8 ms·

The Boss - First, $99. Then, Millions.

42 points by peter123 17y ago

californiaguy2 17y ago
This story has so many missing pieces it's not even worth reading. What I want to know is who's the engineer he suckered into getting his first codebase up and running?
- jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
  It basically summarized his book up in 2 minutes. It leaves out all the details and good information. It's articles like these that do entrepreneurs a dis-service: a) You don't get the nitty gritty important details on how he really did it. You should definitely read his book to find that out btw. b) The focus is on the zeros and commas, making everyone think they can make million on teh internetz easily.
  - gojomo 17y ago
    Are the rest of the details in his book? If so, it's acceptable that a ~650-word newspaper account just provide a taste/tease; it's all the medium can do.
    - mhb 17y ago
      If it's an ad for the book it's acceptable. But it's unclear exactly what it is - it doesn't even mention that there's a book. It sure isn't much of an article.
  - MicahWedemeyer 17y ago
    The NY Times consistently prints these 'millions in minutes on the Internet' pieces. They did the same think with Markus Frind, Mr. Plenty of Fish, and I've seen others as well. I know it's fun to rewrite the same story over and over about how you fall out of bed into a pile of money, but it gets a little old for those of us who know you really fall into a pile of hard work and meager reward.
- moe 17y ago
  What do you mean, missing pieces? It's all right in there! I didn’t know how to program, but realized that advertisers would need a way to track visits online. I thought I could buy software to help me, and found a guy in London who had technology that he offered me for $30,000. See? It's as easy as ABC. Identify problem, find a programmer who has the shrinkwrapped solution sitting on his harddrive, convince him to give it to you for the promise of paying $big_sum later (as we know most programmers are slightly retarded anyways, he'll do it), launch, cash out, write book, buy rolex, make douchebag stock photo, done. If that's not a guide on how to launch a successful startup then I don't know what is.
kareemm 17y ago
1- license tech now, pay later 2- ? 3- profit!
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- caffeine 17y ago
  Honestly: 30 days? $100K revenue from a new tech venture when you're 16 working in the afternoons and can't code? Reaaallly? I realize these were crazy times but .. I smell a fish.
  - jonknee 17y ago
    Especially since they were crazy times, but not because of crazy revenue. Those were the days of big cash outs, not big revenues.
DarrenMills 17y ago
I enjoyed the article, but it was all over the place. It ended rather abruptly too. Props to this guy for jumping on board when he did, and getting out when he did.
- brianobush 17y ago
  yes, the article was a written form of ADHD.
socmoth 17y ago
might enjoy reading his personal site http://www.chahal.com/ http://www.chahal.com/
- Alex3917 17y ago
  I'm not sure whose site is funnier, his or Eric Litman's: http://ericlitman.com/ http://ericlitman.com/
  - izaidi 17y ago
    We need a ".ego" TLD.
    - die_sekte 17y ago
      Please also note the watch he promimently displays on his wrist.
    - lsb 17y ago
      Looking at where he came from, and where he is now, he's got plenty of reason to flaunt it. He came from the slums, and made tens of millions! (It doesn't mean it's not tacky, but he's got the street cred to say he did it (mostly) by his own skills.)
      - Keyframe 17y ago
        I haven't been to california in a while. I didn't realize San Jose was the slums now. Things have changed.
mingdingo 17y ago
This guy has a huge ego (check out his blog). But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was. EDIT: Not his blog, his site.
- kaiserama 17y ago
  He lives in Santana Row (also where Blue Lithium used to be located), I saw him while I was visiting my sister a few weeks ago and she and her husband told me has a massive ego as well (they've met him a few times). But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants. I personally think being humble gets you much further in life, but that's just me.
  - enneff 17y ago
    "But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants." Why's that? It excuses nothing.
- patio11 17y ago
  But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was. He would have been, practically and legally speaking, able to walk away from that deal totally without consequence. Remind me who was taking the risk again?
  - mingdingo 17y ago
    I was under the impression that he would have to pay in 90 days. Otherwise, it's one hell of a deal.
    - icefox 17y ago
      As a minor was the agreement legally binding?
      - 17y ago
markbao 17y ago
The guy is pretty impressive for a lot of reasons. It's better read in his book/autobiography: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Learned-Rewards-Entrepreneurship-Millions/dp/0230610951 http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Learned-Rewards-Entrepreneurship... It's a great insight in his building a business against his parent's wishes (while still a minor), how he managed things, partnerships and legal stuff that went sour, what he did between his first exit and his second company (built a restaurant, invested in stocks and quit, etc.) and more. It's a good read.
- raffi 17y ago
  I started to read the article and it sounded like a very short version of the book. I read the book (on a recommendation from HN) and took a lot from it. In particular I found the dynamic between the programmer who made the technology and himself (who did the business development) interesting. He made the programmer what I thought was a fair deal, worked his ass off selling, and things grew fast. The programmer got really pissed and created all kinds of headaches. Reading this gave me a chance to evaluate any future business relationships I might have as a programmer. Overall the book isn't on my must read list but I still thought it was pretty good. I
tghw 17y ago
I wonder if there are photographers that specialize in the "I'm a rich douche" headshot. Probably pays pretty well...
- callmeed 17y ago
  Actually, yes. I know of a few.
desu 17y ago
ClickAgents! I remember them! I still have an uncashed cheque from them from 1999 or something. Somehow my personal website managed to make USD$40 or something. It would have cost me $30 to cash in Australia so I just kept it as a momento of times gone by.
shughes 17y ago
I remember him from the show, "Secret Millionaire," where millionaires dress as poor people for a week, then give away money to citizens that helped them out. While I respected him for doing the show, I remember thinking at the time that he was way too into himself. He'd wear v-neck, designer shirts even though he was supposed to look homeless. Then he'd cry a lot, and say, "And I normally never cry, but this has gotten me so emotional.." Which means he probably cries all the time to make himself look sensitive. And he spread out his giveaway, which made the episode boring. Where other millionaires gave $100,000 per person, he'd give multiple people, $10,000. All around bad episode. Now I'm mad..

