6 ms·

Two special startup types: the Twitter and the Hoverboard

52 points by danshapiro 15y ago

j_baker 15y ago
it’s not going to be very hard to solve the problem technically (you’d be wrong, of course, but that’s besides the point) Actually, I would say that the problems twitter is solving aren't terribly difficult. Now, doing it at such a massive scale is very difficult. But I think a large portion of twitter's success is that their solution seems rather easy to implement at small scale.
- romey 15y ago
  Agreed. Twitter-like apps seem to be the go to first project for learning a new language for web development.
- wmf 15y ago
  But the scale is an essential part of being Twitter due to network effects. A small-scale Twitter isn't Twitter.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
DrewG 15y ago
I like the part where he says "if you aren't one of these types, keep calm and carry on." A lot of articles seem to try and classify all startups into 2 or 3 types which is honestly pretty silly.
bennyfreshness 15y ago
AirBnB in my opinion is no longer a "Twitter Startup." Maybe at first, but now they've proven people will sacrifice some level of comfort to save money, which in my opinion took a lot of gumption. This now proven disruptive model (sacrificing some comfort/certainty/social norms to save money) I think is only beginning.
- mechanical_fish 15y ago
  I think this article isn't describing startups so much as startup ideas, and/or very early startups that have yet to demonstrate the elusive product/market fit. Once you've proven that your Hoverboard works, and that it really is a Hoverboard ("an idea that, if it works, will practically sell itself") then it isn't really a Hoverboard anymore. And once your Twitter concept has users and a viable business model it isn't a Twitter anymore. Ironically, AirBNB is no longer a Twitter startup, but Twitter arguably still is. ;)
  - bennyfreshness 15y ago
    Good point, although I'd argue Twitter has shown its product/market fit (political strife/breaking news/Bieber).. Also, I agree, my comment is off topic, but I'm a bit tired of poor little AirBnB (now valued at $1 billion) not getting credit for sticking their noses in and bravely creating a new market.. PG might agree w/ me http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html
- Aloisius 15y ago
  Sacrifice some level of comfort? Huh. I use AirBnB to book places that cost about the same amount as a hotel, but are significantly nicer.
- ramanujan 15y ago
  AirBnB is great if you have time, but there is something to be said for the zipless convenience of just booking a room with a hotel. It is a genuine pain to go back and forth with a few different people to get a room. Unless they have some sort of solid state, instant/confirmed booking option, it's better for casual travelers and sublets than business travelers. (May all be obvious, just my $.02)
mechanical_fish 15y ago
I sense that we could construct an amusing zoo of subcategories here. e.g. The Oyster: A species of Hoverboard that appears to magically parse natural language or generic web data but which on close inspection turns out to be a slick-looking wrapper around a rat's nest of Perl regular expressions which are being frantically updated by a harried group of hackers to deal with each "edge case" as it arises. The Turk: Like an Oyster, but without the regular expressions. The Esperanto: A Hoverboard that promises to help non-programmers write programs by using "natural" syntax that is "just like human language". See e.g.: AppleScript. The Gift-Horse Engine: A Twitter that is in fact virally popular, but only because it bribes adopters by giving away something below cost in an unsustainable way.
JohnnyBrown 15y ago
This is a neat, memorable way of explaining what Steve Blank calls [Customer/Market Risk versus Invention Risk](http://steveblank.com/2009/05/28/vertical-markets-2-customermarket-risk-versus-invention-risk/ http://steveblank.com/2009/05/28/vertical-markets-2-customer...)
jonmc12 15y ago
Here is Ali G pitching a hoverboard to a VC.. great stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc - go to 5:20 on the video. Ali G: "Its a hoverboard" (holding a skateboard with no wheels) Investor: ".. but it doesn't do that" Ali G: "Well, it doesn't do it yet. Thats where you come in - with your science"
- _anoop 15y ago
  He's a non-science founder ;)

52 points by danshapiro 15y ago

it’s not going to be very hard to solve the problem technically (you’d be wrong, of course, but that’s besides the point) Actually, I would say that the problems twitter is solving aren't terribly difficult. Now, doing it at such a massive scale is very difficult. But I think a large portion of twitter's success is that their solution seems rather easy to implement at small scale.

romey 15y ago
Agreed. Twitter-like apps seem to be the go to first project for learning a new language for web development.
wmf 15y ago
But the scale is an essential part of being Twitter due to network effects. A small-scale Twitter isn't Twitter.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

DrewG 15y ago

I like the part where he says "if you aren't one of these types, keep calm and carry on." A lot of articles seem to try and classify all startups into 2 or 3 types which is honestly pretty silly.

bennyfreshness 15y ago

AirBnB in my opinion is no longer a "Twitter Startup." Maybe at first, but now they've proven people will sacrifice some level of comfort to save money, which in my opinion took a lot of gumption. This now proven disruptive model (sacrificing some comfort/certainty/social norms to save money) I think is only beginning.

mechanical_fish 15y ago
I think this article isn't describing startups so much as startup ideas, and/or very early startups that have yet to demonstrate the elusive product/market fit. Once you've proven that your Hoverboard works, and that it really is a Hoverboard ("an idea that, if it works, will practically sell itself") then it isn't really a Hoverboard anymore. And once your Twitter concept has users and a viable business model it isn't a Twitter anymore. Ironically, AirBNB is no longer a Twitter startup, but Twitter arguably still is. ;)
- bennyfreshness 15y ago
  Good point, although I'd argue Twitter has shown its product/market fit (political strife/breaking news/Bieber).. Also, I agree, my comment is off topic, but I'm a bit tired of poor little AirBnB (now valued at $1 billion) not getting credit for sticking their noses in and bravely creating a new market.. PG might agree w/ me http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html
Aloisius 15y ago
Sacrifice some level of comfort? Huh. I use AirBnB to book places that cost about the same amount as a hotel, but are significantly nicer.
ramanujan 15y ago
AirBnB is great if you have time, but there is something to be said for the zipless convenience of just booking a room with a hotel. It is a genuine pain to go back and forth with a few different people to get a room. Unless they have some sort of solid state, instant/confirmed booking option, it's better for casual travelers and sublets than business travelers. (May all be obvious, just my $.02)

mechanical_fish 15y ago

I sense that we could construct an amusing zoo of subcategories here. e.g. The Oyster: A species of Hoverboard that appears to magically parse natural language or generic web data but which on close inspection turns out to be a slick-looking wrapper around a rat's nest of Perl regular expressions which are being frantically updated by a harried group of hackers to deal with each "edge case" as it arises. The Turk: Like an Oyster, but without the regular expressions. The Esperanto: A Hoverboard that promises to help non-programmers write programs by using "natural" syntax that is "just like human language". See e.g.: AppleScript. The Gift-Horse Engine: A Twitter that is in fact virally popular, but only because it bribes adopters by giving away something below cost in an unsustainable way.

JohnnyBrown 15y ago

This is a neat, memorable way of explaining what Steve Blank calls [Customer/Market Risk versus Invention Risk](http://steveblank.com/2009/05/28/vertical-markets-2-customermarket-risk-versus-invention-risk/ http://steveblank.com/2009/05/28/vertical-markets-2-customer...)

jonmc12 15y ago

Here is Ali G pitching a hoverboard to a VC.. great stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkuOuxRD1Bc - go to 5:20 on the video. Ali G: "Its a hoverboard" (holding a skateboard with no wheels) Investor: ".. but it doesn't do that" Ali G: "Well, it doesn't do it yet. Thats where you come in - with your science"

_anoop 15y ago
He's a non-science founder ;)