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I read a comment on HN a while ago that went along the lines of "there is a new breed of startups that's in the business of selling dollar bills for 95 cents".

I read a comment on HN a while ago that went along the lines of "there is a new breed of startups that's in the business of selling dollar bills for 95 cents". I really like that formulation. Your job gets a lot easier as soon as you provide more value than you charge for it. Seems like that was one of the big problems with Homejoy: they were not able to charge more. The reality is that home cleaning is very price competitive. Anyone with a mop and a bucket can undercut your price, and as long as the customer trusts them and likes them they have no reason to switch. For example I know of a 12 year old kid who decided to start his own cleaning business. He calls it "a boy and a bucket", and from what I am told does a fantastic job. He also charges about 1/2 of the market rate around where I live, yet provides a superb service.

mgkimsal 11y ago
IMO, that's the late 90s bubble all over again. I know... we're not in a bubble now... but losing money and making it up on volume was the big joke back then, iirc.
- w4 11y ago
  > I know... we're not in a bubble now... but losing money and making it up on volume was the big joke back then, iirc. It's ok to say we're in a bubble. These companies that are selling goods at a loss predicated on the availability of venture capital, with no clear path to profitability, show that we're almost certainly in a bubble. The real question to worry about isn't whether or not we're in a bubble, but rather how substantial of a bubble it is, and how many companies might have exposure to it.
  - shostack 11y ago
    Thank you for making a logical statement around this. People love to trot out the bubble line, but I always wonder how much of the "tech industry" at this point is comprised of small startups with large amounts of funding vs. large established tech giants like Google, FB, Apple, Adobe, etc. with BILLIONS in revenue (if not profits). I've heard people tell me "all these startups with funny money are driving the housing prices up." I can only sit there in response and hold back my snarky "yeah, and I'm sure the giants who have tens of thousands of engineers on staff with billions in profit aren't contributing at all."
jdmichal 11y ago
Competition is really the big thing. Redbox has pretty much doubled their price in the past few years, and they can because by now all the meat-space video rental stores are pretty much out of business. However, at $2 for a blu-ray, it's already at the point where if I'm not going to the store anyway, I will just rent through the cable company for $4 or $5 bucks. And then I don't have a chance of forgetting to take the movie back and getting charged again. If Netflix got more new-release movies, I wouldn't even have to do that.
- PretzelFisch 11y ago
  If netflix could rent you a new release, life would be so much simpler. One simple consistent api.
- sib 11y ago
  For those who don't have a cable (TV) subscription, there are multiple online services that have new-release movies for rent on a transactional basis.
- IgorPartola 11y ago
  From what I understand Netflix disc service still has a much bigger selection than the online streaming one. A friend of mine uses it to get full seasons of TV shows that are not available online.
repomies691 11y ago
I would prefer to hire some directly, and pay him directly, instead of suing this kind of site for that. Trustable, reliable cleaners have no abundance of work. This kind of website is good only for connecting yourself to the cleaners initially, but in the long-term I would be much more happy to just pay someone directly. Also, everyone who uses home cleaning services usually uses them recurringly. I don't know what kind of value this kind of service can add, except in the initial "find the cleaner" part.
kefka 11y ago
Nahh, it's more like: "there is a new breed of startups that's in the business of selling dollar bills for 50 cents and the bills are counterfeit. Cash out before we're caught." It really says it, considering that much of the VC groups not only allow breaking the law, but encourage it in the name of "progress". And you know, who cares about the worker anyways. They're replaceable (until the specific AI comes and takes that job.)
- Karunamon 11y ago
  Many of the laws are crap anyways and due for replacement - taxi medallions being the canonical example here. And quite honestly, most Uber drivers don't want to be employees. They want the freedom to drive whenever they want just by clicking a button on an app. The only person that wants to force an employee/employer relationship on Uber are a small handful of angry drivers, and the state. Kind of puts the motives into perspective.
  - kefka 11y ago
    Lets say your narrative is true.... > Many of the laws are crap anyways and due for replacement - taxi medallions being the canonical example here. Agreed. It came from a time in which kidnapping and other nefarious tactics were used. Certification and medallions were the answer to that. Their time has grown old. > And quite honestly, most Uber drivers don't want to be employees. Unsubstantiated. How about asking if they "Believe the compensation is enough to offset the risks they take as self-employed, plus license compliance and commercial driving insurance?" Having not run the numbers, I would guess that the risks and costs leave UBER drivers worse off than not working. > The only person that wants to force an employee/employer relationship on Uber are a small handful of angry drivers, and the state. Unsubstantiated. When you get into a wreck driving as UBER, and UBER tells you to lie to your vehicular insurance regarding commercial traffic, yeah, I think there's something about the anger that's justified. And a company that takes advantage of people, recommends felony insurance fraud, and blatantly flaunts lawbreaking in everyone's face, yeah. Something needs to be done.