42 points by peter123 17y ago

This story has so many missing pieces it's not even worth reading. What I want to know is who's the engineer he suckered into getting his first codebase up and running?

jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
It basically summarized his book up in 2 minutes. It leaves out all the details and good information. It's articles like these that do entrepreneurs a dis-service: a) You don't get the nitty gritty important details on how he really did it. You should definitely read his book to find that out btw. b) The focus is on the zeros and commas, making everyone think they can make million on teh internetz easily.
- gojomo 17y ago
  Are the rest of the details in his book? If so, it's acceptable that a ~650-word newspaper account just provide a taste/tease; it's all the medium can do.
  - mhb 17y ago
    If it's an ad for the book it's acceptable. But it's unclear exactly what it is - it doesn't even mention that there's a book. It sure isn't much of an article.
- MicahWedemeyer 17y ago
  The NY Times consistently prints these 'millions in minutes on the Internet' pieces. They did the same think with Markus Frind, Mr. Plenty of Fish, and I've seen others as well. I know it's fun to rewrite the same story over and over about how you fall out of bed into a pile of money, but it gets a little old for those of us who know you really fall into a pile of hard work and meager reward.
moe 17y ago
What do you mean, missing pieces? It's all right in there! I didn’t know how to program, but realized that advertisers would need a way to track visits online. I thought I could buy software to help me, and found a guy in London who had technology that he offered me for $30,000. See? It's as easy as ABC. Identify problem, find a programmer who has the shrinkwrapped solution sitting on his harddrive, convince him to give it to you for the promise of paying $big_sum later (as we know most programmers are slightly retarded anyways, he'll do it), launch, cash out, write book, buy rolex, make douchebag stock photo, done. If that's not a guide on how to launch a successful startup then I don't know what is.

kareemm 17y ago

1- license tech now, pay later 2- ? 3- profit!

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
caffeine 17y ago
Honestly: 30 days? $100K revenue from a new tech venture when you're 16 working in the afternoons and can't code? Reaaallly? I realize these were crazy times but .. I smell a fish.
- jonknee 17y ago
  Especially since they were crazy times, but not because of crazy revenue. Those were the days of big cash outs, not big revenues.

