7 ms·

> “I don’t feel good about that. That sucks,” Chrys Bader-Wechseler reflects when asked about the bullying that went down on the anonymous app Secret he co-fou

> “I don’t feel good about that. That sucks,” Chrys Bader-Wechseler reflects when asked about the bullying that went down on the anonymous app Secret he co-founded in 2013. After $35 million raised, 15 million users and a spectacular flame out two years later, the startup was dead. “Since I left Secret I feel alive and aligned with my values and my purpose again.” I wonder what his values and purpose are.

randycupertino 7y ago
> I wonder what his values and purpose are. Hopefully not using investor $$ to buy himself a ferrari, like his co-founder! https://nextshark.com/david-byttow-secret-founder-sells-prized-ferrari-after-having-to-shut-down-100-million-company/ https://nextshark.com/david-byttow-secret-founder-sells-priz...
- kubmit 7y ago
  what the hell is the point of this statement? he didn't do that.
wruza 7y ago
To look forward, to hope for the best for everyone and to overcome the unforeseen. Idk who this guy is, but it is clear from the text that he is a startup entrepreneur.
speedplane 7y ago
> “Since I left Secret I feel alive and aligned with my values and my purpose again.” > I wonder what his values and purpose are. Few people know the founder and whether he's actually a good person or a fraud, but we do know that: he was the recipient of huge VC largess, created an app with shaky moral foundation that caused actual harm, and then shut it down after lots of bad publicity. Not reasons to totally discount a person, but good reasons to be skeptical.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
chrysb 7y ago
Hi, This is a totally fair question. I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt. When I designed and built Secret, it was based on an early community of people who were sharing things we'd never see on Facebook or anywhere else. I was touched by the vulnerable stories and conversations people were having. People would come to me and tell me Secret changed their life in positive ways. This is why I continued to work on it and believed that it was possible for it to do good in the world. Ever since I left Secret, those moments always stuck with me. And even to this day people reach out and tell me they miss Secret; what I hear is that people still have a need to share vulnerably. That's why I decided to lick my wounds and get back to work. Last August I hit a peak of loneliness after moving to LA, and using Instagram all the time. I felt like shit, like I wasn't enough, and I was really hard on myself and self critical. This led me to an emotional rock bottom. It wasn't until then that I demanded self love from myself and built myself back up emotionally, and it was that process that inspired me to help other who might feel like I did at that difficult point last August. Personally, some of my values are: — People are inherently good. I believe everyone has a story and their own challenges, and if they can feel heard, they can feel accepted and become a healthy and thriving individual. — Strangers are just friends waiting to happen. We can be quick to judge other people, but we should always bias to listening and to asking questions to better understand where people are coming from. — It starts with self love. If you can't accept yourself, how can you ever truly know how to accept anyone else? Usually when we reject others, it's because we reject something about ourselves. I learned this lesson the hard way, and hope to bring more self compassion to others. — It takes a village. Pursuing any mission in life is greater than any one person. When I built Secret, initially it was mostly my idea and I designed it myself. I think that's the exception to the rule. With what we're building now, we've received so much support that all I can do is empower and enable people to do what they love to bring this mission to life. — Leave it better than you found it. Whatever situation you're in, do what you can to make a little better. — Joy waits on the other side of fear. Often the things we are afraid of are gateways to self-discovery and fulfilling our potential. I could go on, but these are just some that come to mind now. You can read about the values of our company on our website at http://ikaria.co http://ikaria.co

randycupertino 7y ago

> I wonder what his values and purpose are. Hopefully not using investor $$ to buy himself a ferrari, like his co-founder! https://nextshark.com/david-byttow-secret-founder-sells-prized-ferrari-after-having-to-shut-down-100-million-company/ https://nextshark.com/david-byttow-secret-founder-sells-priz...

kubmit 7y ago
what the hell is the point of this statement? he didn't do that.

wruza 7y ago

To look forward, to hope for the best for everyone and to overcome the unforeseen. Idk who this guy is, but it is clear from the text that he is a startup entrepreneur.

speedplane 7y ago

> “Since I left Secret I feel alive and aligned with my values and my purpose again.” > I wonder what his values and purpose are. Few people know the founder and whether he's actually a good person or a fraud, but we do know that: he was the recipient of huge VC largess, created an app with shaky moral foundation that caused actual harm, and then shut it down after lots of bad publicity. Not reasons to totally discount a person, but good reasons to be skeptical.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

chrysb 7y ago

Hi, This is a totally fair question. I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt. When I designed and built Secret, it was based on an early community of people who were sharing things we'd never see on Facebook or anywhere else. I was touched by the vulnerable stories and conversations people were having. People would come to me and tell me Secret changed their life in positive ways. This is why I continued to work on it and believed that it was possible for it to do good in the world. Ever since I left Secret, those moments always stuck with me. And even to this day people reach out and tell me they miss Secret; what I hear is that people still have a need to share vulnerably. That's why I decided to lick my wounds and get back to work. Last August I hit a peak of loneliness after moving to LA, and using Instagram all the time. I felt like shit, like I wasn't enough, and I was really hard on myself and self critical. This led me to an emotional rock bottom. It wasn't until then that I demanded self love from myself and built myself back up emotionally, and it was that process that inspired me to help other who might feel like I did at that difficult point last August. Personally, some of my values are: — People are inherently good. I believe everyone has a story and their own challenges, and if they can feel heard, they can feel accepted and become a healthy and thriving individual. — Strangers are just friends waiting to happen. We can be quick to judge other people, but we should always bias to listening and to asking questions to better understand where people are coming from. — It starts with self love. If you can't accept yourself, how can you ever truly know how to accept anyone else? Usually when we reject others, it's because we reject something about ourselves. I learned this lesson the hard way, and hope to bring more self compassion to others. — It takes a village. Pursuing any mission in life is greater than any one person. When I built Secret, initially it was mostly my idea and I designed it myself. I think that's the exception to the rule. With what we're building now, we've received so much support that all I can do is empower and enable people to do what they love to bring this mission to life. — Leave it better than you found it. Whatever situation you're in, do what you can to make a little better. — Joy waits on the other side of fear. Often the things we are afraid of are gateways to self-discovery and fulfilling our potential. I could go on, but these are just some that come to mind now. You can read about the values of our company on our website at http://ikaria.co http://ikaria.co