4 ms·

Single founder + non-startup hub + non-web2.0-buzzworthy product == everything you're told not to do. I've said this before, but the biggest takeaway from the

by aditya 18y ago

Single founder + non-startup hub + non-web2.0-buzzworthy product == everything you're told not to do. I've said this before, but the biggest takeaway from the balsamiq story seems to be: put your head down and focus on making a great product, everything else will follow.

mace 18y ago
I think the important criteria it takes to build a successful startup: 1. Make something people 2. Lots of hard work sometimes gets lost within the criteria investors (e.g. YC) look for before funding a startup.
- boucher 18y ago
  I'm not sure what you're trying to say. You seem to be saying that investors won't fund companies that both make something people (want), and who work hard, and implying that YC also has that problem. But, YC is almost always investing in companies that have yet to make anything. Their entire business plan is about trying to predict which founders will have these two qualities.
  - teej 18y ago
    Not a full rebuttal, but just a point to make: How many "founders" does Balsamiq have? 1. How many single founder startups does YCombinator fund?
    - boucher 18y ago
      More than you think. I know of at least three. Counter-argument is, how many single founder companies do you know that are successful?
swombat 18y ago
put your head down and focus on making a great product, everything else will follow And market the hell out of it. The Balsamiq approach to marketing (market the success story) is quite similar to that of 37Signals, actually, and both essential and very effective.
- webwright 18y ago
  Absolutely. The "build a great product and they will come" myth is bullshit 99% of the time (unless you have a built in marketing engine-- SEO or viral). Balsamiq won the same reason that 37s did (and JoelonSoftware for that matter)... They had a great story, told it well, and the story happened to resonate/be interesting to their exact target market (web geeks / entrepreneurs). Bravo! But try to build great software for supply chain management, or managing a beauty parlor and let me know how "everything else will follow" there. There's a reason that SalesForce.com (which, arguably, has/had a great product) has spent 60-70% of their topline on sales and marketing.
boris 18y ago
"It is also easier to get investment for an idea that is in a “hot” market such as e-commerce during the dot-com boom and social networks more recently. VCs also expect their companies to expand rapidly. This makes a VC-funded company burn cash by rapidly growing in a crowded and noisy field with expensive and scarce engineers."[1] [1] http://codesynthesis.com/~boris/blog/2008/11/10/develop-new-products-during-recession/ http://codesynthesis.com/~boris/blog/2008/11/10/develop-new-...

by aditya 18y ago

mace 18y ago

I think the important criteria it takes to build a successful startup: 1. Make something people 2. Lots of hard work sometimes gets lost within the criteria investors (e.g. YC) look for before funding a startup.

boucher 18y ago
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. You seem to be saying that investors won't fund companies that both make something people (want), and who work hard, and implying that YC also has that problem. But, YC is almost always investing in companies that have yet to make anything. Their entire business plan is about trying to predict which founders will have these two qualities.
- teej 18y ago
  Not a full rebuttal, but just a point to make: How many "founders" does Balsamiq have? 1. How many single founder startups does YCombinator fund?
  - boucher 18y ago
    More than you think. I know of at least three. Counter-argument is, how many single founder companies do you know that are successful?

swombat 18y ago

put your head down and focus on making a great product, everything else will follow And market the hell out of it. The Balsamiq approach to marketing (market the success story) is quite similar to that of 37Signals, actually, and both essential and very effective.

webwright 18y ago
Absolutely. The "build a great product and they will come" myth is bullshit 99% of the time (unless you have a built in marketing engine-- SEO or viral). Balsamiq won the same reason that 37s did (and JoelonSoftware for that matter)... They had a great story, told it well, and the story happened to resonate/be interesting to their exact target market (web geeks / entrepreneurs). Bravo! But try to build great software for supply chain management, or managing a beauty parlor and let me know how "everything else will follow" there. There's a reason that SalesForce.com (which, arguably, has/had a great product) has spent 60-70% of their topline on sales and marketing.

boris 18y ago

"It is also easier to get investment for an idea that is in a “hot” market such as e-commerce during the dot-com boom and social networks more recently. VCs also expect their companies to expand rapidly. This makes a VC-funded company burn cash by rapidly growing in a crowded and noisy field with expensive and scarce engineers."[1] [1] http://codesynthesis.com/~boris/blog/2008/11/10/develop-new-products-during-recession/ http://codesynthesis.com/~boris/blog/2008/11/10/develop-new-...