17 ms·

Young entrepreneurs turn a Tweet from Richard Branson into $1 Million

66 points by ahlemk 14y ago

AlexMuir 14y ago
Only managed the first paragraph before the bubble-o-meter went off the fucking scale. - Crap buzzword filled domain name. Check. - All encompassing vague idea. Check. - Young computer whizzkids. Check. - 1 millllion dollars. Check.
- law 14y ago
  Don't forget the obligatory leave-of-absence from NYU.
  - wickedchicken 14y ago
    Drop out of college to make a combo Delicious/LastPass!
    - adrinavarro 14y ago
      Why the hell would anyone want such thing? The fact that people might use both things doesn't mean they can go together. Hell, there is a lot of things you can glue together, but these aren't ones.
      - borplk 14y ago
        I'm sick of this social frenzy in web already. Every goddamn website wants me to share, discover, connect, cloud, blah blah blah...share friends boom revolutionary idea...why don't we share photos? wow! here...take all my billions...what if we mix your cloud crap with your passwords? sweet jesus take all my money. Don't get me wrong, it's good to see people innovate, but it feels like most (at least those who are being seen) have forgotten about the true problem solving and innovation and are just mixing services and APIs together and selling it as yet another revolutionary idea.
- samstave 14y ago
  Sure, some of that is true - but holy shit, we sit here on HN constantly pontificating about how we need to fail often, pivot, iterate and that investors invest in teams - not ideas. Then these kids come along and did a msterful job at getting the ear of Richard and others and you guys shit all over them. The name sucks - the idea, I cant comment on as I havent even looked at their site - but I am sure, being 19 and 20, they have a LONG career ahead of them and lets hope they continue to think up new things and with having a connection with Richard at this early phase of their lives that is fantastic.
kasahmed 14y ago
Great story
richardv 14y ago
This is ridiculous. I actually started reading with a really positive mind, but Richard Branson is never going to see any of that $1M. - Scott... got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords. Using this as a story to explain his startup is awful. So, you are running a tool to manage passwords, where you previously stored everything in a spreadsheet? This guy obviously knows a lot about security. Where can I sign up?
- FuzzyDunlop 14y ago
  As far as moments of inspiration go, I don't think this one would rank very highly in the tech community.
  - jc4p 14y ago
    It'd be a great story if it ended with "and that's why I decided to use 1Pass!"
- eli 14y ago
  I agree, but I don't think the product is aimed at us. I would imagine it's aimed at people who e.g. are currently storing their passwords in a spreadsheet.
  - cperciva 14y ago
    And how long do you expect the company to last after it loses its first million passwords?
    - wickedchicken 14y ago
      "Unfortunately, one of the things that makes the site so secure is that we do not disclose the exact encryption practices." I don't know dude, sounds super secure to me.
    - pilsetnieks 14y ago
      It will probably fold just as fast as Sony's PSN, or LinkedIn, or Yahoo did, after their breaches.
coderdude 14y ago
There's a lot of over-the-top hating from the peanut gallery in this thread. I'll balance it out: What a ride this must have been so far. They're doing a great job getting their name out there, that's for sure. An investment from Richard Branson and a co-founder of Photobucket, plus this article in Yahoo Small Business that is now trending the HN front page. I hope they're able to take this massive opportunity they've been given and turn it into a successful business.
natrius 14y ago
From their security page: We are very secure and make sure to cover many angles to insure your data can never be compromised. Many often ask what exactly we do to make the data so secure. Unfortunately, one of the things that makes the site so secure is that we do not disclose the exact encryption practices. I just threw up in my mouth a little. It's also a bit weird that it's apparently two unrelated products in one. Pinterest and LastPass: two great tastes that taste great together?
- notJim 14y ago
  Translation: We know nothing about security, but we still want you to use our site. Look at this padlock. Security.
- justauser 14y ago
  This is quite an eye-opener too... "How secure is MySocialCloud.com? From day one, it has been our goal to provide the best security on the web. While we don't expose how we keep MySocialCloud secure (if we told you, it would be unsecured!), we do ensure that not even our employees are able to see any of your sensitive data." One of their videos shows a bookmarket so I'm going to presume they're using that for somekind of encryption clientside with AES???
