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Young guns from Google. I know Ethan from Google video days. I like how they bootstrapped it. No full time employees til the product launches in the market.

by jf781 17y ago

Young guns from Google. I know Ethan from Google video days. I like how they bootstrapped it. No full time employees til the product launches in the market. Smart move. We are living in a new counter culture

rizzn 17y ago
They were one of several ents from TC50 that said they financed it (bootstrapped) with their credit cards, Kevin Smith style.
numair 17y ago
I am always amazed by the lack of historical knowledge among large portions of the HN crowd (not knocking you, just amused). Read up on the story of how eGroups was created (by Larry Page's brother, no less). Everything under the sun's been done.
- rizzn 17y ago
  eGroups was over ten years ago. Since then, a culture of VC reliance has been the dominant model, and now with increasing frequency, you're seeing bootstrapped companies emerge. I think that was the point he was trying to make, not that it's never happened before.
  - numair 17y ago
    You think a "culture of VC reliance" wasn't the prevalent model in 1999?
    - rizzn 17y ago
      I think that I heard a lot more about companies that were "two guys in a garage" in the 90s than I hear about these days, yes. It could be just my perception, or it could be reality. I'm just callin' it as I see it. As someone who sits in this world more or less 24/7, I can't remember the last time (prior to the last couple months) where a bootstrapped company gained wide-acceptance like has been happening recently.
- gruseom 17y ago
  Historical oneupmanship quickly turns into an infinite regression: http://www.amazon.com/Bootstrap-Lessons-Learned-Building-Successful/dp/0971187304/ http://www.amazon.com/Bootstrap-Lessons-Learned-Building-Suc... (Edit: the Amazon page doesn't make clear that the book, though published in 2001, is about a desktop software company from the early PC days.)
timcederman 17y ago
Yaron interviewed me at Google. It's funny how many people you continue to bump in to in the Valley...

by jf781 17y ago

rizzn 17y ago

They were one of several ents from TC50 that said they financed it (bootstrapped) with their credit cards, Kevin Smith style.

numair 17y ago

I am always amazed by the lack of historical knowledge among large portions of the HN crowd (not knocking you, just amused). Read up on the story of how eGroups was created (by Larry Page's brother, no less). Everything under the sun's been done.

rizzn 17y ago
eGroups was over ten years ago. Since then, a culture of VC reliance has been the dominant model, and now with increasing frequency, you're seeing bootstrapped companies emerge. I think that was the point he was trying to make, not that it's never happened before.
- numair 17y ago
  You think a "culture of VC reliance" wasn't the prevalent model in 1999?
  - rizzn 17y ago
    I think that I heard a lot more about companies that were "two guys in a garage" in the 90s than I hear about these days, yes. It could be just my perception, or it could be reality. I'm just callin' it as I see it. As someone who sits in this world more or less 24/7, I can't remember the last time (prior to the last couple months) where a bootstrapped company gained wide-acceptance like has been happening recently.
gruseom 17y ago
Historical oneupmanship quickly turns into an infinite regression: http://www.amazon.com/Bootstrap-Lessons-Learned-Building-Successful/dp/0971187304/ http://www.amazon.com/Bootstrap-Lessons-Learned-Building-Suc... (Edit: the Amazon page doesn't make clear that the book, though published in 2001, is about a desktop software company from the early PC days.)

timcederman 17y ago

Yaron interviewed me at Google. It's funny how many people you continue to bump in to in the Valley...