4 ms·

What's so great about Dalton? A lot of failed companies have brilliant people at their helms.

pg 16y ago
I don't understand your point These two sentences seem to contradict one another. The first questions his ability. The second takes it for granted. The only thing they have in common is that they're two variants of unthinking dismissal. And while that similarity gives your comment the appearance of having a connected argument, in fact they're incompatible.
- maxklein 16y ago
  I see what you mean. However, what I mean is "what's so great about a brilliant person being in charge of a poor product". So I'm saying "Dalton is a brilliant guy, but I am skeptical of if just a brilliant person makes that great of a difference, when the product is not so extra-ordinary". The first sentence could better be said: "What's so great about Dalton being there?" Yes, I am dismissing this company, and I know it's risky to publicly state something like that, but I really feel that the product does not warrant the investment of 5million in any way. It's a good product, and it will surely be successful and have a number of users, but I doubt it will become any kind of force. Take a look at the download numbers, according to techcrunch they have had 100.000 downloads since MAY. So between may and october, they have 100k downloads (http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/picplz-launches-revamped-mobile-apps-for-iphone-and-android-with-free-effects/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/picplz-launches-revamped-mo...). With my crap apps, I have 15k downloads a day. So in a week, I'd have that number of downloads. It's not hard to do that. That guy Kreci had 200k+ downloads on some weird apps on the android store also in a couple of months. The product is not right. Even smart guys can have bad products, and from what I read, those twitter dudes gave back the investment money on their original product, so the investment is not just in the people, it's also in the product. So I feel that there is a bit of a bubble there, where people are just being handed money based off reputation without proper diligence being paid to the product.
  - iamelgringo 16y ago
    It's not really about the product, it's about the person. That's what is getting funded. You can build a fart app, create a little drama around it and get 100k downloads. I've heard Dalton speak twice. The first was at "WorkataStartup". I had never met him, or heard of him, but after hearing his pitch that day, I said to myself, "I'd almost be willing to sign up with PicPlz just to work along side Dalton". But, I have my own startup. I heard Dalton speak at startup school, and what impressed me was his command over the financial and legal ramifications of music startups. I've come across a number of people doing music startups via Hackers and Founders, and I've never met anyone so well versed or educated about the business end of music, licensing, etc... The, I met Dalton at this party at Andreesen Horowitz last month[1], and I made a point of talking with Dalton for 15-20 minutes. Once again came away quite impressed by the man. And, in the Q&A with Michael Ovitz[2], Dalton made one of the best points about the future of the music industry and media business that I've heard in a long time. I think I have a halfway decent nose for founder talent. I run one of the largest startup/tech meetups in Silicon Valley[3], and I've seen a lot of founders come and go over the last 3 years. If I were a VC, I'd be tripping over myself to have Dalton take money from me. If it's not photo sharing, it will be something else, but either way, I'd lay money on Dalton having a good exit on one of his startups. ref: [1] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b4203000012271.htm http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b42030000... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ovitz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ovitz [3] http://www.hackersandfounders.com http://www.hackersandfounders.com

pg 16y ago

I don't understand your point These two sentences seem to contradict one another. The first questions his ability. The second takes it for granted. The only thing they have in common is that they're two variants of unthinking dismissal. And while that similarity gives your comment the appearance of having a connected argument, in fact they're incompatible.

maxklein 16y ago
I see what you mean. However, what I mean is "what's so great about a brilliant person being in charge of a poor product". So I'm saying "Dalton is a brilliant guy, but I am skeptical of if just a brilliant person makes that great of a difference, when the product is not so extra-ordinary". The first sentence could better be said: "What's so great about Dalton being there?" Yes, I am dismissing this company, and I know it's risky to publicly state something like that, but I really feel that the product does not warrant the investment of 5million in any way. It's a good product, and it will surely be successful and have a number of users, but I doubt it will become any kind of force. Take a look at the download numbers, according to techcrunch they have had 100.000 downloads since MAY. So between may and october, they have 100k downloads (http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/picplz-launches-revamped-mobile-apps-for-iphone-and-android-with-free-effects/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/picplz-launches-revamped-mo...). With my crap apps, I have 15k downloads a day. So in a week, I'd have that number of downloads. It's not hard to do that. That guy Kreci had 200k+ downloads on some weird apps on the android store also in a couple of months. The product is not right. Even smart guys can have bad products, and from what I read, those twitter dudes gave back the investment money on their original product, so the investment is not just in the people, it's also in the product. So I feel that there is a bit of a bubble there, where people are just being handed money based off reputation without proper diligence being paid to the product.
- iamelgringo 16y ago
  It's not really about the product, it's about the person. That's what is getting funded. You can build a fart app, create a little drama around it and get 100k downloads. I've heard Dalton speak twice. The first was at "WorkataStartup". I had never met him, or heard of him, but after hearing his pitch that day, I said to myself, "I'd almost be willing to sign up with PicPlz just to work along side Dalton". But, I have my own startup. I heard Dalton speak at startup school, and what impressed me was his command over the financial and legal ramifications of music startups. I've come across a number of people doing music startups via Hackers and Founders, and I've never met anyone so well versed or educated about the business end of music, licensing, etc... The, I met Dalton at this party at Andreesen Horowitz last month[1], and I made a point of talking with Dalton for 15-20 minutes. Once again came away quite impressed by the man. And, in the Q&A with Michael Ovitz[2], Dalton made one of the best points about the future of the music industry and media business that I've heard in a long time. I think I have a halfway decent nose for founder talent. I run one of the largest startup/tech meetups in Silicon Valley[3], and I've seen a lot of founders come and go over the last 3 years. If I were a VC, I'd be tripping over myself to have Dalton take money from me. If it's not photo sharing, it will be something else, but either way, I'd lay money on Dalton having a good exit on one of his startups. ref: [1] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b4203000012271.htm http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b42030000... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ovitz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ovitz [3] http://www.hackersandfounders.com http://www.hackersandfounders.com