  - tylermenezes 14y ago
    "if we told you, it would be unsecured!" doesn't sound like AES... It sounds like they're using _entirely_ security through obscurity.
  - borplk 14y ago
    Psst...they are using ROT13 (but don't tell anybody).
- beambot 14y ago
  Wow, that's either cool or the worst word choice ever. "insure": Provide insurance coverage. Arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for...: "the car is insured for loss or damage" "ensure": Make certain that (something) shall occur or be the case.
elmuchoprez 14y ago
Regardless of whether this is a good idea or not, to say they "turned a tweet into $1 million" is a bit of a reach. They saw a tweet advertising an event which Branson would be at, borrowed several thousands of dollars from their parents to attend the event, and used that opportunity to get an email address that was capable of reaching Richard Branson, which they used over a period of time to develop some sort of relationship with him and another (Murdoch), and through a series of pitches both in person and remote, they secured initial funding.
- mkramlich 14y ago
  ... in a time when investors are desperately seeking anything to throw their money at that will get good returns. And it's hard to find software engineers. And, especially to less sophisticated investors, they just know "social" and "cloud" are the hot hot thing so they want to park some bets in something with those words involved. Thus... MySocialCloud.com
gilrain 14y ago
...and so we told Richard, "Hey, just sign up for LastPass!" He was so grateful, he gave us a million dollars.
jbranchaud 14y ago
Here's a better venture idea based on the experience, "Scott... got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords." How about designing computers that crash when users try to store usernames and passwords on them. Users will eventually learn to stop doing that.
- natrius 14y ago
  There's nothing wrong with storing usernames and passwords. There is something wrong with storing them in a spreadsheet.
tkahn6 14y ago
The more I see things like this, the more I believe I have no idea how the world works.
- codgercoder 14y ago
  It just reinforces my feeling that it's easier for simple, bad ideas to get funding than complicated, good ones. Modulo the reporting, of course.
  - waterlesscloud 14y ago
    Your last sentence is probably the most insightful on the thread. We really have no idea what actually happened.
- confluence 14y ago
  Indeed - I go forward on this assumption. The world is not consistent, logical or sane. It just exists. Move forward and exploit what you can to survive. By world I mean human society. Physics/Maths is logical, but the people that inhabit it do not have such restrictive constraints. Everybody lies. Incentives rule.
jakeonthemove 14y ago
I just checked out the service and I don't understand what's with the hate? It's a Pinterest/Delicious/LastPass mashup, and while I would not trust them with my passwords (they really should rephrase that explanation, or give a real overview of their security measures), there are plenty of people who will (my parents still store their passwords in simple text files :-)). If they add RSS-reader functionality, I can actually see myself using the site as a home page! I believe it's got potential - they'll have to work hard on the marketing and keeping even or ahead of the competition, though...
SagelyGuru 14y ago
What a ridiculous country. It is OK to lend them $1M but illegal to offer them a cocktail?
waldemarb 14y ago
This startup app stores your encrypted passwords on DropBox: http://passboxapp.com/ http://passboxapp.com/
shareme 14y ago
Ah..lets see... Why do we in using most UIs have our passwords encrypted when stored including web browsers? Anyone want to take a guess at this? If you increase security across all links of the trust chain equally it gets severely harder to break by powers of ten or more. Why? Look up and study those 1940 information theory papers.. Now people what happens when you concentrate all your passwords on some cloud? That advantage you gained above gets thrown away as now you present a nice a juicy easy target t attack and they even advertise JUICY passwords stored here come and break it..
calydon 14y ago
This reads like there is something missing from the story. They already had an office and a 9 person team, but they needed to borrow $4k from their parents to meet Branson?
mkramlich 14y ago
Wow. This has both bubble and disaster written all over it. May things go much better than that for them, though, of course. But it reads more like a parody or a list of warning signs than an article about a real new business.
yaix 14y ago
> he got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords. Sounds like a good idea to entrust him with all your passwords then.

