24 ms·

Seems prudent to point out this isn't the product of a disgruntled's weekend project with fancy webdesign. This is a product from MSCHF which is a $100M+ start

by dotBen 5y ago

Seems prudent to point out this isn't the product of a disgruntled's weekend project with fancy webdesign. This is a product from MSCHF which is a $100M+ startup [1] (feels like they're getting a bit of an astroturfed free ride of prime PR on HN because folks may not realize who is behind this) [1] https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/279769-42 https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/279769-42

whymauri 5y ago
Is it astroturf, though? I think this is genuinely hilarious. Elizabeth Holmes as the patron saint of the website is the cherry on top.
- harikb 5y ago
  thanks, I didn't notice that small image!
- cercatrova 5y ago
  The *cherub on top
- legohead 5y ago
  I'd say so as they just picked the most well known gadgets. So they basically put minimal effort into research and surrounded it by a pretty site.
  - crackercrews 5y ago
    Where was the pretty site?
rozap 5y ago
The best part is when you go to mschf.xyz there are a bunch of links, and when you click one it logs `TypeError: n.setAttribute is not a function` to the console and then doesn't do anything. millions of dollars to build a homepage with some links on it that spit out JS errors is the ultimate commentary. i think it's genius.
- ajcp 5y ago
  I really hope they didn't pay someone millions of dollars to generate them a Create Nuxt App with really terrible design and tracking.
- trhway 5y ago
  Recently when I tried to configure Mustang EV to get price/etc. the Ford site was erroring ... That's billions that their future rides on .
slg 5y ago
For those unware, this is the same people behind those Lil Nas X shoes with blood in them that made the news a few months back. While they do sell products, they seem to be less of a traditional startup with the goal of making money and more of a mix of satirists, artists, and trolls.
- sombremesa 5y ago
  They seem to have raised a bunch of money but still ended up being the "poor man's" version of Meow Wolf [0]. They also seem to be pulling some wool over journalists' eyes by misrepresenting their raise as hinging on one or the other of their "drops". [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHxXw7Qcs8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHxXw7Qcs8 [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2020/11/09/push-party-pulls-a-reality-bending-200m-valuation/amp/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2020/11/09/push-pa...
johnnyfived 5y ago
Who's the target audience for this crap? A bunch of Hacker News-esque weekend projects that get a bunch of PR from Vice, WSJ, Verge, etc. every time they release something. Just seems like a team of copycats stealing hackathon ideas, giving them a slight twist, then calls it art and journalists fall all over themselves for it. You won't see these publications writing about similar projects on HN, because they're not called "drops" (lol) and doesn't have an edgy site. Maybe I'm just jealous of their success, I just don't think it's noteworthy at all.
- lupire 5y ago
  It's VC funded (for some bizarre reason) Silicon Valley late-stage Burning Man appropriation of counter culture.
  - whymauri 5y ago
    I don't think it's counter culture, at all (or attempting to be). They were selling Lil Nas X shoes, which is basically peak mainstream culture.
    - johnnyfived 5y ago
      In today's world where everyone's trying to be ironic counterculture is mainstream culture, just with more smugness
- clpm4j 5y ago
  I had never heard of them before, so I found this article[0] which gives me the impression that they're a 'creative nyc agency / art studio'. No idea how they convinced professional investors to give them millions of dollars, but seems like they create "artworks" and sell them for pretty high prices. I think their target audience is every trust fund kid in Brooklyn and Manhattan. [0]https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes-puff-chicken-office-business https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes...
mushufasa 5y ago
from going to their website, it seems like they try to use clever web design and limited-time deals to sell weirdo and off-kilter failed products. I clicked on a link to a 'chair simulator' which ended up as a steam game a-la-goat simulator. It seems like they are a factory to sprinkle some clever web design and marketing to create demand for failed products, making something out of nothing. With time as an incentive. Reminds me of the early days of Groupon. Clever.
tedmiston 5y ago
> This is a product from MSCHF which is a $100M+ startup [1] Where do you see a $100M+ startup? On the page linked, I see a $12.5M Series B... I would call them a small contraversial ultra-modern art company. A caricature more so than a startup.

