5 ms·

WakeMate (YC S09) runs out of cash, co-founder allegedly spams users

87 points by antr 14y ago

canttestthis 14y ago
If the previous Eligible App HN submission is anything to go by, this will be ninja downvoted by HN mods.
ktizo 14y ago
I like the fact that they are open sourcing the tech though, perhaps someone else can improve it so it doesn't go on fire.
- zvikara 14y ago
  The actual device is safe. Only the provided cheap Chinese usb charger can catch fire.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    The device was smouldering in the video. http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC The cheap charger may have sparked it, but it was the lack of current limiters or heat cutoffs in the device that appears to be the actual problem. Electrical inputs should be treated much like form inputs on a web page. Never trust them to be what you designed for.
- pspeter3 14y ago
  Also the build quality needs to be improved. I used to use it and it was great but then the device became worthless
bwooce 14y ago
There is no allegedly about it, I was spammed with an offer for a new Wakemate. I forget the wording. Plus the follow up apology.
- robinwauters 14y ago
  true but I like to stay on the safe side until Greg gets back to me.
  - antr 14y ago
    Robin, it's time to update your employer on your HN profile ;)
    - robinwauters 14y ago
      ha, good idea :)
rikf 14y ago
Baffling with all the publicity they have surely this character would have been better off with an open and honest kickstarter? Stating they realise they made mistakes in the past how they are going to correct them and what is different or better about the new product. I would have probably contributed because I think its a really interesting product.
FelixP 14y ago
I'm reserving judgement until we hear both sides of the story. Obviously, this could simply be blatant bad behavior, but as even Arun said in his post, he doesn't really know what's going on. I could easily envision a situation where the company has run out of capital and one of the founders decides to take things into their own hands to keep the idea going simply driven by passion. Of course, if that was his motivation, his execution was remarkably poor.
- a5seo 14y ago
  It's pretty clear cut-- if Milife is a new corporation, with new owners, then the only way they should have had the list is if they paid WakeMate for the list. Any other use is theft from WakeMate shareholders. I think the odds are very good there will be legal problems for Milife, possibly criminal. Greg took Pincus's lie cheat and steal message too seriously.
  - droithomme 14y ago
    The shareholders are the VC investors. If they want to rip apart one of the few people around that managed to execute manufacturing a real hardware product and getting it shipped rather than stay on good terms and get in on his next idea, that's their decision. Foolish, but it's their life.
    - archangel_one 14y ago
      It seems fair that they wouldn't want to encourage this sort of thing; founders/employees of a company can't just start a new company and use information from the existing one to start it up. Criminal charges seem pretty heavy, but it seems like what was done here wasn't right.
      - nitrogen 14y ago
        Where do you draw the line between "us[ing] information" and applying your hard-earned experience?
droithomme 14y ago
They built a legitimate product that some people wanted and managed to get it manufactured and shipped. That's a lot farther that most go. The product sales weren't able to get to enough volume to support the company and the needed lowering of costs that comes with volume manufacturing. That's not uncommon. Sometimes hardware devices do better with large corporate backing because they can afford to take a loss longer while they build up a market. For small operations, this is the perfect case for venture capital where outside money is needed because of high costs of doing real manufacturing. I see no need to hate on them like the article does. It's sad the founders turned on each other at the end, that can't have helped things. If these guys pull out, have the right insights about what they have learned, and do another round at something else, their chances of success will be much higher than someone without their experience and ability to actually envision and execute a product that people wanted. Just not enough people this time.

87 points by antr 14y ago

If the previous Eligible App HN submission is anything to go by, this will be ninja downvoted by HN mods.

ktizo 14y ago

I like the fact that they are open sourcing the tech though, perhaps someone else can improve it so it doesn't go on fire.

zvikara 14y ago
The actual device is safe. Only the provided cheap Chinese usb charger can catch fire.
- ktizo 14y ago
  The device was smouldering in the video. http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC The cheap charger may have sparked it, but it was the lack of current limiters or heat cutoffs in the device that appears to be the actual problem. Electrical inputs should be treated much like form inputs on a web page. Never trust them to be what you designed for.
pspeter3 14y ago
Also the build quality needs to be improved. I used to use it and it was great but then the device became worthless

bwooce 14y ago

There is no allegedly about it, I was spammed with an offer for a new Wakemate. I forget the wording. Plus the follow up apology.

robinwauters 14y ago
true but I like to stay on the safe side until Greg gets back to me.
- antr 14y ago
  Robin, it's time to update your employer on your HN profile ;)
  - robinwauters 14y ago
    ha, good idea :)

rikf 14y ago

Baffling with all the publicity they have surely this character would have been better off with an open and honest kickstarter? Stating they realise they made mistakes in the past how they are going to correct them and what is different or better about the new product. I would have probably contributed because I think its a really interesting product.

FelixP 14y ago

I'm reserving judgement until we hear both sides of the story. Obviously, this could simply be blatant bad behavior, but as even Arun said in his post, he doesn't really know what's going on. I could easily envision a situation where the company has run out of capital and one of the founders decides to take things into their own hands to keep the idea going simply driven by passion. Of course, if that was his motivation, his execution was remarkably poor.

a5seo 14y ago
It's pretty clear cut-- if Milife is a new corporation, with new owners, then the only way they should have had the list is if they paid WakeMate for the list. Any other use is theft from WakeMate shareholders. I think the odds are very good there will be legal problems for Milife, possibly criminal. Greg took Pincus's lie cheat and steal message too seriously.
- droithomme 14y ago
  The shareholders are the VC investors. If they want to rip apart one of the few people around that managed to execute manufacturing a real hardware product and getting it shipped rather than stay on good terms and get in on his next idea, that's their decision. Foolish, but it's their life.
  - archangel_one 14y ago
    It seems fair that they wouldn't want to encourage this sort of thing; founders/employees of a company can't just start a new company and use information from the existing one to start it up. Criminal charges seem pretty heavy, but it seems like what was done here wasn't right.
    - nitrogen 14y ago
      Where do you draw the line between "us[ing] information" and applying your hard-earned experience?

droithomme 14y ago

They built a legitimate product that some people wanted and managed to get it manufactured and shipped. That's a lot farther that most go. The product sales weren't able to get to enough volume to support the company and the needed lowering of costs that comes with volume manufacturing. That's not uncommon. Sometimes hardware devices do better with large corporate backing because they can afford to take a loss longer while they build up a market. For small operations, this is the perfect case for venture capital where outside money is needed because of high costs of doing real manufacturing. I see no need to hate on them like the article does. It's sad the founders turned on each other at the end, that can't have helped things. If these guys pull out, have the right insights about what they have learned, and do another round at something else, their chances of success will be much higher than someone without their experience and ability to actually envision and execute a product that people wanted. Just not enough people this time.