7 ms·

I remember how this guy came to a forum and asked whether starting a dating site would be a good idea. Everybody said "no".

by blahi 10y ago

cl42 10y ago
lol, that's amazing if true.
mmishu 10y ago
I dont doubt you, but source?
- blahi 10y ago
  Damn, I can't find the thread. His handle is MarcusPOF but the thread was started on another account (obviously). The forum was wickedfire. There are other regulars lurking on HN. Somebody else might chime in. The forum is dead now and has been for many years. But it had its day. The guy who made and sold Indeed was a regular too as well as other pretty successful people, but it had a ... let's call it a certain vibe.
  - joshmn 10y ago
    Still some gems lingering around: https://www.google.com/search?aqs=chrome..69i57.1782j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=site:wickedfire.com+%22plentyoffish%22 https://www.google.com/search?aqs=chrome..69i57.1782j0j7&sou... From what I briefly gathered, WickedFire is similar to today's WarriorForum.
    - blahi 10y ago
      Today's wickedfire is similar to WarriorForum. Used to be a lot different though.
  - chatmasta 10y ago
    I was a regular there. IIRC he didn't ask "is starting a dating site a good idea." He already had the dating site. But he launched its ad network on WF. [0] (That's MarcusPOF... pretty sure BenPOF is the founder) Fun fact: Wickedfire was also around for the launch of "2girls1cup" (if you aren't familiar with this, do not google it) [1] and Riff Raff (now a top-100 artist, somehow... wtf) [2] [0] http://www.wickedfire.com/affiliate-marketing/74544-plentyoffish-self-serve-advertising.html http://www.wickedfire.com/affiliate-marketing/74544-plentyof... [1] http://www.wickedfire.com/misc-products-software-services/16438-ad-place-cheap-15-000-uniques-day.html http://www.wickedfire.com/misc-products-software-services/16... [2] http://www.wickedfire.com/shooting-the-shit/163812-my-first-music-video-just-dropped.html http://www.wickedfire.com/shooting-the-shit/163812-my-first-...
    - blahi 10y ago
      No, Ben is an employee. Marcus Frind is the founder of POF and he did make a thread before he was MarkusPOF. It was very early on, not 2009. A couple of years before that perhaps. God it has been so long since then! The thread wasn't full of people mocking him (wf wasn't like that back then) but people were telling him it's generally not a good idea and he should go niche instead. I've completely lost touch with all of my contacts from back then and I can't find the thread unfortunately, so you have to take it on my word, I guess.
      - chatmasta 10y ago
        The forum is definitely dead these days, but the marketplace is still "somewhat" active, and there are a few skype groups with active daily participation. It seems like no forum has really risen to take its place. More like the SEO guys went one way (BHW, Skype groups), the PPC guys another (private forums, other skype groups). A lot of the big players are still active and still making money. If you want an invite to a Skype group shoot me an email.
Johnie 10y ago
Isn't this a red hot signal that it's a great idea? If everyone is saying no and you see the world differently, you have open space to play. Basically Peter Thiel's contrarian perspective.
- StavrosK 10y ago
  "Is selling refrigerators to Eskimos a good idea?" You're begging the question. It's only a signal that it's a great idea if everyone says no given that it is a great idea. Usually, if all your feedback is negative, it's a red hot signal that you should be doing something else.
  - emptybits 10y ago
    It's an interesting example you use because I think it still serves the previous point. Peter Drucker wrote, “To sell the Eskimos a refrigerator to keep food cold, is finding a new market; to sell a refrigerator to keep food from getting too cold is actually creating a new product”. (The Practice of Management) This was apparently inspired by a true tale of a Westinghouse salesman who sold deep freezes and fridges to arctic-dwellers. Meat left outside was rock hard and took too long to thaw, and you can't quickly drink frozen water/juice/beer. My point is, lazy conventional group wisdom is often wrong because it's invested in "the way things are." Mature industries are most vulnerable in my experience (personally, I have experience in the large and old-thinking parking and payment industries). Acceptance of "because that's not how things are done" blinds people to opportunities. The lazy majority are too quick to repeat that dismissal. This adds "weight" to a rejection, but little critical analysis. I have found it productive and profitable to often disagree and swim upstream. I recognize not all industries or product spaces are like this.
    - StavrosK 10y ago
      At most, people's opinion is uncorrelated with the result. To say that people's opinion is strongly inversely correlated means that people saying "oh my god take my money right now" means you should never follow that idea. Simply put, you can't have it both ways. You can't both have people saying "no" and people saying "yes" mean that it's a good idea.
huac 10y ago
Benchmark Capital had the policy that if every partner said "yes" to a deal, they did not fund it - if everyone thinks it's a great idea, there's not enough risk or upside.