by dotBen 5y ago

whymauri 5y ago

Is it astroturf, though? I think this is genuinely hilarious. Elizabeth Holmes as the patron saint of the website is the cherry on top.

harikb 5y ago
thanks, I didn't notice that small image!
cercatrova 5y ago
The *cherub on top
legohead 5y ago
I'd say so as they just picked the most well known gadgets. So they basically put minimal effort into research and surrounded it by a pretty site.
- crackercrews 5y ago
  Where was the pretty site?

rozap 5y ago

The best part is when you go to mschf.xyz there are a bunch of links, and when you click one it logs `TypeError: n.setAttribute is not a function` to the console and then doesn't do anything. millions of dollars to build a homepage with some links on it that spit out JS errors is the ultimate commentary. i think it's genius.

ajcp 5y ago
I really hope they didn't pay someone millions of dollars to generate them a Create Nuxt App with really terrible design and tracking.
trhway 5y ago
Recently when I tried to configure Mustang EV to get price/etc. the Ford site was erroring ... That's billions that their future rides on .

slg 5y ago

For those unware, this is the same people behind those Lil Nas X shoes with blood in them that made the news a few months back. While they do sell products, they seem to be less of a traditional startup with the goal of making money and more of a mix of satirists, artists, and trolls.

sombremesa 5y ago
They seem to have raised a bunch of money but still ended up being the "poor man's" version of Meow Wolf [0]. They also seem to be pulling some wool over journalists' eyes by misrepresenting their raise as hinging on one or the other of their "drops". [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHxXw7Qcs8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHxXw7Qcs8 [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2020/11/09/push-party-pulls-a-reality-bending-200m-valuation/amp/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2020/11/09/push-pa...

johnnyfived 5y ago

Who's the target audience for this crap? A bunch of Hacker News-esque weekend projects that get a bunch of PR from Vice, WSJ, Verge, etc. every time they release something. Just seems like a team of copycats stealing hackathon ideas, giving them a slight twist, then calls it art and journalists fall all over themselves for it. You won't see these publications writing about similar projects on HN, because they're not called "drops" (lol) and doesn't have an edgy site. Maybe I'm just jealous of their success, I just don't think it's noteworthy at all.

lupire 5y ago
It's VC funded (for some bizarre reason) Silicon Valley late-stage Burning Man appropriation of counter culture.
- whymauri 5y ago
  I don't think it's counter culture, at all (or attempting to be). They were selling Lil Nas X shoes, which is basically peak mainstream culture.
  - johnnyfived 5y ago
    In today's world where everyone's trying to be ironic counterculture is mainstream culture, just with more smugness
clpm4j 5y ago
I had never heard of them before, so I found this article[0] which gives me the impression that they're a 'creative nyc agency / art studio'. No idea how they convinced professional investors to give them millions of dollars, but seems like they create "artworks" and sell them for pretty high prices. I think their target audience is every trust fund kid in Brooklyn and Manhattan. [0]https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes-puff-chicken-office-business https://www.theverge.com/21320127/mschf-products-jesus-shoes...

mushufasa 5y ago

from going to their website, it seems like they try to use clever web design and limited-time deals to sell weirdo and off-kilter failed products. I clicked on a link to a 'chair simulator' which ended up as a steam game a-la-goat simulator. It seems like they are a factory to sprinkle some clever web design and marketing to create demand for failed products, making something out of nothing. With time as an incentive. Reminds me of the early days of Groupon. Clever.

tedmiston 5y ago

> This is a product from MSCHF which is a $100M+ startup [1] Where do you see a $100M+ startup? On the page linked, I see a $12.5M Series B... I would call them a small contraversial ultra-modern art company. A caricature more so than a startup.