6 ms·

Here's what really bugs me: 2 months ago, Leah was on the cover of Inc Magazine and part of their "cool, determined, under 30" feature. They quoted the NY Times

Here's what really bugs me: 2 months ago, Leah was on the cover of Inc Magazine and part of their "cool, determined, under 30" feature. They quoted the NY Times assessment that Pownce is "one of the hottest start-ups in the valley". Why is it so hard for the media (print and web) to cover technology start-ups and founders that are actually changing the world and/or making a profit? Are you telling me that 3 months ago the Inc editors saw Pounce as some huge, valley juggernaut–and now it's shut down? Or did they just have that much trouble finding good under-30 entrepreneurs? http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081001/ http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081001/

ojbyrne 18y ago
Professional PR gets you into Inc. But it also increases your burn rate.
- petercooper 18y ago
  Or social connections. Given Kevin Rose's involvement, it was next to impossible for Pownce not to get more press than it deserved.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    Well, PR had a lot to do with Kevin's notoriety. Sure he had a good start from TechTV (though apparently not enough to keep him on the air there), but there was a well-orchestrated (and expensive) PR campaign there too. I should know.
    - petercooper 18y ago
      That is true. It seems once you've put in enough to get onto the PR gravy train, however, paying for it becomes less than essential.
    - pxlpshr 18y ago
      Kevin's techtv personality aside, I associate a lot of Digg's early adoption to his participation on TWIT. When iTunes first started accepting Podcasts, TWIT was the #1 show with ~250k+ subscribers... as far as market demographics are concerned, this was a perfect fit for plugging his digg project -- which Kevin did a lot of for free! Consequently, I really like Kevin and I wish he never left TWiT. It was the old TechTV re-united and with everything in their control... one-by-one it seemed each person left or became less involved as TWiT launched them into different careers. Can't blame them tho -- TechTV and TWiT were fantastic springboards for all those involved.
      - ojbyrne 18y ago
        I never really associated TWiT with the success (nor afaik has anyone else). Diggnation was ranked pretty close in the early days of itunes podcasts. I tend to associate most of the success with Paris Hilton and Yahoo ;-) In case you weren't around in Feb. 2005, her cell phone got hacked and someone put up some pictures and contacts on their site and then submitted it to digg. It got indexed by yahoo and ended up as the no. 1 and no. 3 search results for "Paris Hilton Cell Phone." Once we got the site back up :-( we discovered our traffic had increased drastically.
petercooper 18y ago
If you're connected, you get featured. There are plenty of folks out there (even young folks, say 20-30) who are making millions each year from businesses they're not shouting about. They don't get the same sort of self-serving press these digital socialites get, but they're still raking in the dough and having real success. Entrepreneurs have to make a decision. They can either be part of the in-set and get a constant ego boost from the press, or they can just get on with running their business. The smartest people choose the latter.
- callmeed 18y ago
  Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm actually in the latter camp myself (although I'm not < 30 anymore). I'm honestly not bugged personally about any lack of press. Having a successful company with no press is much better than the opposite (like you said). I think my main beef is with the press itself (not the companies). I enjoy reading Inc mag ... but I was suspect as soon as that issue dropped in my mailbox. I knew Pownce wasn't "hot" and that it probably wouldn't last. Aren't they worried about looking stupid when crap like this happens? I wish a Inc (or someone) would send 1 good journalist and 1 good photographer together on a road trip to profile a dozen tech startups that (a) aren't in NYC or the Valley, (b) have substantial revenue or growth and (c) haven't set out to be the "Next [INSERT UNPROFITABLE SOCIAL NETWORK/UTILITY]" ... it would actually be an educational and interesting read.
  - petercooper 18y ago
    There are a few problems. The first is that journalists are, on the whole, reasonably ignorant in terms of depth. Not in a malicious way, but keeping your finger on the pulse of an entire industry while having to meet deadlines is ridiculously tough - especially if you don't get the freedom to schmooze, put on events, travel, and what not (as, say, Michael Arrington does). They focus on breadth rather than depth in most cases. Further, tech journalists are not known for taking risks to get stories (compare to photojournalists). They could travel to Duluth and profile a start-up there, one in Huntsville, one in San Luis Obispo, and wherever, but the risk is too high of not coming up with a solid story. In the Valley they can rely on their contacts (often well established entrepreneurs who are part of the digerati) to give them more of the same. Outside of the valley? Unless someone in the digerati knows you or you're making some really big waves, the risk of coming out to profile you is pretty high.
strlen 18y ago
If you wonder about feature articles, read this: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
crabapple 18y ago
she can be airbrushed to resemble a real woman, thats why she was on the cover of mit tech review, another toilet paper mag for the psuedo-intellectual crowd
gcheong 18y ago
It's Kevin Rose's Internet; we're just using it. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081101/keeevviin.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081101/keeevviin.html
- GHFigs 18y ago
  1) I can't believe I clicked that link. 2) There is no way that guy is 6 feet tall.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    The first time I met Kevin in person the first words out of my mouth were "wow, you're taller than I expected." He is 6 feet tall, and I'm not sure why he gives the impression of being shorter.
    - ardit33 18y ago
      It is the round face, and the big head, that makes people think you are shorter (if they have seen you in pics only). I get this all the time too and I am a little bit taller than 6'.
  - mikeyur 18y ago
    I'm 6'7/6'8 - do I get bonus points?
    - steveplace 18y ago
      I've been asking that for years and have had no success.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  Random factoid. All of the people in those pictures are employees. That supports a totally different interpretation.
eventhough 18y ago
Leah Culver is hot. Problem solved.
- sh1mmer 18y ago
  I know Leah and she is also sick of comments like that. Aside from being one of the lead engineers on Pownce she wrote parts of the OAuth spec as well as the standard Python implementation. Why not comment on her engineering talents instead?
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - eventhough 18y ago
    If you think physical attraction was a 0% factor, you are deluding yourself.
    - sh1mmer 18y ago
      Right, but you didn't say "Leah being good lucking probably helps" you boiled her down to a single attribute which was looks. Inc and the rest of the tech press have featured plenty of less attractive people who get a professional photoshoot and come out on top. They don't get reduced to being successful because they are "hot" because they aren't girls. While I know her looks haven't hurt her career I see HN as a place where people make more rounded comments than yours. Just because you can say it that way, doesn't mean it's worth saying.
      - eventhough 18y ago
        Brevity is the soul of wit.
        noahlt 18y ago
        Brevity … is wit.
      - 18y ago

