4 ms·

There's something about how the progression from the original post by Mark on here a few weeks ago (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2051288 http://news.ycom

There's something about how the progression from the original post by Mark on here a few weeks ago (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2051288 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2051288) to the post that the site was for private auction (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2113064 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2113064) to the post yesterday that threewords had been sold (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2122604 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2122604) that gives it a 'used car salesman' feeling. Maybe it's the fact that in the end it was sold to Kevin Ham; (taking absolutely nothing away from what Kevin has done). Maybe it's that the site had such a quick flame out. Having been on this site for quite some time now and having the shared passion of others on here to scratch an itch, I'm both inspired by and wanting to turn the other cheek at the same time w/r/t the adventures of threewords.me. Congrats on the sale, but I hope it's not a sign of a trend to come on here.

jacquesm 16y ago
I'd be most impressed if this was a 'trend to come on here'. Think about it, from idea to successful flip in a time this short, we can only hope that that becomes the norm. Of course there is plenty of room for every kind of start-up, so why not have a bunch of these, I can't see anything but good to come from that. Sadly, I think that normality will re-assert itself and that this will be a very rare occurrence. But for all those that might get discouraged by these words, please keep trying, some of you are bound to make it.
- meterplech 16y ago
  I think the point was successful short term flips don't add as much value as growing a business over a long time. Doesn't create jobs or likely new technologies. Not to take anything away from this- it's a neat idea, and always impressive to have such viral use. But, I guess OP just means this shouldn't be the final goal for HN users.
  - dolinsky 16y ago
    This. In no way am I trying to take away from what Mark was able to accomplish in a short period of time. IMO there just needs to be some perspective kept w/r/t the overall theme on this site.
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      Why should people subscribe to your view on this site? What Mark did is what 99% of the visitors here can only dream of, and if more of them manage to achieve it because of his example then that's the best possible outcome as far as I'm concerned.
      - atomical 16y ago
        I'm part of the 1% that believes that turning a profit (i.e. selling goods or services to customers) is not only a good business goal but a personal achievement.
        jacquesm 16y ago
        Yes, and I agree with that too, and so does Mark (though I don't speak for him of course, but judging by the other stuff he's doing). It's just that there are more ways than one to achieve that goal and essentially by selling threewords.me Mark just made pretty good profit by selling a 'good' (threewords.me + the work invested) to a customer.
        axod 16y ago
        > turning a profit (i.e. selling goods or services to customers) Why does everyone on HN ignore advertising revenue? Or is it lumped in with the above?
        Tycho 16y ago
        In this case, I believe there was no advertising, or at least any advertising revenue. It 'wasn't monetized.' I don't think anyone ignores it, particularly in the case of something that people wouldn't readily pay for.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    Everybody has different 'final goals', when you're in college and you hit a thing like this you can let it distract you and you might run after something that has limited life-span after all, and mess up your chances of completing your education. If everybody that's in college today manages to score one like this I'd be one happy fellow. Nobody forces anybody to flip, it's all up to the people involved.
  - davidw 16y ago
    OTOH, sometimes it may be better to offload something that isn't going anywhere to let someone better suited handle it. For instance, I keep sitting on http://langpop.com http://langpop.com because I've grown fond of it, but I think it'd be worth more in someone else's hands. Maybe it would have taken up less of my time if I'd sold it off immediately after it got popular.
  - fuzzythinker 16y ago
    Short term flips can create more jobs and new technologies in the hands of more passionate people.
markbao 16y ago
I'm sorry that it came across with that notion. Bottom line is: I really want to focus on my projects that have high revenue viability. I'm not experienced with monetizing free products, but someone else is. Until then, having threewords.me on my back is extra baggage that I'd rather let someone take care of, so I can focus back on what's important for me: creating profitable startups. I had the opportunity to take six-figure funding amounts from big firms and individuals, but I said no to that. I'm passionate about building better support systems for startups. I'm passionate about building an OpenTable competitor. I don't feel the same passion with threewords.me, and since I never take capital on something I don't really think my soul has a connection with (to go all zen on you), the other option was to sell it. I really appreciate the kindness of the Hacker News folks for taking an interest in the threewords.me 'saga' (thank you!) but I'm admittedly a little embarrassed because the image that all this coverage is putting out for me isn't something that I actively pursue. I secretly hoped that the threewords.me sale wouldn't hit HN, and was satisfied (until now :P). It's just a side project that went big.
- dolinsky 16y ago
  I completely understand why you flipped the site, and you should be proud of the fact that you were able to take a side project that started as an itch and have it become viral so quickly, no matter how short-lived that was. My used car salesman comment was a reflection on 'the process' and in no way a reflection on you or the way you conduct yourself. edit I also didn't explicitly say what @jeromec did, but I definitely share his sentiment. You owe nobody an apology for the success that you had and will hopefully have in the future.
  - markbao 16y ago
    Thank you! Yes, the whole thing could have been run better, but that's why I usually try to not do things I don't know how to do well (like threewords.me), though sometimes things slip through the cracks. And my other option was Flippa, so, yeah. My other (minor) acquisitions all consisted of a buyer approaching. This was different.
    - 16y ago
rmc 16y ago
I too am jealous. Fair play.
rokhayakebe 16y ago
I hope it's not a sign of a trend to come on here. Why not? This is exactly what startup incubators do. Instead of building companies that aim to go public after 7 years, they help to create startups that can exit after 2 years. Now you can build your product and exit in 30 days. What is the problem with that?