DarrenMills 17y ago

I enjoyed the article, but it was all over the place. It ended rather abruptly too. Props to this guy for jumping on board when he did, and getting out when he did.

brianobush 17y ago
yes, the article was a written form of ADHD.

socmoth 17y ago

might enjoy reading his personal site http://www.chahal.com/ http://www.chahal.com/

Alex3917 17y ago
I'm not sure whose site is funnier, his or Eric Litman's: http://ericlitman.com/ http://ericlitman.com/
- izaidi 17y ago
  We need a ".ego" TLD.
  - die_sekte 17y ago
    Please also note the watch he promimently displays on his wrist.
  - lsb 17y ago
    Looking at where he came from, and where he is now, he's got plenty of reason to flaunt it. He came from the slums, and made tens of millions! (It doesn't mean it's not tacky, but he's got the street cred to say he did it (mostly) by his own skills.)
    - Keyframe 17y ago
      I haven't been to california in a while. I didn't realize San Jose was the slums now. Things have changed.

mingdingo 17y ago

This guy has a huge ego (check out his blog). But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was. EDIT: Not his blog, his site.

kaiserama 17y ago
He lives in Santana Row (also where Blue Lithium used to be located), I saw him while I was visiting my sister a few weeks ago and she and her husband told me has a massive ego as well (they've met him a few times). But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants. I personally think being humble gets you much further in life, but that's just me.
- enneff 17y ago
  "But I guess given where he came from and what he's accomplished he's earned the right to act however he wants." Why's that? It excuses nothing.
patio11 17y ago
But taking a 30K risk when you're 16 is pretty impressive, especially considering how poor his family was. He would have been, practically and legally speaking, able to walk away from that deal totally without consequence. Remind me who was taking the risk again?
- mingdingo 17y ago
  I was under the impression that he would have to pay in 90 days. Otherwise, it's one hell of a deal.
  - icefox 17y ago
    As a minor was the agreement legally binding?
    - 17y ago

markbao 17y ago

The guy is pretty impressive for a lot of reasons. It's better read in his book/autobiography: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Learned-Rewards-Entrepreneurship-Millions/dp/0230610951 http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Learned-Rewards-Entrepreneurship... It's a great insight in his building a business against his parent's wishes (while still a minor), how he managed things, partnerships and legal stuff that went sour, what he did between his first exit and his second company (built a restaurant, invested in stocks and quit, etc.) and more. It's a good read.

raffi 17y ago
I started to read the article and it sounded like a very short version of the book. I read the book (on a recommendation from HN) and took a lot from it. In particular I found the dynamic between the programmer who made the technology and himself (who did the business development) interesting. He made the programmer what I thought was a fair deal, worked his ass off selling, and things grew fast. The programmer got really pissed and created all kinds of headaches. Reading this gave me a chance to evaluate any future business relationships I might have as a programmer. Overall the book isn't on my must read list but I still thought it was pretty good. I

tghw 17y ago

I wonder if there are photographers that specialize in the "I'm a rich douche" headshot. Probably pays pretty well...

callmeed 17y ago
Actually, yes. I know of a few.

desu 17y ago

ClickAgents! I remember them! I still have an uncashed cheque from them from 1999 or something. Somehow my personal website managed to make USD$40 or something. It would have cost me $30 to cash in Australia so I just kept it as a momento of times gone by.

shughes 17y ago

I remember him from the show, "Secret Millionaire," where millionaires dress as poor people for a week, then give away money to citizens that helped them out. While I respected him for doing the show, I remember thinking at the time that he was way too into himself. He'd wear v-neck, designer shirts even though he was supposed to look homeless. Then he'd cry a lot, and say, "And I normally never cry, but this has gotten me so emotional.." Which means he probably cries all the time to make himself look sensitive. And he spread out his giveaway, which made the episode boring. Where other millionaires gave $100,000 per person, he'd give multiple people, $10,000. All around bad episode. Now I'm mad..