22 ms·
Sometimes it's just surprising what people will pay for. I remember talking to a guy ~10 years ago who had bought a bunch of public-access (but hard to find) g
by jedc 18y ago
Sometimes it's just surprising what people will pay for.
I remember talking to a guy ~10 years ago who had bought a bunch of public-access (but hard to find) government databases and set up a service doing people searches. Long-lost friends, loves, etc.
At first he thought he was extortionate charging $10/search. But every time he raised the price he got significantly more business. I think he settled out at ~$80/search.
Today that very same business could very well start as a VC-funded free service, when in fact people are more than willing to pay for it.
- shafqat 18y agoWhats the business? Can you name it?
- jedc 18y agoI honestly don't remember the exact name. I do know they guy I met had done his thing live on a number of day-time talk shows (Oprah-type), and had gotten quite a bit of publicity out of that.
- wensing 18y agoHank Asher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Asher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Asher did something very similar, and his work ended up powering the searches for the Patriot Act.