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This is really neat! I'll have to look at this in more depth, you've got some traction on that github. We've gone brute force, and actually just built a chrome

by yaseer 6y ago

This is really neat! I'll have to look at this in more depth, you've got some traction on that github. We've gone brute force, and actually just built a chrome RDP to a containerised browser in your local geography. It's working pretty well. axiom evolved from an 'automation chatbot' idea originally - we applied to YC with that idea and didn't get in. I don't blame them, nobody wanted it! We tried to sell it to customers and found the only part they wanted was the browser RPA we connected up to the chatbot. That eventually became axiom. There's quite a few people who've tried this idea - we've studied the ones that failed pretty intently. The problem is never on making a tool that gets people interested, the problem is building a business out of that interest. If you ever want to chat about your experiences in the same space, hit me up on (my HN name) AT axiom.ai

graderjs 6y ago
Nah, I'm good, it sounds like you don't feel you need to learn much from my experiences in this business, but if you ever want to share your experiences about what you think making a good business out of this would be, I think that would be valuable. I understand if you don't want to do that, and that's OK, everybody loves different things. Anyway, I can share some of what I think about YC rejections, that might be interesting, but if don't want to hear that, that's cool, too, everyone has different degrees of freedom there. I do not think YC is about making something people want, even tho that's the dogma they spout. I reckon YC will knock you back even if can make, or do make, something people want. So it's not about that. I've always applied on the premise that "I have this very basic prototype, I know this is a big market, my tool will be better, here's why, you should let me in". I wanted them to show faith and fund me from this idea stage, not wait for the rolling customer traction. The kind of faith they show with many other teams who don't have anything to tractioning at first, but have impressive credentials along some axes. They invest in people not ideas. And so I guess, I personally am just "not good enough" according to them. And you are. And that's OK, everybody likes different things. So that's a good vote of confidence for you, and I'm happy you've got that. I think it will help you definitely. So..so much for my "white, male privilege" I even came from money and had a good education! I guess that just explodes that fake narrative. I'm a nobody, an outsider, not a Standard CS degree person, nor a protected minority. So from YC's point of view there's zero risk in them rejecting me, and from their perspective, there's no meat for them to invest in me. And GitHub stars don't mean anything at all to YC or investors or customers. I see GitHub just as a way to reach people and market. I guess it didn't help that I'm also sincerely pro-China, was a devout Trump believer, say what I think, non-conformist, and a solo founder, and... critical of YC, hahaha. Onetime I applied to YC and the pushed me to the China batch, but a lot of good that did, China didn't want me either, hahaha. Nice try, fellas. Whatever :p :) xx I can also share some of my business thinking about this market. I agree the failure case is business-ability. I've also studied the failed ones. I think one main fail is people get sucked into becoming a bespoke consulting shop, lured by the hardness of a general solution, tech debt blocking them from making one, a couple big enterprise customers, and they get locked up doing that and can't scale. I've been aware of that since day 1 watching the failure of a couple others in this place, and I always had a different idea. Still, YC doesn't care. I don't care that they think I'm not good enough for them, I'm happy for them they do what makes them happy. I know if they accepted me, they wouldn't feel happy nor comfortable with that, and I don't want them to do anything they wouldn't feel happy or comfortable with. I wouldn't want to be a spanner in their works, or their delicately oiled machine. From my view, I just figure it's their loss, because I exist outside the scope of what they are able to consider, I'm in the unassessable background, an unknown unknown to them. So that's my advantage, and their disadvantage. I see myself clearly as an outsider, so it doesn't matter at all to me that they do too, in fact it's nice to have something to agree on. So much for "inclusivity". I guess tolerance for diversity doesn't extend to opinions and experiences. Guess those fake narratives are exploded, too. OH well. Plus, I think it's better for me this way. It probably wouldn't do me any good to be part of YC anyway. But I keep applying, almost as a troll to them. Because I know their reaction is gonna be "reject". Of course, if they "let me in" I'll make it the best for me and use it to my advantage and make the most of this. But they never, ever will. And I also like to prove this is not about the things they say it is about, it's about something else. I think that's probably what applying to YC is about to me now. They will never fund me. And anyway, 120K is not that much. But it's really about the prestige, and valley access. At the same time, I think this path of 12 and counting YC rejections is the best possible thing for me -- I like getting told the message, "You will never be part of this exclusive club." because that makes me stronger, more resilient and self-reliant. I don't need your stupid club, anyway. Hahahah At the same time, I think it's very good for you to get into YC, because I think that's going to be useful for you and I think you can make something great out of it, and that's what I wish for you and want to see. I truly think this market segment is so important, that democratizing access to unlocking the latent value in the structured data of the web is going to be such a game changer, so I welcome your speedy success along that axis. I'll enjoy to see it personally, and I also believe it will be good for my business, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I get to see the experiments you run and how you solve problems. It's not always best to be first. :)