I remember how this guy came to a forum and asked whether starting a dating site would be a good idea. Everybody said "no".

by blahi 10y ago

I remember how this guy came to a forum and asked whether starting a dating site would be a good idea. Everybody said "no".

cl42 10y ago

lol, that's amazing if true.

mmishu 10y ago

I dont doubt you, but source?

blahi 10y ago
Damn, I can't find the thread. His handle is MarcusPOF but the thread was started on another account (obviously). The forum was wickedfire. There are other regulars lurking on HN. Somebody else might chime in. The forum is dead now and has been for many years. But it had its day. The guy who made and sold Indeed was a regular too as well as other pretty successful people, but it had a ... let's call it a certain vibe.
- joshmn 10y ago
  Still some gems lingering around: https://www.google.com/search?aqs=chrome..69i57.1782j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=site:wickedfire.com+%22plentyoffish%22 https://www.google.com/search?aqs=chrome..69i57.1782j0j7&sou... From what I briefly gathered, WickedFire is similar to today's WarriorForum.
  - blahi 10y ago
    Today's wickedfire is similar to WarriorForum. Used to be a lot different though.
- chatmasta 10y ago
  I was a regular there. IIRC he didn't ask "is starting a dating site a good idea." He already had the dating site. But he launched its ad network on WF. [0] (That's MarcusPOF... pretty sure BenPOF is the founder) Fun fact: Wickedfire was also around for the launch of "2girls1cup" (if you aren't familiar with this, do not google it) [1] and Riff Raff (now a top-100 artist, somehow... wtf) [2] [0] http://www.wickedfire.com/affiliate-marketing/74544-plentyoffish-self-serve-advertising.html http://www.wickedfire.com/affiliate-marketing/74544-plentyof... [1] http://www.wickedfire.com/misc-products-software-services/16438-ad-place-cheap-15-000-uniques-day.html http://www.wickedfire.com/misc-products-software-services/16... [2] http://www.wickedfire.com/shooting-the-shit/163812-my-first-music-video-just-dropped.html http://www.wickedfire.com/shooting-the-shit/163812-my-first-...
  - blahi 10y ago
    No, Ben is an employee. Marcus Frind is the founder of POF and he did make a thread before he was MarkusPOF. It was very early on, not 2009. A couple of years before that perhaps. God it has been so long since then! The thread wasn't full of people mocking him (wf wasn't like that back then) but people were telling him it's generally not a good idea and he should go niche instead. I've completely lost touch with all of my contacts from back then and I can't find the thread unfortunately, so you have to take it on my word, I guess.
    - chatmasta 10y ago
      The forum is definitely dead these days, but the marketplace is still "somewhat" active, and there are a few skype groups with active daily participation. It seems like no forum has really risen to take its place. More like the SEO guys went one way (BHW, Skype groups), the PPC guys another (private forums, other skype groups). A lot of the big players are still active and still making money. If you want an invite to a Skype group shoot me an email.

Johnie 10y ago

Isn't this a red hot signal that it's a great idea? If everyone is saying no and you see the world differently, you have open space to play. Basically Peter Thiel's contrarian perspective.

StavrosK 10y ago
"Is selling refrigerators to Eskimos a good idea?" You're begging the question. It's only a signal that it's a great idea if everyone says no given that it is a great idea. Usually, if all your feedback is negative, it's a red hot signal that you should be doing something else.
- emptybits 10y ago
  It's an interesting example you use because I think it still serves the previous point. Peter Drucker wrote, “To sell the Eskimos a refrigerator to keep food cold, is finding a new market; to sell a refrigerator to keep food from getting too cold is actually creating a new product”. (The Practice of Management) This was apparently inspired by a true tale of a Westinghouse salesman who sold deep freezes and fridges to arctic-dwellers. Meat left outside was rock hard and took too long to thaw, and you can't quickly drink frozen water/juice/beer. My point is, lazy conventional group wisdom is often wrong because it's invested in "the way things are." Mature industries are most vulnerable in my experience (personally, I have experience in the large and old-thinking parking and payment industries). Acceptance of "because that's not how things are done" blinds people to opportunities. The lazy majority are too quick to repeat that dismissal. This adds "weight" to a rejection, but little critical analysis. I have found it productive and profitable to often disagree and swim upstream. I recognize not all industries or product spaces are like this.
  - StavrosK 10y ago
    At most, people's opinion is uncorrelated with the result. To say that people's opinion is strongly inversely correlated means that people saying "oh my god take my money right now" means you should never follow that idea. Simply put, you can't have it both ways. You can't both have people saying "no" and people saying "yes" mean that it's a good idea.

huac 10y ago

Benchmark Capital had the policy that if every partner said "yes" to a deal, they did not fund it - if everyone thinks it's a great idea, there's not enough risk or upside.