jacquesm 16y ago

I'd be most impressed if this was a 'trend to come on here'. Think about it, from idea to successful flip in a time this short, we can only hope that that becomes the norm. Of course there is plenty of room for every kind of start-up, so why not have a bunch of these, I can't see anything but good to come from that. Sadly, I think that normality will re-assert itself and that this will be a very rare occurrence. But for all those that might get discouraged by these words, please keep trying, some of you are bound to make it.

meterplech 16y ago
I think the point was successful short term flips don't add as much value as growing a business over a long time. Doesn't create jobs or likely new technologies. Not to take anything away from this- it's a neat idea, and always impressive to have such viral use. But, I guess OP just means this shouldn't be the final goal for HN users.
- dolinsky 16y ago
  This. In no way am I trying to take away from what Mark was able to accomplish in a short period of time. IMO there just needs to be some perspective kept w/r/t the overall theme on this site.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    Why should people subscribe to your view on this site? What Mark did is what 99% of the visitors here can only dream of, and if more of them manage to achieve it because of his example then that's the best possible outcome as far as I'm concerned.
    - atomical 16y ago
      I'm part of the 1% that believes that turning a profit (i.e. selling goods or services to customers) is not only a good business goal but a personal achievement.
      - jacquesm 16y ago
        Yes, and I agree with that too, and so does Mark (though I don't speak for him of course, but judging by the other stuff he's doing). It's just that there are more ways than one to achieve that goal and essentially by selling threewords.me Mark just made pretty good profit by selling a 'good' (threewords.me + the work invested) to a customer.
      - axod 16y ago
        > turning a profit (i.e. selling goods or services to customers) Why does everyone on HN ignore advertising revenue? Or is it lumped in with the above?
        Tycho 16y ago
        In this case, I believe there was no advertising, or at least any advertising revenue. It 'wasn't monetized.' I don't think anyone ignores it, particularly in the case of something that people wouldn't readily pay for.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  Everybody has different 'final goals', when you're in college and you hit a thing like this you can let it distract you and you might run after something that has limited life-span after all, and mess up your chances of completing your education. If everybody that's in college today manages to score one like this I'd be one happy fellow. Nobody forces anybody to flip, it's all up to the people involved.
- davidw 16y ago
  OTOH, sometimes it may be better to offload something that isn't going anywhere to let someone better suited handle it. For instance, I keep sitting on http://langpop.com http://langpop.com because I've grown fond of it, but I think it'd be worth more in someone else's hands. Maybe it would have taken up less of my time if I'd sold it off immediately after it got popular.
- fuzzythinker 16y ago
  Short term flips can create more jobs and new technologies in the hands of more passionate people.

markbao 16y ago

I'm sorry that it came across with that notion. Bottom line is: I really want to focus on my projects that have high revenue viability. I'm not experienced with monetizing free products, but someone else is. Until then, having threewords.me on my back is extra baggage that I'd rather let someone take care of, so I can focus back on what's important for me: creating profitable startups. I had the opportunity to take six-figure funding amounts from big firms and individuals, but I said no to that. I'm passionate about building better support systems for startups. I'm passionate about building an OpenTable competitor. I don't feel the same passion with threewords.me, and since I never take capital on something I don't really think my soul has a connection with (to go all zen on you), the other option was to sell it. I really appreciate the kindness of the Hacker News folks for taking an interest in the threewords.me 'saga' (thank you!) but I'm admittedly a little embarrassed because the image that all this coverage is putting out for me isn't something that I actively pursue. I secretly hoped that the threewords.me sale wouldn't hit HN, and was satisfied (until now :P). It's just a side project that went big.

dolinsky 16y ago
I completely understand why you flipped the site, and you should be proud of the fact that you were able to take a side project that started as an itch and have it become viral so quickly, no matter how short-lived that was. My used car salesman comment was a reflection on 'the process' and in no way a reflection on you or the way you conduct yourself. edit I also didn't explicitly say what @jeromec did, but I definitely share his sentiment. You owe nobody an apology for the success that you had and will hopefully have in the future.
- markbao 16y ago
  Thank you! Yes, the whole thing could have been run better, but that's why I usually try to not do things I don't know how to do well (like threewords.me), though sometimes things slip through the cracks. And my other option was Flippa, so, yeah. My other (minor) acquisitions all consisted of a buyer approaching. This was different.
  - 16y ago

rmc 16y ago

I too am jealous. Fair play.

rokhayakebe 16y ago

I hope it's not a sign of a trend to come on here. Why not? This is exactly what startup incubators do. Instead of building companies that aim to go public after 7 years, they help to create startups that can exit after 2 years. Now you can build your product and exit in 30 days. What is the problem with that?