by yaseer 6y ago

graderjs 6y ago

Nah, I'm good, it sounds like you don't feel you need to learn much from my experiences in this business, but if you ever want to share your experiences about what you think making a good business out of this would be, I think that would be valuable. I understand if you don't want to do that, and that's OK, everybody loves different things. Anyway, I can share some of what I think about YC rejections, that might be interesting, but if don't want to hear that, that's cool, too, everyone has different degrees of freedom there. I do not think YC is about making something people want, even tho that's the dogma they spout. I reckon YC will knock you back even if can make, or do make, something people want. So it's not about that. I've always applied on the premise that "I have this very basic prototype, I know this is a big market, my tool will be better, here's why, you should let me in". I wanted them to show faith and fund me from this idea stage, not wait for the rolling customer traction. The kind of faith they show with many other teams who don't have anything to tractioning at first, but have impressive credentials along some axes. They invest in people not ideas. And so I guess, I personally am just "not good enough" according to them. And you are. And that's OK, everybody likes different things. So that's a good vote of confidence for you, and I'm happy you've got that. I think it will help you definitely. So..so much for my "white, male privilege" I even came from money and had a good education! I guess that just explodes that fake narrative. I'm a nobody, an outsider, not a Standard CS degree person, nor a protected minority. So from YC's point of view there's zero risk in them rejecting me, and from their perspective, there's no meat for them to invest in me. And GitHub stars don't mean anything at all to YC or investors or customers. I see GitHub just as a way to reach people and market. I guess it didn't help that I'm also sincerely pro-China, was a devout Trump believer, say what I think, non-conformist, and a solo founder, and... critical of YC, hahaha. Onetime I applied to YC and the pushed me to the China batch, but a lot of good that did, China didn't want me either, hahaha. Nice try, fellas. Whatever :p :) xx I can also share some of my business thinking about this market. I agree the failure case is business-ability. I've also studied the failed ones. I think one main fail is people get sucked into becoming a bespoke consulting shop, lured by the hardness of a general solution, tech debt blocking them from making one, a couple big enterprise customers, and they get locked up doing that and can't scale. I've been aware of that since day 1 watching the failure of a couple others in this place, and I always had a different idea. Still, YC doesn't care. I don't care that they think I'm not good enough for them, I'm happy for them they do what makes them happy. I know if they accepted me, they wouldn't feel happy nor comfortable with that, and I don't want them to do anything they wouldn't feel happy or comfortable with. I wouldn't want to be a spanner in their works, or their delicately oiled machine. From my view, I just figure it's their loss, because I exist outside the scope of what they are able to consider, I'm in the unassessable background, an unknown unknown to them. So that's my advantage, and their disadvantage. I see myself clearly as an outsider, so it doesn't matter at all to me that they do too, in fact it's nice to have something to agree on. So much for "inclusivity". I guess tolerance for diversity doesn't extend to opinions and experiences. Guess those fake narratives are exploded, too. OH well. Plus, I think it's better for me this way. It probably wouldn't do me any good to be part of YC anyway. But I keep applying, almost as a troll to them. Because I know their reaction is gonna be "reject". Of course, if they "let me in" I'll make it the best for me and use it to my advantage and make the most of this. But they never, ever will. And I also like to prove this is not about the things they say it is about, it's about something else. I think that's probably what applying to YC is about to me now. They will never fund me. And anyway, 120K is not that much. But it's really about the prestige, and valley access. At the same time, I think this path of 12 and counting YC rejections is the best possible thing for me -- I like getting told the message, "You will never be part of this exclusive club." because that makes me stronger, more resilient and self-reliant. I don't need your stupid club, anyway. Hahahah At the same time, I think it's very good for you to get into YC, because I think that's going to be useful for you and I think you can make something great out of it, and that's what I wish for you and want to see. I truly think this market segment is so important, that democratizing access to unlocking the latent value in the structured data of the web is going to be such a game changer, so I welcome your speedy success along that axis. I'll enjoy to see it personally, and I also believe it will be good for my business, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I get to see the experiments you run and how you solve problems. It's not always best to be first. :)