4 ms·

I don't know too much about them (I'm about to sign up right now) but I think one could start a similar service on a YCombinator investment.

by vlad 19y ago

rms 19y ago
did you save the much longer post you had here before? I think filling out a Y Combinator application for a company building a platform that allows the outsourcing of simple tasks that require an email/phone call would be a great exercise. That app would be the best place to put ideas about why an improved copy of this company could be very profitable/liquid. Beyond personal assistants, you can create interchangeable overseas office workers. Email's in my profile, anyone can email me that would like to collaborate on said app. I think we could try and build a demo screencast for YC app submission. We'd assign equity in any resulting company by using the Cambrian House model of defining specific tasks that give you a certain amount of equity.
- vlad 19y ago
  Yes, I wrote 12 paragraphs that you must have seen, but I then edited down to one sentence. It wasn't edited properly and I had no time to do it. The point of it was basically the same thing you just said. (I apologize for the lack of editing) I don't know too much about them (I'm about to sign up right now) but I think one could start a similar service on a YCombinator investment. If I were to do something like this, I'd create the web site and back-end for customers, support agents, and admins so customers could sign up and store account info, agents see questions and customer history and could reply via the web site when they're done, and admins could track quality of service. You would have two or three founders answer the e-mails from other YCombinator companies to get a feel on the most-common requested tasks/services. During a 1 month period after private launch where you track what people ask for, you would also code a system where only trusted agents would actually have access to the client's files, such as logging in to their yahoo! account, and then pass the data the user wanted to another support agent who specializes in generic, non-sensitive data who themselves could be outsourced eventually. For example, when somebody asks for a Contact's map and directions in their Yahoo! account that they forgot to print out, an American would find that e-mail and send it to the 2nd level assistant who works for much less (on premises or outsourced) to finish the task. After a few months, you'd identify higher-profit niches like those companies who use Google Office and cater to those companies via Google's API, setting higher prices and better/faster support. For example, transcribing a document via phone into Google Writely, making it look nice, saving it and attaching it to an e-mail via Google Mail. Eventually, you'd automate that aspect, too. Another example might be listing a bunch of items on eBay every day from a spreadsheet with titles and descriptions pulled from similar items already on eBay. Since the company, at root, would be a software company, it could come out with way more automation and plug-n-play support for latest API's than a regular staffing company. The benefit to society is that any foreign person who wants to improve their life and have a computer job, and save customers time and money, will be able to be plugged into the system. The fun of life is to improve, not to have. Americans would outsource to Indians. Indians could use this to outsource to others. The buck might be passed down to those who use the $100 laptops in undeveloped countries eventually. Everybody learns, everybody improves, everybody focuses on productivity, not face-time. Those for whom the dollar would make a big difference, proudly earn money, buy clean water, move to a city, etc, and start their own competitive businesses. Those for whom saving 30 minutes is more important than a few dollars also benefit. Everybody advances. Instead of getting money from charities, those in 3rd world countries would learn math and computer skills by working for their money which goes a long way. Giving somebody a buck doesn't teach them anything. On the other hand, very few people in America don't have access to clean water, or things like that. Instead of spending an hour researching a good $1,000 television to buy, people could save that time and pay $5-20 for the research. All of a sudden, you just helped someone pay their electric and internet bill for the entire month, and all without the hassles of charities or needing to be rich to make a change in the world. You'd get bought out by Google for 50 million dollars by March of next year. What do you think, pg and paul?
rms 19y ago
"This is Steve Ludmer, Co-Founder of Sunday. First of all, I want to thank the many readers who have emailed me personally with feedback and the new members who continue to sign up. If anyone is intrigued by our concept and wants to see if we can help create time and enhanced mobility in their lives, I encourage you to use the promotional code: MOBILITY. Using this promotional code will allow you to try our service for FREE for 1 month, no strings attached. " http://venturebeat.com/2007/07/27/sunday-gives-you-personal-assistants-every-day-of-the-week/#more-21671 http://venturebeat.com/2007/07/27/sunday-gives-you-personal-...

