5 ms·

Follow a millionaire entrepreneur as he makes his website wildly successful.

11 points by pinksoda 16y ago

nudge 16y ago
"I’ve founded many websites that went on to be wildly successful. When I say wildly successful, I mean millions of dollars." People who actually have been that successful tend not to be so bluntly, hideously arrogant about it. Tip to the author: people don't like braggers. They do, however, like honest, useful advice. And they don't care if you're a millionaire.
- pinksoda 16y ago
  You wouldn't listen to someone about being successful who had $1 in their pocket.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - nudge 16y ago
    I would actually. I honestly would. I'd evaluate what they have to say according to my own sense of what seems sensible and reasonable, but I'd listen to them. I'd listen to anyone. Maybe that's just me. I treat everybody as someone I can learn from. If nothing else, they have experiences I can learn from. More generally, people are very happy to listen to people who aren't successful, but are trying hard to be, and sharing the wisdom they accumulate along the way. Plenty of great bloggers share just such wisdom. Steve Pavlina is a good example. He started off blogging what he learned, sharing his experiences (including his own low point in prison, if I recall rightly). Then he became successful, partly because of some very popular articles, but also because by the time he wrote those articles he already had a library of other good stuff for people to read and enjoy. He didn't lie to begin with to get people to listen. People listened because he wrote really great articles. (They've gone a bit odd and spiritual the last few years, but that's a different story). Here's the advice: people listen to people who are passionate, who are trying hard, and who are honest, more than people who are 'successful' but none of these other things. Think I'm wrong? Try it both ways and see how far you get.
    - BrianHolt 16y ago
      No one's lying here. You're very pessimistic.
      - nudge 16y ago
        Distrustful, perhaps, because I've seen a bunch of other people try to pretend on HN to be something they're not, and because your site offers little evidence to support its claims. If I see some proof that I am wrong, that you have indeed founded several million-dollar websites, then I will personally write you a public letter of apology and donate $100 to a charity of your choice.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- bravura 16y ago
  Arrogant: Someone who is arrogant behaves in a proud, unpleasant way towards other people because they believe that they are more important than others. I wouldn't say that quote demonstrates arrogance, because the tone is matter-of-fact, not condescending or superior. I think word you're looking for is, perhaps, gauche.
  - nudge 16y ago
    I never knew arrogant meant precisely that. Thanks. Although what he wrote certainly is gauche, I think what I was going for was actually closer to ... goes through thesaurus ... 'vainglorious'. Or just 'boastful'.
- lionhearted 16y ago
  > People who actually have been that successful tend not to be so bluntly, hideously arrogant about it. ...because they tend to be older, wiser, and more mature. People new into success can be kind of grating if you let it grate you, or you can just smile and be happy for them and understand they'll almost certainly grow to be a little more gracious and humble later. People only brag when they're still impressed with themselves about something and aren't taking it as a given. It can be grating if you let it, but it's probably better to just smile if someone is still really impressed with the money they made or winning a marksmanship competition or coding up their iPhone App or whatever. > And they don't care if you're a millionaire. Actually, people do care if you're a millionaire. Especially when you're giving business advice. Track record matters. A lot.
dingdongditch 16y ago
yeah bro. i'd much rather track a millionaire than the cashier at bestbuy. anyway, pretty cool site man. Found a lot of useful things and voted for almost everything!
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
- jmonegro 16y ago
  You can't.
chc 16y ago
Whenever I see claims like this, I just have to wonder: Why haven't I heard of you before this? If this guy has really produced a string of "wildly successful" websites, shouldn't he be somewhere on my radar, or at least have some Google results talking about him? Shouldn't he be at least as prominent as, say, Leah Culver?
- justinchen 16y ago
  There's plenty of folks who makes sites that just bring in money without publicity. Making money and publicity don't always go hand in hand.
  - chc 16y ago
    Yes, but popularity and publicity do go together. He's not claiming to have made money out of private deals — he's claiming to have created several "wildly successful" sites.
    - Totiboti 16y ago
      Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
pmichaud 16y ago
You have zero credibility until you spill which sites you started.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- BrianHolt 16y ago
  Several sites that rank in Alexa's Top 50 and Top 500. I'm not sure if I want to reveal them at this point, for various reasons.
  - sosuke 16y ago
    Wouldn't revealing your sources be beneficial in making this new project, SinkFloat, a success? I've seen several posts on HN move to the top because the person behind them was credible.
  - chc 16y ago
    I'm pretty sure I don't believe you at this point, for obvious reasons. You come out making grandiose claims and then get cagey when somebody asks for even the most basic details? Would YOU believe you in our shoes?
    - BrianHolt 16y ago
      I'm not getting "cagey" - I'm just not sure if I'm going to reveal my sites right now. Plenty of people know what I've created and you could probably figure some of them out yourself. Others you probably won't figure out. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503922675 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503922675 That's my Facebook if anyone wants to add me.
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
    - Totiboti 16y ago
      Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
spitfirexavi 16y ago
I like how this "millionaire" uses some lame free wordpress theme. Then he goes and talks about how it took 2 days to create.... Yeah..
- czcar 16y ago
  just a note, if you go to the top level of this directory on which the blog sits there's another site, which may of been the 2 days work. As a 23yr old still interested in where the millions came from...
  - Totiboti 16y ago
    Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
jmonegro 16y ago
Doesn't seem credible to me. I did a little digging and this site and TalkBurst.com share the same owner. I'd hardly call TalkBurst a success from what I've dugg up. 4 twitter followers. Hasn't been around for more than a few months. A WHOIS on TalkBurst and SinkFloat returns someone registered as TalkBurst based in China. Names don't match (domains are registered under TalkBurst), but the address matches: Mr. Ma Lincong Secretary-General China Association for Standardization (CAS) P.O. Box 820 No. 2 Yue Tan Bei Xiao Jei Beijing, Beijing 100837 CHINA, PRC
- Totiboti 16y ago
  Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
jashmenn 16y ago
Anyone have any info on this guy? I'm interested in following his blog if he's telling the truth, but I'd like to see if anyone in the HN community can vouch for him.
- rationalbeaver 16y ago
  I'm beginning to have some doubts: http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=pinksoda http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=pinksoda
- Totiboti 16y ago
  Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
dingdongditch 16y ago
Has anyone heard of a little privacy? So far it looks to be a cool site. How about you stop arguing about who made the site and actually talk about this site. I like it. Does anyone else?
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
dingdongditch 16y ago
Well it looks like this site is doing well so far. plenty of voting going on today
officemedium 16y ago
A site with a list of other websites isn't going to be worth a million dollars. It won't be worth a thousand dollars. Google lists other sites but they have a little more kick behind it.
- pinksoda 16y ago
  If you read the blog, it was released early with only a small portion of the overall idea. I already know exactly how I'm going to make it profitable.
  - Totiboti 16y ago
    Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
- Totiboti 16y ago
  Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
Totiboti 16y ago
Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

