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I have to wonder, is there some minimum value add for a site to be considered a startup? I mean, great, but this is just another Stack Exchange instance .. how

I have to wonder, is there some minimum value add for a site to be considered a startup? I mean, great, but this is just another Stack Exchange instance .. how long before that software is considered as basically a standard tool like WordPress? If it isn't already? Do we talk about some lightly-customised Wordpress blog "failing to launch"? Hell at least that might have original content. Making available an instance of server software you didn't write, with some minimal twist, != startup, IMO.

vaksel 17y ago
true, but the key to any site is content. It doesn't matter if you have some cool new technology, users don't care about that. And I call it a launch, since noone knows about SO, let alone SE, except for a few thousand tech geeks. So the idea of "oh it's just another wordpress blog" didn't come up in the decision to cover it. And hey, I had a phone interview with Venture Beat...when I launched my "non-startup"...which is more than some "startups" can say. Techcrunch is just a wordpress blog and it gets 7.5 million uniques. WikiHow is just a mediawiki instance and it gets 20 million uniques. You can't focus too much on a platform. You think those guys couldn't build their own product from scratch? Sure they could, but then they'd have wasted 1-2 years in development time, when they didn't have to, and that's just stupid. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of turn key solutions being used to make a business. Meanwhile your cool new startup with 3 years of coding, 100,000 lines of code, gets 50 hits a day. Sure I could have went out and coded up my own Q&A site, but why do that when I can just use a turn key solution? Plus there are already >4,000 lines of customization code in the site, which is probably more than some people have in their "unique" web apps, who you'd label as a startup. Being a startup is a state of mind, you can be a "startup" with a hello world application, as long as you feel you are. It doesn't matter how you get there, all that matters, is that at the end of the day you are working towards building something positive. And we are getting plenty of traffic to justify that we are doing something people need. Hence the startup label.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  > It doesn't matter if you have some cool new technology, users don't care about that. That's precisely what they care about :) BTW those examples you give built up content and traffic over a long period of time. They were innovative in their areas - but not with their technology, with their content and their focus. (Im not commenting on you being a startup or not btw)
  - vaksel 17y ago
    actually no they don't. All they care about is results. Same goes double for me. Sure I could have coded the thing up myself. Wasted a year, two, building the product, made 2-3 extra features. And for what? To get a "good job, but it's just another answers site" and a pat on the back? Screw that, I'd rather use those 2 years to build up my content and traffic. Content is all that matters anyways. Content drives traffic, content gets users to stick around. Who wants to waste 2 years building a site, only to have to start out with 50 users a day traffic numbers?
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      I wasn't talking about building a site etc. Just addressing that one statement. users Really love cool stuff. What you have isn't something with cool features, your right it is content. That kind of site will take a year or more to build up. But it is the same process your pouring scorn on :-) there is still no guarantee.
      - vaksel 17y ago
        Cool features will come later. The current version of the site is basically just a way to start building up traffic for the big idea. But yeah it'll probably take 1-2 years to build up the content and traffic. But you gotta start somewhere, 10 people here, 10 people there, and before long, you are hitting millions of people a month.

vaksel 17y ago

true, but the key to any site is content. It doesn't matter if you have some cool new technology, users don't care about that. And I call it a launch, since noone knows about SO, let alone SE, except for a few thousand tech geeks. So the idea of "oh it's just another wordpress blog" didn't come up in the decision to cover it. And hey, I had a phone interview with Venture Beat...when I launched my "non-startup"...which is more than some "startups" can say. Techcrunch is just a wordpress blog and it gets 7.5 million uniques. WikiHow is just a mediawiki instance and it gets 20 million uniques. You can't focus too much on a platform. You think those guys couldn't build their own product from scratch? Sure they could, but then they'd have wasted 1-2 years in development time, when they didn't have to, and that's just stupid. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of turn key solutions being used to make a business. Meanwhile your cool new startup with 3 years of coding, 100,000 lines of code, gets 50 hits a day. Sure I could have went out and coded up my own Q&A site, but why do that when I can just use a turn key solution? Plus there are already >4,000 lines of customization code in the site, which is probably more than some people have in their "unique" web apps, who you'd label as a startup. Being a startup is a state of mind, you can be a "startup" with a hello world application, as long as you feel you are. It doesn't matter how you get there, all that matters, is that at the end of the day you are working towards building something positive. And we are getting plenty of traffic to justify that we are doing something people need. Hence the startup label.

ErrantX 17y ago
> It doesn't matter if you have some cool new technology, users don't care about that. That's precisely what they care about :) BTW those examples you give built up content and traffic over a long period of time. They were innovative in their areas - but not with their technology, with their content and their focus. (Im not commenting on you being a startup or not btw)
- vaksel 17y ago
  actually no they don't. All they care about is results. Same goes double for me. Sure I could have coded the thing up myself. Wasted a year, two, building the product, made 2-3 extra features. And for what? To get a "good job, but it's just another answers site" and a pat on the back? Screw that, I'd rather use those 2 years to build up my content and traffic. Content is all that matters anyways. Content drives traffic, content gets users to stick around. Who wants to waste 2 years building a site, only to have to start out with 50 users a day traffic numbers?
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    I wasn't talking about building a site etc. Just addressing that one statement. users Really love cool stuff. What you have isn't something with cool features, your right it is content. That kind of site will take a year or more to build up. But it is the same process your pouring scorn on :-) there is still no guarantee.
    - vaksel 17y ago
      Cool features will come later. The current version of the site is basically just a way to start building up traffic for the big idea. But yeah it'll probably take 1-2 years to build up the content and traffic. But you gotta start somewhere, 10 people here, 10 people there, and before long, you are hitting millions of people a month.