ojbyrne 18y ago

Professional PR gets you into Inc. But it also increases your burn rate.

petercooper 18y ago
Or social connections. Given Kevin Rose's involvement, it was next to impossible for Pownce not to get more press than it deserved.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  Well, PR had a lot to do with Kevin's notoriety. Sure he had a good start from TechTV (though apparently not enough to keep him on the air there), but there was a well-orchestrated (and expensive) PR campaign there too. I should know.
  - petercooper 18y ago
    That is true. It seems once you've put in enough to get onto the PR gravy train, however, paying for it becomes less than essential.
  - pxlpshr 18y ago
    Kevin's techtv personality aside, I associate a lot of Digg's early adoption to his participation on TWIT. When iTunes first started accepting Podcasts, TWIT was the #1 show with ~250k+ subscribers... as far as market demographics are concerned, this was a perfect fit for plugging his digg project -- which Kevin did a lot of for free! Consequently, I really like Kevin and I wish he never left TWiT. It was the old TechTV re-united and with everything in their control... one-by-one it seemed each person left or became less involved as TWiT launched them into different careers. Can't blame them tho -- TechTV and TWiT were fantastic springboards for all those involved.
    - ojbyrne 18y ago
      I never really associated TWiT with the success (nor afaik has anyone else). Diggnation was ranked pretty close in the early days of itunes podcasts. I tend to associate most of the success with Paris Hilton and Yahoo ;-) In case you weren't around in Feb. 2005, her cell phone got hacked and someone put up some pictures and contacts on their site and then submitted it to digg. It got indexed by yahoo and ended up as the no. 1 and no. 3 search results for "Paris Hilton Cell Phone." Once we got the site back up :-( we discovered our traffic had increased drastically.

