4 ms·
His name is Emil Hajric. A few years back, when Joel Spolsky's "Business of Software" discussion forum was at its peak, he used whois records to find the phone
by stevoski 14y ago
His name is Emil Hajric. A few years back, when Joel Spolsky's "Business of Software" discussion forum was at its peak, he used whois records to find the phone numbers of some of the most frequent contributors and to call us personally.
I found this rather creepy.
- hajrice 14y agoHey Steve, I do remember those days...and I'm very sorry about the cold call. I figured it was worth at least a shot Really sorry if I creeped you out there. I'm just a 20 year old kid, that's trying the best he can.
- kenan_austria 14y agoZasto nisi ostao u Sarajevu?
- dmiladinov 14y agoTypically we comment on HN in English. For the curious/lazy, the parent comment roughly translates from Bosnian into English: "Why didn't you stay in Sarajevo?" (Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia)
- kenan_austria 14y agoThanks Daniel. This story has nothing to do with Bosnia anyway, because it is an US company and he is an US citizen. The fact that he is from Bosnia is just a coincidence and not a choice. By the way: I think Internet Startups could be a great chance for this region, because of the independence from infrastructure. Ok, the mentality sucks when it comes to Entrepreneurship, but I see it more as an opportunity. I think that the US has enough companies. The Balkans deserve their own Internet- hub. dreamon :D
- joonix 14y agoCongrats on the success! I'm actually contemplating moving to another country (albeit a more expensive, but wealthier, country) to target an under-served market. I'd love to hear more about how you found small business clients and pitched them on a web service because I will have to do the same.
- minimaxir 14y agoNowadays this is called "hustling" and would likely net him $millions in venture capital.
- auctiontheory 14y ago"Creepy"? How can it be "creepy" to make a business-related call to people whose names were publicized in a business context? Creepy is showing up unannounced and unintroduced at the front door of an actor or actress you have a crush on. I understand that you may not like to be cold called, but it is not creepy - it's the way much of business is done.
- stevoski 14y agoI could be easily pm'ed via the forum. That would be a professional way to call me. I neglected to mention that the phone call came late in the evening, and on a weekend I think.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- _delirium 14y agoMaybe this varies by area, but professional etiquette everywhere I've been is that you ask before taking an online conversation to the phone. If you're having a forum or email discussion with someone, it's not typical practice to look up their phone number and call them up. For example, I think it would be at least somewhat weird to call someone who posted a StackOverflow question or response, rather than responding to them on SO.
- alttab 14y agoEspecially if you used WhoIs information to get their number.
- auctiontheory 14y agoI don't disagree with you about professional etiquette, but to the extent that this is a forum about entrepreneurship, surely we might permit, or even encourage, not to mention applaud, a slight nudging of the boundaries?
- trentmb 14y ago
- mladenkovacevic 14y agoCreepy or driven? Either way it's probably better than that email correspondence between a Gizmodo writer and that Nick D'Aloisio kid.
- hajrice 14y agoThanks for the comment, Mladen! I hope you found the article somewhat interesting...
- run4yourlives 14y agoHeh, I've got him on linked in... always wondered who he was.
- joonix 14y agoWhat's the big deal? People send unsolicited emails/tweets to other HN posters all the time. I'd like to think we're past the point where intermingling the "real world" (phone) with the "internet world" is deemed "creepy."
- IheartApplesDix 14y agoYou find whois creepy?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- tlogan 14y agoI'm sad to read comment like this. I was always under impression that entrepreneurs will help each other and support each other. But I guess I'm wrong.