80% of their revenue comes from only 2%
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by melanie_io 15y ago
You are missing a very key point here: consumers do not decide what they wear, the fashion / PR machine decides that for them. Think about this: while a girl may discover a cool, new designer on Pintrest and buy a dress from that designer,
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by melanie_io 15y ago
Huge fan of what you guys are doing. It speaks volumes that Carmen choose you as one of her first investments post Net-A-Porter. The products are really well-curated and it is one of the few sites I have seen that might actually have a shot
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by melanie_io 15y ago
I was actually discussing this very point with a good friend of mine who also runs a fashion startup the other day. To refine what I said: it's not that discoverability is not a problem, it's that all of the new fashion apps (from Lyst to F