66 points by ahlemk 14y ago

Only managed the first paragraph before the bubble-o-meter went off the fucking scale. - Crap buzzword filled domain name. Check. - All encompassing vague idea. Check. - Young computer whizzkids. Check. - 1 millllion dollars. Check.

law 14y ago
Don't forget the obligatory leave-of-absence from NYU.
- wickedchicken 14y ago
  Drop out of college to make a combo Delicious/LastPass!
  - adrinavarro 14y ago
    Why the hell would anyone want such thing? The fact that people might use both things doesn't mean they can go together. Hell, there is a lot of things you can glue together, but these aren't ones.
    - borplk 14y ago
      I'm sick of this social frenzy in web already. Every goddamn website wants me to share, discover, connect, cloud, blah blah blah...share friends boom revolutionary idea...why don't we share photos? wow! here...take all my billions...what if we mix your cloud crap with your passwords? sweet jesus take all my money. Don't get me wrong, it's good to see people innovate, but it feels like most (at least those who are being seen) have forgotten about the true problem solving and innovation and are just mixing services and APIs together and selling it as yet another revolutionary idea.
samstave 14y ago
Sure, some of that is true - but holy shit, we sit here on HN constantly pontificating about how we need to fail often, pivot, iterate and that investors invest in teams - not ideas. Then these kids come along and did a msterful job at getting the ear of Richard and others and you guys shit all over them. The name sucks - the idea, I cant comment on as I havent even looked at their site - but I am sure, being 19 and 20, they have a LONG career ahead of them and lets hope they continue to think up new things and with having a connection with Richard at this early phase of their lives that is fantastic.

kasahmed 14y ago

Great story

richardv 14y ago

This is ridiculous. I actually started reading with a really positive mind, but Richard Branson is never going to see any of that $1M. - Scott... got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords. Using this as a story to explain his startup is awful. So, you are running a tool to manage passwords, where you previously stored everything in a spreadsheet? This guy obviously knows a lot about security. Where can I sign up?

FuzzyDunlop 14y ago
As far as moments of inspiration go, I don't think this one would rank very highly in the tech community.
- jc4p 14y ago
  It'd be a great story if it ended with "and that's why I decided to use 1Pass!"
eli 14y ago
I agree, but I don't think the product is aimed at us. I would imagine it's aimed at people who e.g. are currently storing their passwords in a spreadsheet.
- cperciva 14y ago
  And how long do you expect the company to last after it loses its first million passwords?
  - wickedchicken 14y ago
    "Unfortunately, one of the things that makes the site so secure is that we do not disclose the exact encryption practices." I don't know dude, sounds super secure to me.
  - pilsetnieks 14y ago
    It will probably fold just as fast as Sony's PSN, or LinkedIn, or Yahoo did, after their breaches.

coderdude 14y ago

There's a lot of over-the-top hating from the peanut gallery in this thread. I'll balance it out: What a ride this must have been so far. They're doing a great job getting their name out there, that's for sure. An investment from Richard Branson and a co-founder of Photobucket, plus this article in Yahoo Small Business that is now trending the HN front page. I hope they're able to take this massive opportunity they've been given and turn it into a successful business.

natrius 14y ago

From their security page: We are very secure and make sure to cover many angles to insure your data can never be compromised. Many often ask what exactly we do to make the data so secure. Unfortunately, one of the things that makes the site so secure is that we do not disclose the exact encryption practices. I just threw up in my mouth a little. It's also a bit weird that it's apparently two unrelated products in one. Pinterest and LastPass: two great tastes that taste great together?