11 points by pinksoda 16y ago

nudge 16y ago

"I’ve founded many websites that went on to be wildly successful. When I say wildly successful, I mean millions of dollars." People who actually have been that successful tend not to be so bluntly, hideously arrogant about it. Tip to the author: people don't like braggers. They do, however, like honest, useful advice. And they don't care if you're a millionaire.

pinksoda 16y ago
You wouldn't listen to someone about being successful who had $1 in their pocket.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- nudge 16y ago
  I would actually. I honestly would. I'd evaluate what they have to say according to my own sense of what seems sensible and reasonable, but I'd listen to them. I'd listen to anyone. Maybe that's just me. I treat everybody as someone I can learn from. If nothing else, they have experiences I can learn from. More generally, people are very happy to listen to people who aren't successful, but are trying hard to be, and sharing the wisdom they accumulate along the way. Plenty of great bloggers share just such wisdom. Steve Pavlina is a good example. He started off blogging what he learned, sharing his experiences (including his own low point in prison, if I recall rightly). Then he became successful, partly because of some very popular articles, but also because by the time he wrote those articles he already had a library of other good stuff for people to read and enjoy. He didn't lie to begin with to get people to listen. People listened because he wrote really great articles. (They've gone a bit odd and spiritual the last few years, but that's a different story). Here's the advice: people listen to people who are passionate, who are trying hard, and who are honest, more than people who are 'successful' but none of these other things. Think I'm wrong? Try it both ways and see how far you get.
  - BrianHolt 16y ago
    No one's lying here. You're very pessimistic.
    - nudge 16y ago
      Distrustful, perhaps, because I've seen a bunch of other people try to pretend on HN to be something they're not, and because your site offers little evidence to support its claims. If I see some proof that I am wrong, that you have indeed founded several million-dollar websites, then I will personally write you a public letter of apology and donate $100 to a charity of your choice.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
bravura 16y ago
Arrogant: Someone who is arrogant behaves in a proud, unpleasant way towards other people because they believe that they are more important than others. I wouldn't say that quote demonstrates arrogance, because the tone is matter-of-fact, not condescending or superior. I think word you're looking for is, perhaps, gauche.
- nudge 16y ago
  I never knew arrogant meant precisely that. Thanks. Although what he wrote certainly is gauche, I think what I was going for was actually closer to ... goes through thesaurus ... 'vainglorious'. Or just 'boastful'.
lionhearted 16y ago
> People who actually have been that successful tend not to be so bluntly, hideously arrogant about it. ...because they tend to be older, wiser, and more mature. People new into success can be kind of grating if you let it grate you, or you can just smile and be happy for them and understand they'll almost certainly grow to be a little more gracious and humble later. People only brag when they're still impressed with themselves about something and aren't taking it as a given. It can be grating if you let it, but it's probably better to just smile if someone is still really impressed with the money they made or winning a marksmanship competition or coding up their iPhone App or whatever. > And they don't care if you're a millionaire. Actually, people do care if you're a millionaire. Especially when you're giving business advice. Track record matters. A lot.