I don't know too much about them (I'm about to sign up right now) but I think one could start a similar service on a YCombinator investment.

by vlad 19y ago

I don't know too much about them (I'm about to sign up right now) but I think one could start a similar service on a YCombinator investment.

rms 19y ago

did you save the much longer post you had here before? I think filling out a Y Combinator application for a company building a platform that allows the outsourcing of simple tasks that require an email/phone call would be a great exercise. That app would be the best place to put ideas about why an improved copy of this company could be very profitable/liquid. Beyond personal assistants, you can create interchangeable overseas office workers. Email's in my profile, anyone can email me that would like to collaborate on said app. I think we could try and build a demo screencast for YC app submission. We'd assign equity in any resulting company by using the Cambrian House model of defining specific tasks that give you a certain amount of equity.

vlad 19y ago
Yes, I wrote 12 paragraphs that you must have seen, but I then edited down to one sentence. It wasn't edited properly and I had no time to do it. The point of it was basically the same thing you just said. (I apologize for the lack of editing) I don't know too much about them (I'm about to sign up right now) but I think one could start a similar service on a YCombinator investment. If I were to do something like this, I'd create the web site and back-end for customers, support agents, and admins so customers could sign up and store account info, agents see questions and customer history and could reply via the web site when they're done, and admins could track quality of service. You would have two or three founders answer the e-mails from other YCombinator companies to get a feel on the most-common requested tasks/services. During a 1 month period after private launch where you track what people ask for, you would also code a system where only trusted agents would actually have access to the client's files, such as logging in to their yahoo! account, and then pass the data the user wanted to another support agent who specializes in generic, non-sensitive data who themselves could be outsourced eventually. For example, when somebody asks for a Contact's map and directions in their Yahoo! account that they forgot to print out, an American would find that e-mail and send it to the 2nd level assistant who works for much less (on premises or outsourced) to finish the task. After a few months, you'd identify higher-profit niches like those companies who use Google Office and cater to those companies via Google's API, setting higher prices and better/faster support. For example, transcribing a document via phone into Google Writely, making it look nice, saving it and attaching it to an e-mail via Google Mail. Eventually, you'd automate that aspect, too. Another example might be listing a bunch of items on eBay every day from a spreadsheet with titles and descriptions pulled from similar items already on eBay. Since the company, at root, would be a software company, it could come out with way more automation and plug-n-play support for latest API's than a regular staffing company. The benefit to society is that any foreign person who wants to improve their life and have a computer job, and save customers time and money, will be able to be plugged into the system. The fun of life is to improve, not to have. Americans would outsource to Indians. Indians could use this to outsource to others. The buck might be passed down to those who use the $100 laptops in undeveloped countries eventually. Everybody learns, everybody improves, everybody focuses on productivity, not face-time. Those for whom the dollar would make a big difference, proudly earn money, buy clean water, move to a city, etc, and start their own competitive businesses. Those for whom saving 30 minutes is more important than a few dollars also benefit. Everybody advances. Instead of getting money from charities, those in 3rd world countries would learn math and computer skills by working for their money which goes a long way. Giving somebody a buck doesn't teach them anything. On the other hand, very few people in America don't have access to clean water, or things like that. Instead of spending an hour researching a good $1,000 television to buy, people could save that time and pay $5-20 for the research. All of a sudden, you just helped someone pay their electric and internet bill for the entire month, and all without the hassles of charities or needing to be rich to make a change in the world. You'd get bought out by Google for 50 million dollars by March of next year. What do you think, pg and paul?

rms 19y ago

"This is Steve Ludmer, Co-Founder of Sunday. First of all, I want to thank the many readers who have emailed me personally with feedback and the new members who continue to sign up. If anyone is intrigued by our concept and wants to see if we can help create time and enhanced mobility in their lives, I encourage you to use the promotional code: MOBILITY. Using this promotional code will allow you to try our service for FREE for 1 month, no strings attached. " http://venturebeat.com/2007/07/27/sunday-gives-you-personal-assistants-every-day-of-the-week/#more-21671 http://venturebeat.com/2007/07/27/sunday-gives-you-personal-...