notJim 14y ago
Translation: We know nothing about security, but we still want you to use our site. Look at this padlock. Security.
justauser 14y ago
This is quite an eye-opener too... "How secure is MySocialCloud.com? From day one, it has been our goal to provide the best security on the web. While we don't expose how we keep MySocialCloud secure (if we told you, it would be unsecured!), we do ensure that not even our employees are able to see any of your sensitive data." One of their videos shows a bookmarket so I'm going to presume they're using that for somekind of encryption clientside with AES???
- tylermenezes 14y ago
  "if we told you, it would be unsecured!" doesn't sound like AES... It sounds like they're using _entirely_ security through obscurity.
- borplk 14y ago
  Psst...they are using ROT13 (but don't tell anybody).
beambot 14y ago
Wow, that's either cool or the worst word choice ever. "insure": Provide insurance coverage. Arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for...: "the car is insured for loss or damage" "ensure": Make certain that (something) shall occur or be the case.

elmuchoprez 14y ago

Regardless of whether this is a good idea or not, to say they "turned a tweet into $1 million" is a bit of a reach. They saw a tweet advertising an event which Branson would be at, borrowed several thousands of dollars from their parents to attend the event, and used that opportunity to get an email address that was capable of reaching Richard Branson, which they used over a period of time to develop some sort of relationship with him and another (Murdoch), and through a series of pitches both in person and remote, they secured initial funding.

mkramlich 14y ago
... in a time when investors are desperately seeking anything to throw their money at that will get good returns. And it's hard to find software engineers. And, especially to less sophisticated investors, they just know "social" and "cloud" are the hot hot thing so they want to park some bets in something with those words involved. Thus... MySocialCloud.com

gilrain 14y ago

...and so we told Richard, "Hey, just sign up for LastPass!" He was so grateful, he gave us a million dollars.

jbranchaud 14y ago

Here's a better venture idea based on the experience, "Scott... got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords." How about designing computers that crash when users try to store usernames and passwords on them. Users will eventually learn to stop doing that.

natrius 14y ago
There's nothing wrong with storing usernames and passwords. There is something wrong with storing them in a spreadsheet.

tkahn6 14y ago

The more I see things like this, the more I believe I have no idea how the world works.

codgercoder 14y ago
It just reinforces my feeling that it's easier for simple, bad ideas to get funding than complicated, good ones. Modulo the reporting, of course.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  Your last sentence is probably the most insightful on the thread. We really have no idea what actually happened.
confluence 14y ago
Indeed - I go forward on this assumption. The world is not consistent, logical or sane. It just exists. Move forward and exploit what you can to survive. By world I mean human society. Physics/Maths is logical, but the people that inhabit it do not have such restrictive constraints. Everybody lies. Incentives rule.

jakeonthemove 14y ago

I just checked out the service and I don't understand what's with the hate? It's a Pinterest/Delicious/LastPass mashup, and while I would not trust them with my passwords (they really should rephrase that explanation, or give a real overview of their security measures), there are plenty of people who will (my parents still store their passwords in simple text files :-)). If they add RSS-reader functionality, I can actually see myself using the site as a home page! I believe it's got potential - they'll have to work hard on the marketing and keeping even or ahead of the competition, though...

SagelyGuru 14y ago

What a ridiculous country. It is OK to lend them $1M but illegal to offer them a cocktail?

waldemarb 14y ago

This startup app stores your encrypted passwords on DropBox: http://passboxapp.com/ http://passboxapp.com/

shareme 14y ago

Ah..lets see... Why do we in using most UIs have our passwords encrypted when stored including web browsers? Anyone want to take a guess at this? If you increase security across all links of the trust chain equally it gets severely harder to break by powers of ten or more. Why? Look up and study those 1940 information theory papers.. Now people what happens when you concentrate all your passwords on some cloud? That advantage you gained above gets thrown away as now you present a nice a juicy easy target t attack and they even advertise JUICY passwords stored here come and break it..

calydon 14y ago

This reads like there is something missing from the story. They already had an office and a 9 person team, but they needed to borrow $4k from their parents to meet Branson?

mkramlich 14y ago

Wow. This has both bubble and disaster written all over it. May things go much better than that for them, though, of course. But it reads more like a parody or a list of warning signs than an article about a real new business.

yaix 14y ago

> he got the idea when his computer crashed and he lost a spreadsheet containing all his usernames and passwords. Sounds like a good idea to entrust him with all your passwords then.