mgkimsal 11y ago

IMO, that's the late 90s bubble all over again. I know... we're not in a bubble now... but losing money and making it up on volume was the big joke back then, iirc.

w4 11y ago
> I know... we're not in a bubble now... but losing money and making it up on volume was the big joke back then, iirc. It's ok to say we're in a bubble. These companies that are selling goods at a loss predicated on the availability of venture capital, with no clear path to profitability, show that we're almost certainly in a bubble. The real question to worry about isn't whether or not we're in a bubble, but rather how substantial of a bubble it is, and how many companies might have exposure to it.
- shostack 11y ago
  Thank you for making a logical statement around this. People love to trot out the bubble line, but I always wonder how much of the "tech industry" at this point is comprised of small startups with large amounts of funding vs. large established tech giants like Google, FB, Apple, Adobe, etc. with BILLIONS in revenue (if not profits). I've heard people tell me "all these startups with funny money are driving the housing prices up." I can only sit there in response and hold back my snarky "yeah, and I'm sure the giants who have tens of thousands of engineers on staff with billions in profit aren't contributing at all."

jdmichal 11y ago

Competition is really the big thing. Redbox has pretty much doubled their price in the past few years, and they can because by now all the meat-space video rental stores are pretty much out of business. However, at $2 for a blu-ray, it's already at the point where if I'm not going to the store anyway, I will just rent through the cable company for $4 or $5 bucks. And then I don't have a chance of forgetting to take the movie back and getting charged again. If Netflix got more new-release movies, I wouldn't even have to do that.

PretzelFisch 11y ago
If netflix could rent you a new release, life would be so much simpler. One simple consistent api.
sib 11y ago
For those who don't have a cable (TV) subscription, there are multiple online services that have new-release movies for rent on a transactional basis.
IgorPartola 11y ago
From what I understand Netflix disc service still has a much bigger selection than the online streaming one. A friend of mine uses it to get full seasons of TV shows that are not available online.

repomies691 11y ago

I would prefer to hire some directly, and pay him directly, instead of suing this kind of site for that. Trustable, reliable cleaners have no abundance of work. This kind of website is good only for connecting yourself to the cleaners initially, but in the long-term I would be much more happy to just pay someone directly. Also, everyone who uses home cleaning services usually uses them recurringly. I don't know what kind of value this kind of service can add, except in the initial "find the cleaner" part.

kefka 11y ago

Nahh, it's more like: "there is a new breed of startups that's in the business of selling dollar bills for 50 cents and the bills are counterfeit. Cash out before we're caught." It really says it, considering that much of the VC groups not only allow breaking the law, but encourage it in the name of "progress". And you know, who cares about the worker anyways. They're replaceable (until the specific AI comes and takes that job.)

Karunamon 11y ago
Many of the laws are crap anyways and due for replacement - taxi medallions being the canonical example here. And quite honestly, most Uber drivers don't want to be employees. They want the freedom to drive whenever they want just by clicking a button on an app. The only person that wants to force an employee/employer relationship on Uber are a small handful of angry drivers, and the state. Kind of puts the motives into perspective.
- kefka 11y ago
  Lets say your narrative is true.... > Many of the laws are crap anyways and due for replacement - taxi medallions being the canonical example here. Agreed. It came from a time in which kidnapping and other nefarious tactics were used. Certification and medallions were the answer to that. Their time has grown old. > And quite honestly, most Uber drivers don't want to be employees. Unsubstantiated. How about asking if they "Believe the compensation is enough to offset the risks they take as self-employed, plus license compliance and commercial driving insurance?" Having not run the numbers, I would guess that the risks and costs leave UBER drivers worse off than not working. > The only person that wants to force an employee/employer relationship on Uber are a small handful of angry drivers, and the state. Unsubstantiated. When you get into a wreck driving as UBER, and UBER tells you to lie to your vehicular insurance regarding commercial traffic, yeah, I think there's something about the anger that's justified. And a company that takes advantage of people, recommends felony insurance fraud, and blatantly flaunts lawbreaking in everyone's face, yeah. Something needs to be done.