dingdongditch 16y ago

yeah bro. i'd much rather track a millionaire than the cashier at bestbuy. anyway, pretty cool site man. Found a lot of useful things and voted for almost everything!

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

jmonegro 16y ago
You can't.

chc 16y ago

Whenever I see claims like this, I just have to wonder: Why haven't I heard of you before this? If this guy has really produced a string of "wildly successful" websites, shouldn't he be somewhere on my radar, or at least have some Google results talking about him? Shouldn't he be at least as prominent as, say, Leah Culver?

justinchen 16y ago
There's plenty of folks who makes sites that just bring in money without publicity. Making money and publicity don't always go hand in hand.
- chc 16y ago
  Yes, but popularity and publicity do go together. He's not claiming to have made money out of private deals — he's claiming to have created several "wildly successful" sites.
  - Totiboti 16y ago
    Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

pmichaud 16y ago

You have zero credibility until you spill which sites you started.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
BrianHolt 16y ago
Several sites that rank in Alexa's Top 50 and Top 500. I'm not sure if I want to reveal them at this point, for various reasons.
- sosuke 16y ago
  Wouldn't revealing your sources be beneficial in making this new project, SinkFloat, a success? I've seen several posts on HN move to the top because the person behind them was credible.
- chc 16y ago
  I'm pretty sure I don't believe you at this point, for obvious reasons. You come out making grandiose claims and then get cagey when somebody asks for even the most basic details? Would YOU believe you in our shoes?
  - BrianHolt 16y ago
    I'm not getting "cagey" - I'm just not sure if I'm going to reveal my sites right now. Plenty of people know what I've created and you could probably figure some of them out yourself. Others you probably won't figure out. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503922675 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503922675 That's my Facebook if anyone wants to add me.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
  - Totiboti 16y ago
    Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

spitfirexavi 16y ago

I like how this "millionaire" uses some lame free wordpress theme. Then he goes and talks about how it took 2 days to create.... Yeah..

czcar 16y ago
just a note, if you go to the top level of this directory on which the blog sits there's another site, which may of been the 2 days work. As a 23yr old still interested in where the millions came from...
- Totiboti 16y ago
  Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

jmonegro 16y ago

Doesn't seem credible to me. I did a little digging and this site and TalkBurst.com share the same owner. I'd hardly call TalkBurst a success from what I've dugg up. 4 twitter followers. Hasn't been around for more than a few months. A WHOIS on TalkBurst and SinkFloat returns someone registered as TalkBurst based in China. Names don't match (domains are registered under TalkBurst), but the address matches: Mr. Ma Lincong Secretary-General China Association for Standardization (CAS) P.O. Box 820 No. 2 Yue Tan Bei Xiao Jei Beijing, Beijing 100837 CHINA, PRC

Totiboti 16y ago
Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

jashmenn 16y ago

Anyone have any info on this guy? I'm interested in following his blog if he's telling the truth, but I'd like to see if anyone in the HN community can vouch for him.

rationalbeaver 16y ago
I'm beginning to have some doubts: http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=pinksoda http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=pinksoda
Totiboti 16y ago
Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

dingdongditch 16y ago

Has anyone heard of a little privacy? So far it looks to be a cool site. How about you stop arguing about who made the site and actually talk about this site. I like it. Does anyone else?

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

dingdongditch 16y ago

Well it looks like this site is doing well so far. plenty of voting going on today

officemedium 16y ago

A site with a list of other websites isn't going to be worth a million dollars. It won't be worth a thousand dollars. Google lists other sites but they have a little more kick behind it.

pinksoda 16y ago
If you read the blog, it was released early with only a small portion of the overall idea. I already know exactly how I'm going to make it profitable.
- Totiboti 16y ago
  Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti
Totiboti 16y ago
Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti

Totiboti 16y ago

Somebody stop Brian Holt. This guy is a criminal. Has stolen movieforunz and other sites by spamming. He claims to be a professional but its a kid with nothing more then a set of typing skills, and very snake like attitude. Be carefull. Type Brian holt scammer on google and you will find even FBI stuff on Brian. He has been stealing a lot of design, code and peoples privacy for years, no one can find him to shut him down for good. People report this criminal, robber and misery guy ASAP. Toti