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One reason I don't sign up with every new startup that comes along--even if they're innovative and helpful and better than the competition--is that I don't want

by djacobs 16y ago

One reason I don't sign up with every new startup that comes along--even if they're innovative and helpful and better than the competition--is that I don't want to invest time in something that could fail. And every time I see a web service fail, even if it was no longer a startup, I lose hope that good services can last. Seeing this, for example, I'm not likely to put stock in an online bookmarking startup any time soon. It seems to me like this is one way that the failure of large companies can lead to the failure of unrelated startups. And it sucks.

pavel_lishin 16y ago
So how do you decide what to sign up for?
- djacobs 16y ago
  It varies. I'd be lying if I said mood wasn't involved. But I ask questions like: 1. How responsive are the startup founders when I e-mail them about problems? 2. How portable is the work I'm going to put into the site? Data portability is actually probably my number 1 concern. 3. Does the service give me value that I couldn't create with my own server after an hour of coding? (Why would I sign up for yet another contacts service when I can host my own LDAP server for free?) 4. Is there a vibrant community supporting the startup from the get to? At least these are the first that come to mind.
StavrosK 16y ago
It seems pretty safe: you can always export your data if you want.
- djacobs 16y ago
  In this case, yes. But not for all types of startups. When I say I won't "put stock" in another bookmarking service for a while, I don't mean I won't use one. I mean I won't use one like I would if I thought it was a permanent, reliable fixture.
  - StavrosK 16y ago
    Ah, true then.