5 ms·

Now this is good work if you can get it. $12m talent acquisition and then he quits in 3 months. Maybe im just not a valley insider but what exactly has Kevin d

by capred 14y ago

Now this is good work if you can get it. $12m talent acquisition and then he quits in 3 months. Maybe im just not a valley insider but what exactly has Kevin done that was successful? I'm not trying to be critical here, just don't see what warrants the hype around him.

oldstrangers 14y ago
Digg was a success once. But mostly I think what Kevin offers is a very 'industry insider' perspective. He's created startups, he's worked with a lot of them, he's funded many more. So, experience and opinions/insight mostly.
- libraryatnight 14y ago
  He also seems popular from his TechTV days, and then his time on TWiT, and then of course Digg Nation or whatever his video podcast for Digg was called only made him more famous among technology enthusiasts. He seems like a good face and name to have around when you couple the insight with the fame.
  - mey 14y ago
    Revision 3
moolcool 14y ago
Digg was pretty successful for a while, and you could consider Pownce successful if you consider that he probably made a bundle when it sold to sixapart (IIRC)
- cmer 14y ago
  It was a talent acquisition from what I remember. I don't think anybody made much money with that deal unfortunately.
jinushaun 14y ago
I'm in the same boat. He basically made Slashdot for web 2.0. Digg can't be the sole reason why he is considered so valuable and is so highly sought after.
forza 14y ago
In the end doing things count. For all the reasons you'll find in the recurring "Why you should quit school and start a startup in SV". You can't do the kind of investments he's been doing without the experience and network that comes with staying "in the game" for a long time.
nicholassmith 14y ago
Digg pulled down ridiculously high amounts of user engagement for a long while, which given everyone's ridiculously short attention spans is impressive. Plus he had one of the most recognised podcasts with actual large sponsors. And a successful investment record. He seems to try engage with the community at large as well. He does alright essentially, and has a decent reputation amongst start ups.
ojbyrne 14y ago
I would guess that there would be some form of vesting and/or the earnout would be affected.
capsule_toy 14y ago
I'm surprised no one has brought up his ability to generate hype. Other than actually building the product, one of the biggest problems startups face is being able to get users. Do you remember how much publicity Milk got without a single product and just from having Kevin attached to it?
- baddox 14y ago
  Right, but capred is asking why he gets so much hype. You're basically saying that he gets hype because he is able to get so much hype.
  - capred 14y ago
    Exactly. Is he like the Paris Hilton of SV? Famous because he's famous. I see lots of comments about Digg but it seems like Digg peaked in 2008.
JVIDEL 14y ago
He was an early investor at zynga IIRC

by capred 14y ago

oldstrangers 14y ago

Digg was a success once. But mostly I think what Kevin offers is a very 'industry insider' perspective. He's created startups, he's worked with a lot of them, he's funded many more. So, experience and opinions/insight mostly.

libraryatnight 14y ago
He also seems popular from his TechTV days, and then his time on TWiT, and then of course Digg Nation or whatever his video podcast for Digg was called only made him more famous among technology enthusiasts. He seems like a good face and name to have around when you couple the insight with the fame.
- mey 14y ago
  Revision 3

moolcool 14y ago

Digg was pretty successful for a while, and you could consider Pownce successful if you consider that he probably made a bundle when it sold to sixapart (IIRC)

cmer 14y ago
It was a talent acquisition from what I remember. I don't think anybody made much money with that deal unfortunately.

jinushaun 14y ago

I'm in the same boat. He basically made Slashdot for web 2.0. Digg can't be the sole reason why he is considered so valuable and is so highly sought after.

forza 14y ago

In the end doing things count. For all the reasons you'll find in the recurring "Why you should quit school and start a startup in SV". You can't do the kind of investments he's been doing without the experience and network that comes with staying "in the game" for a long time.

nicholassmith 14y ago

Digg pulled down ridiculously high amounts of user engagement for a long while, which given everyone's ridiculously short attention spans is impressive. Plus he had one of the most recognised podcasts with actual large sponsors. And a successful investment record. He seems to try engage with the community at large as well. He does alright essentially, and has a decent reputation amongst start ups.

ojbyrne 14y ago

I would guess that there would be some form of vesting and/or the earnout would be affected.

capsule_toy 14y ago

I'm surprised no one has brought up his ability to generate hype. Other than actually building the product, one of the biggest problems startups face is being able to get users. Do you remember how much publicity Milk got without a single product and just from having Kevin attached to it?

baddox 14y ago
Right, but capred is asking why he gets so much hype. You're basically saying that he gets hype because he is able to get so much hype.
- capred 14y ago
  Exactly. Is he like the Paris Hilton of SV? Famous because he's famous. I see lots of comments about Digg but it seems like Digg peaked in 2008.

JVIDEL 14y ago

He was an early investor at zynga IIRC