7 ms·

I predicted Genius' certain doom at the time of their funding and got heckled by Marc Andreesen: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6531937 https://news.ycom

I predicted Genius' certain doom at the time of their funding and got heckled by Marc Andreesen: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6531937 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6531937

spenrose 10y ago
"Nope. We don't do those. It's the real deal. One of the fastest growing consumer properties of all time with huge market opportunity." is not heckling.
- tptacek 10y ago
  "Good luck in jail" sure is.
  - mattmanser 10y ago
    It's an innocent joke about his username.
    - tptacek 10y ago
      I don't think anyone said it was a capital crime. I believe the word used was "heckling".
      - spenrose 10y ago
        My mistake.
- Rebelgecko 10y ago
  I think they were referring to the "good luck in jail" comment
  - x1798DE 10y ago
    I think that was a reference to the OP's nick, sfjailbird. Hard to see how it could be taken as disparaging in that context...
dang 10y ago
That's the sort of snarky dismissal we've been trying to cut back on here. There's nothing special about predicting the failure of a venture. That's like predicting normal weather, only in a cynical voice to make it sound contrarian. You will be right 99% of the time, and your cynicism will have its return on investment, a smug chortle. But this game is of no (intellectual) interest. If you could predict a tornado or an earthquake, that would be interesting.
- sfjailbird 10y ago
  Yeah, I'm not trying to say I am a genius (no pun) to predict them bombing. I just thought it was funny in context to have pmarca chime in on the topic. And props to him for actually engaging with snarky a-holes on internet forums. (And my linked comment did contain a juxtaposition about a16z's purported investment strategy and their Genius investment, so I don't think the retroactive chiding is entirely called for.)
  - derptron 10y ago
    Turned out they were on fire though (In a bad way).
  - dang 10y ago
    I don't mean to be a pill, yes it's fun to read pmarca's reply, and I appreciate your being a good sport. But I still think your comment deserved its chiding. When a thing happens 99% of the time, its happening again doesn't mean there was any truth, or even any information, in your reasoning. You might just as easily have linked it to A16Z's cafeteria as their consumer strategy. Whether or not they have a cafeteria. (I'm not assuming this startup has failed, of course; the point about snarky dismissals holds either way.)
deleted 10y ago
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nikcub 10y ago
Keep predicting because it's a top 200 website and by no definition has it failed.

I predicted Genius' certain doom at the time of their funding and got heckled by Marc Andreesen: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6531937 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6531937

spenrose 10y ago

"Nope. We don't do those. It's the real deal. One of the fastest growing consumer properties of all time with huge market opportunity." is not heckling.

tptacek 10y ago
"Good luck in jail" sure is.
- mattmanser 10y ago
  It's an innocent joke about his username.
  - tptacek 10y ago
    I don't think anyone said it was a capital crime. I believe the word used was "heckling".
    - spenrose 10y ago
      My mistake.
Rebelgecko 10y ago
I think they were referring to the "good luck in jail" comment
- x1798DE 10y ago
  I think that was a reference to the OP's nick, sfjailbird. Hard to see how it could be taken as disparaging in that context...

dang 10y ago

That's the sort of snarky dismissal we've been trying to cut back on here. There's nothing special about predicting the failure of a venture. That's like predicting normal weather, only in a cynical voice to make it sound contrarian. You will be right 99% of the time, and your cynicism will have its return on investment, a smug chortle. But this game is of no (intellectual) interest. If you could predict a tornado or an earthquake, that would be interesting.

sfjailbird 10y ago
Yeah, I'm not trying to say I am a genius (no pun) to predict them bombing. I just thought it was funny in context to have pmarca chime in on the topic. And props to him for actually engaging with snarky a-holes on internet forums. (And my linked comment did contain a juxtaposition about a16z's purported investment strategy and their Genius investment, so I don't think the retroactive chiding is entirely called for.)
- derptron 10y ago
  Turned out they were on fire though (In a bad way).
- dang 10y ago
  I don't mean to be a pill, yes it's fun to read pmarca's reply, and I appreciate your being a good sport. But I still think your comment deserved its chiding. When a thing happens 99% of the time, its happening again doesn't mean there was any truth, or even any information, in your reasoning. You might just as easily have linked it to A16Z's cafeteria as their consumer strategy. Whether or not they have a cafeteria. (I'm not assuming this startup has failed, of course; the point about snarky dismissals holds either way.)

deleted 10y ago

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nikcub 10y ago

Keep predicting because it's a top 200 website and by no definition has it failed.