petercooper 18y ago

If you're connected, you get featured. There are plenty of folks out there (even young folks, say 20-30) who are making millions each year from businesses they're not shouting about. They don't get the same sort of self-serving press these digital socialites get, but they're still raking in the dough and having real success. Entrepreneurs have to make a decision. They can either be part of the in-set and get a constant ego boost from the press, or they can just get on with running their business. The smartest people choose the latter.

callmeed 18y ago
Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm actually in the latter camp myself (although I'm not < 30 anymore). I'm honestly not bugged personally about any lack of press. Having a successful company with no press is much better than the opposite (like you said). I think my main beef is with the press itself (not the companies). I enjoy reading Inc mag ... but I was suspect as soon as that issue dropped in my mailbox. I knew Pownce wasn't "hot" and that it probably wouldn't last. Aren't they worried about looking stupid when crap like this happens? I wish a Inc (or someone) would send 1 good journalist and 1 good photographer together on a road trip to profile a dozen tech startups that (a) aren't in NYC or the Valley, (b) have substantial revenue or growth and (c) haven't set out to be the "Next [INSERT UNPROFITABLE SOCIAL NETWORK/UTILITY]" ... it would actually be an educational and interesting read.
- petercooper 18y ago
  There are a few problems. The first is that journalists are, on the whole, reasonably ignorant in terms of depth. Not in a malicious way, but keeping your finger on the pulse of an entire industry while having to meet deadlines is ridiculously tough - especially if you don't get the freedom to schmooze, put on events, travel, and what not (as, say, Michael Arrington does). They focus on breadth rather than depth in most cases. Further, tech journalists are not known for taking risks to get stories (compare to photojournalists). They could travel to Duluth and profile a start-up there, one in Huntsville, one in San Luis Obispo, and wherever, but the risk is too high of not coming up with a solid story. In the Valley they can rely on their contacts (often well established entrepreneurs who are part of the digerati) to give them more of the same. Outside of the valley? Unless someone in the digerati knows you or you're making some really big waves, the risk of coming out to profile you is pretty high.

strlen 18y ago

If you wonder about feature articles, read this: http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

crabapple 18y ago

she can be airbrushed to resemble a real woman, thats why she was on the cover of mit tech review, another toilet paper mag for the psuedo-intellectual crowd

gcheong 18y ago

It's Kevin Rose's Internet; we're just using it. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081101/keeevviin.html http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081101/keeevviin.html

GHFigs 18y ago
1) I can't believe I clicked that link. 2) There is no way that guy is 6 feet tall.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  The first time I met Kevin in person the first words out of my mouth were "wow, you're taller than I expected." He is 6 feet tall, and I'm not sure why he gives the impression of being shorter.
  - ardit33 18y ago
    It is the round face, and the big head, that makes people think you are shorter (if they have seen you in pics only). I get this all the time too and I am a little bit taller than 6'.
- mikeyur 18y ago
  I'm 6'7/6'8 - do I get bonus points?
  - steveplace 18y ago
    I've been asking that for years and have had no success.
ojbyrne 18y ago
Random factoid. All of the people in those pictures are employees. That supports a totally different interpretation.

eventhough 18y ago

Leah Culver is hot. Problem solved.

sh1mmer 18y ago
I know Leah and she is also sick of comments like that. Aside from being one of the lead engineers on Pownce she wrote parts of the OAuth spec as well as the standard Python implementation. Why not comment on her engineering talents instead?
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- eventhough 18y ago
  If you think physical attraction was a 0% factor, you are deluding yourself.
  - sh1mmer 18y ago
    Right, but you didn't say "Leah being good lucking probably helps" you boiled her down to a single attribute which was looks. Inc and the rest of the tech press have featured plenty of less attractive people who get a professional photoshoot and come out on top. They don't get reduced to being successful because they are "hot" because they aren't girls. While I know her looks haven't hurt her career I see HN as a place where people make more rounded comments than yours. Just because you can say it that way, doesn't mean it's worth saying.
    - eventhough 18y ago
      Brevity is the soul of wit.
      - noahlt 18y ago
        Brevity … is wit.
    - 18y ago