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At Startup School a few years ago, I pitched my idea to Paul and he invited me to apply for the summer class even though I'd missed the deadline. I against it.

At Startup School a few years ago, I pitched my idea to Paul and he invited me to apply for the summer class even though I'd missed the deadline. I against it. That whole "dropping out of high school and college" thing pretty much proved how much I chafe against what I consider hoop-jumping and YC was too much hoop-jumping for me. Didn't stop me though: http://unicornfree.com/2010/i-made-216668-from-products/ http://unicornfree.com/2010/i-made-216668-from-products/ (Different product than the one I pitched.)

limedaring 16y ago
Really dislike people who downvote because they disagree, rather than arguing against. Very passive aggressive. Can you expand on the hoop jumping and YC with some specific examples? I'm sincerely curious.
- ahoyhere 16y ago
  It's all really summed up in "Startup School," don't you think? You have to move somewhere (Cambridge) for 3 mos, for very low resources, and the whole thing just smacks of a system -- for people who claim they want to buck "the system." Sure, it's less controlling than regular investment but a whole lot more than a bank loan.
  - limedaring 16y ago
    Actually you move to the Silicon Valley, not Cambridge anymore. Technically, having living expenses to cover 3 mo in SV would make most out-of-state startups happy. :) $17k for 2 founders to last 3 months doesn't seem that bad to me personally, but to each their own.
    - ahoyhere 16y ago
      So, are you interested in "discussion" so you can justify your choices, or did you actually want to know why I didn't do it? "Actually" everything I said is true, because it is about my decision, when I made it.
      - limedaring 16y ago
        Was that vitriol really necessary? I thought your comment was talking about YC as a whole and your opinions on them. I thought I was correcting a mistake on your part about YC today, and then giving a counterpoint. I believe discussions usually consist of two people talking and giving opinions.
        ahoyhere 16y ago
        If you think that simple question was "vitriol," you're going to have a really rough time running a business. My advice to you is to learn when it's not about you (which is most of the time) so you don't feel everything so strongly.
        limedaring 16y ago
        Look, we got off the wrong foot, and I sincerely apologize for misunderstanding your response about YC to mean YC today. In any case, your products are awesome and I remember seeing Twistori a couple years ago and I totally dug it. Nice job.
alanthonyc 16y ago
Hi there, I just checked out your Freckle app. That's a pretty cool time tracking system, better than anything I've seen elsewhere. I signed up. ;) Grats on a cool product!
follower 16y ago
In your post you mention that the figures are gross revenue. While people seem to be (understandably?) reluctant to talk publicly about profit rather than revenue what's your thoughts on focussing on revenue rather than profit when talking about success?
- ahoyhere 16y ago
  I'm focusing on revenue because our profits are very low right now - by choice. I believe that 12 mos from now, Freckle could be earning $450k-650k/yr... if I can keep up the growth rate we've had so far. Therefore, as I said in the article, we roll almost all of the money from Freckle back into Freckle - advertising, hiring freelancers, etc. Otherwise, most of our endeavors are almost pure profit. What overhead does a two-person business have? Tech goodies, fonts, clip art, software, internet access, hosting, occasional travel... almost all things we could skip if we chose to. We have a home office - before, we were paying about $900/month. We'll have an office again but not right away. My husband's business (Austrian, not counted in my reckoning) has a part-time office manager. We pay for a cleaner to come twice a week, and about half of that is considered a business expense. The biggest profit suck that we can't avoid is transaction fees. But I'm not a cost-cutter, I'm a revenue-grower. It works better in the end.

limedaring 16y ago

Really dislike people who downvote because they disagree, rather than arguing against. Very passive aggressive. Can you expand on the hoop jumping and YC with some specific examples? I'm sincerely curious.

ahoyhere 16y ago
It's all really summed up in "Startup School," don't you think? You have to move somewhere (Cambridge) for 3 mos, for very low resources, and the whole thing just smacks of a system -- for people who claim they want to buck "the system." Sure, it's less controlling than regular investment but a whole lot more than a bank loan.
- limedaring 16y ago
  Actually you move to the Silicon Valley, not Cambridge anymore. Technically, having living expenses to cover 3 mo in SV would make most out-of-state startups happy. :) $17k for 2 founders to last 3 months doesn't seem that bad to me personally, but to each their own.
  - ahoyhere 16y ago
    So, are you interested in "discussion" so you can justify your choices, or did you actually want to know why I didn't do it? "Actually" everything I said is true, because it is about my decision, when I made it.
    - limedaring 16y ago
      Was that vitriol really necessary? I thought your comment was talking about YC as a whole and your opinions on them. I thought I was correcting a mistake on your part about YC today, and then giving a counterpoint. I believe discussions usually consist of two people talking and giving opinions.
      - ahoyhere 16y ago
        If you think that simple question was "vitriol," you're going to have a really rough time running a business. My advice to you is to learn when it's not about you (which is most of the time) so you don't feel everything so strongly.
        limedaring 16y ago
        Look, we got off the wrong foot, and I sincerely apologize for misunderstanding your response about YC to mean YC today. In any case, your products are awesome and I remember seeing Twistori a couple years ago and I totally dug it. Nice job.

alanthonyc 16y ago

Hi there, I just checked out your Freckle app. That's a pretty cool time tracking system, better than anything I've seen elsewhere. I signed up. ;) Grats on a cool product!

follower 16y ago

In your post you mention that the figures are gross revenue. While people seem to be (understandably?) reluctant to talk publicly about profit rather than revenue what's your thoughts on focussing on revenue rather than profit when talking about success?

ahoyhere 16y ago
I'm focusing on revenue because our profits are very low right now - by choice. I believe that 12 mos from now, Freckle could be earning $450k-650k/yr... if I can keep up the growth rate we've had so far. Therefore, as I said in the article, we roll almost all of the money from Freckle back into Freckle - advertising, hiring freelancers, etc. Otherwise, most of our endeavors are almost pure profit. What overhead does a two-person business have? Tech goodies, fonts, clip art, software, internet access, hosting, occasional travel... almost all things we could skip if we chose to. We have a home office - before, we were paying about $900/month. We'll have an office again but not right away. My husband's business (Austrian, not counted in my reckoning) has a part-time office manager. We pay for a cleaner to come twice a week, and about half of that is considered a business expense. The biggest profit suck that we can't avoid is transaction fees. But I'm not a cost-cutter, I'm a revenue-grower. It works better in the end.