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Just build a new Norton Commander for OSX and we are happy. Anyway, don't get why YC/PG invests in such ideas. Though nice this idea is no venture case (easy to

by tferris 14y ago

Just build a new Norton Commander for OSX and we are happy. Anyway, don't get why YC/PG invests in such ideas. Though nice this idea is no venture case (easy to copy when successful).

SoftwareMaven 14y ago
This kind of company (if things work out reasonably well) could easily sell for $10,000,000. After an investment of $15-20k for 5+% of the company, that is a return of $500k or more. Twenty-five or more times your money is a pretty good return.
- honkytonkwillie 14y ago
  Put me in for $100, please.
brianchu 14y ago
Dropbox is easy to copy, right? Virtually no lock-in. There's SugarSync, Google Drive, and SkyDrive. Funny thing is that I've tried them all out and I still like Dropbox, even though it offers less free storage. Dropbox is the fastest out of all of them and has LAN syncing. Google Drive threw up during syncing several times (where it couldn't sync a file). Not so easy to copy after all...
tomasien 14y ago
Since half of YC's portfolio is in a company that was considered "a feature" by Steve Jobs, I don't think he needs to justify these investments to anyone. I have this argument at my job all the time: should we be worried, when consulting with clients attempting to build startups, about the giants in their industry stealing their ideas? My answer is always no: worst case scenario they'll try to buy you in order to copy you. Next worst they'll try to copy you once you're already becoming successful. Neither of those are bad scenarios. Big companies don't try to copy unsuccessful ideas, it never happens.
- SqMafia 14y ago
  "Big companies don't try to copy unsuccessful ideas, it never happens." Have you ever worked at a big company? Big companies are so dysfunctional. It's not that the individuals are stupid but the broken dynamics of people working together can generate some pretty dumb decisions. Big companies copy bad ideas all the time. This is one reason why startups can disrupt them. "worst case scenario they'll try to buy you in order to copy you. Next worst they'll try to copy you once you're already becoming successful. Neither of those are bad scenarios." This makes no sense. If they buy you, that's NOT the worst case scenario. The founders walk away wealthier. If they try to copy and succeed, the founders walk away with nothing. That is worse than them trying to buy the company. I don't understand why "Neither of those are bad scenarios." The first one is possibly good, depending on what they're offering for the company.
  - tomasien 14y ago
    You're missunderstanding my point: big companies have tons of bad ideas internally, but the ideas they try to copy are ones that are rapidly gaining traction.
- nraynaud 14y ago
  I think he could "justify" his investments in his essays for an educational purpose.
argumentum 14y ago
They invest in the team, not the idea. Most ideas can be copied superficially (Facebook, Pinterest, Airbnb etc), but the team can't be copied..

by tferris 14y ago

Just build a new Norton Commander for OSX and we are happy. Anyway, don't get why YC/PG invests in such ideas. Though nice this idea is no venture case (easy to copy when successful).

SoftwareMaven 14y ago

This kind of company (if things work out reasonably well) could easily sell for $10,000,000. After an investment of $15-20k for 5+% of the company, that is a return of $500k or more. Twenty-five or more times your money is a pretty good return.

honkytonkwillie 14y ago
Put me in for $100, please.

brianchu 14y ago

Dropbox is easy to copy, right? Virtually no lock-in. There's SugarSync, Google Drive, and SkyDrive. Funny thing is that I've tried them all out and I still like Dropbox, even though it offers less free storage. Dropbox is the fastest out of all of them and has LAN syncing. Google Drive threw up during syncing several times (where it couldn't sync a file). Not so easy to copy after all...

tomasien 14y ago

Since half of YC's portfolio is in a company that was considered "a feature" by Steve Jobs, I don't think he needs to justify these investments to anyone. I have this argument at my job all the time: should we be worried, when consulting with clients attempting to build startups, about the giants in their industry stealing their ideas? My answer is always no: worst case scenario they'll try to buy you in order to copy you. Next worst they'll try to copy you once you're already becoming successful. Neither of those are bad scenarios. Big companies don't try to copy unsuccessful ideas, it never happens.

SqMafia 14y ago
"Big companies don't try to copy unsuccessful ideas, it never happens." Have you ever worked at a big company? Big companies are so dysfunctional. It's not that the individuals are stupid but the broken dynamics of people working together can generate some pretty dumb decisions. Big companies copy bad ideas all the time. This is one reason why startups can disrupt them. "worst case scenario they'll try to buy you in order to copy you. Next worst they'll try to copy you once you're already becoming successful. Neither of those are bad scenarios." This makes no sense. If they buy you, that's NOT the worst case scenario. The founders walk away wealthier. If they try to copy and succeed, the founders walk away with nothing. That is worse than them trying to buy the company. I don't understand why "Neither of those are bad scenarios." The first one is possibly good, depending on what they're offering for the company.
- tomasien 14y ago
  You're missunderstanding my point: big companies have tons of bad ideas internally, but the ideas they try to copy are ones that are rapidly gaining traction.
nraynaud 14y ago
I think he could "justify" his investments in his essays for an educational purpose.

argumentum 14y ago

They invest in the team, not the idea. Most ideas can be copied superficially (Facebook, Pinterest, Airbnb etc), but the team can't be copied..