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Really interesting read, it's a weird feeling to 1) to see a very similar startup in the same space make "evil" choices you turned down and 2) frustratingly see

by bsirkia 13y ago

Really interesting read, it's a weird feeling to 1) to see a very similar startup in the same space make "evil" choices you turned down and 2) frustratingly see them be more successful than you. I'm working on a startup in Vermont, which has a similar amount of startup acclaim as Huddersfield, competing in a space where there's about 2 million Y-Combinator-backed, ex-Googler, triple Stanford-Harvard-MIT dropout founded Silicon Valley startups with tons of money that want to build something viral that at least pulls a ton of user's data. I would be interested to hear more of your takeaways, like what you would do differently and if you think you do have a shot at going against those well-funded giants.

red_anorak 13y ago
Things I would do differently... I think my product is too clearly the work of an idealistic technical person, and is slightly dated in the way it just expects people to join in because it will be useful if everyone used it. It's completely different from Circle in every way, not just when it comes to things that can be considered "evil". For example I've purposefully made choices like "it shouldn't need a dedicated mobile app", or "users shouldn't have to register to see content" from a purely functional perspective. I did always view the idea as quite risky and I probably wouldn't have gone for it as a "pure startup". In this case I felt it was ok to do it as it could bump start my web dev business. Good luck with your venture. I don't think being in Huddersfield is ultimately the reason why people haven't taken to LampNote. It was just difficult to get any local hype initially, and that certainly slowed me down
- bsirkia 13y ago
  Thanks for the reply. I think that all makes sense and it sounds like you've gained some great perspective from the experience. Good luck on your next venture, and definitely stay idealistic.
sakai 13y ago
Aside: Vermonter here (though currently working in SF). Would love to hear more about what you're working on if you're willing to share your email. And best of luck with it!
- bsirkia 13y ago
  definitely, I'm at brian@rocketlistings.com, looking forward to hearing from you.

by bsirkia 13y ago

red_anorak 13y ago

Things I would do differently... I think my product is too clearly the work of an idealistic technical person, and is slightly dated in the way it just expects people to join in because it will be useful if everyone used it. It's completely different from Circle in every way, not just when it comes to things that can be considered "evil". For example I've purposefully made choices like "it shouldn't need a dedicated mobile app", or "users shouldn't have to register to see content" from a purely functional perspective. I did always view the idea as quite risky and I probably wouldn't have gone for it as a "pure startup". In this case I felt it was ok to do it as it could bump start my web dev business. Good luck with your venture. I don't think being in Huddersfield is ultimately the reason why people haven't taken to LampNote. It was just difficult to get any local hype initially, and that certainly slowed me down

bsirkia 13y ago
Thanks for the reply. I think that all makes sense and it sounds like you've gained some great perspective from the experience. Good luck on your next venture, and definitely stay idealistic.

sakai 13y ago

Aside: Vermonter here (though currently working in SF). Would love to hear more about what you're working on if you're willing to share your email. And best of luck with it!

bsirkia 13y ago
definitely, I'm at brian@rocketlistings.com, looking forward to hearing from you.