7 ms·

Why The Founders of PayPal And HotorNot Helped This Dropout

39 points by blaisco 17y ago

brown9-2 17y ago
If you like this interview, could you vote for it on Hacker News? --Andrew I really wish people wouldn't do crap like this.
- wyday 17y ago
  Why? Because he wants to reach an audience? He didn't say "If you want 5 bucks, could you vote for it on Hacker News?". If don't like it, don't vote for it.
  - brown9-2 17y ago
    Well, I didn't, but I didn't think begging for votes was really accepted behavior either. The goal around here, AFAIK, isn't to get the most votes but to have a quality discussion. This guy is just begging you to get links to his site voted up, probably so he can get more eyeballs/ad revenue.
    - wyday 17y ago
      ...but to have a quality discussion Some articles & videos speak for themselves. See http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
    - weaksauce 17y ago
      The thing is that if it is quality and you are a HN member and your first instinct is not to run to HN and find the article and vote on it if you like it, then this is an easy way to get you to the submission and see the relevant discussion and upvote it if you like it.
- falsestprophet 17y ago
  If you think this is awful, could you flag it on Hacker News?
- rms 17y ago
  That's no different than the digg/reddit vote buttons.
- jlees 17y ago
  There's even a wordpress plugin that detects where you come from and tells/asks you to digg/upvote items if you come from an appropriate site. (Maybe Andrew's using it?). It makes my eyes bleed, but I bet it works...
colinplamondon 17y ago
Really great interview- this is actually my favorite on Mixergy so far. As an aside, I don't know why there's always a bunch of hate on Andrew and Mixergy when these threads come up. Personally, I appreciate it when his interviews are linked on HN, as this is how I hear when there's a particularly good one live.
- joeythibault 17y ago
  Really isn't this the point of Hackernews? to promote and link other sites (even you own) and to enable intelligent discussion? If it wasn't added here I for one wouldn't have learned about it or wegame.com. That being said, I liked the interview. Though, I don't agree that failing at a business makes an individual more qualified to create another startup. I've met a few entrepreneurs who probably should just pack it in... Really I think the key is that this guy made good connections and left and impression. If he had made the same connections (somehow) without failing first in a business things might have played out similarly. Though, the fact that he had the wherewithal to start/fail at 15...kudos to him. On another note, one of his points is similar to another current topic "eating/buying you own dog food". I suppose it's easy when your a 15 year old male and your market is video games...
- jlees 17y ago
  I think it's really the smug air that surrounds Mixergy and Andrew. (Disclaimer, haven't met the guy, but from his site, I'm afraid I don't really want to.) You have an excellent point though that selective HN highlighting of half-decent content actually minimises exposure to the site.
  - AndrewWarner 17y ago
    Jennie, could you be more specific? I know I have a lot of room to improve. That's why I ask for feedback at the end of most of my videos. I know you work. You have a good sense of style. I'll take all the advice you're willing to give. mail at awarner dot com is my personal email address.
    - 17y ago

39 points by blaisco 17y ago

If you like this interview, could you vote for it on Hacker News? --Andrew I really wish people wouldn't do crap like this.

wyday 17y ago
Why? Because he wants to reach an audience? He didn't say "If you want 5 bucks, could you vote for it on Hacker News?". If don't like it, don't vote for it.
- brown9-2 17y ago
  Well, I didn't, but I didn't think begging for votes was really accepted behavior either. The goal around here, AFAIK, isn't to get the most votes but to have a quality discussion. This guy is just begging you to get links to his site voted up, probably so he can get more eyeballs/ad revenue.
  - wyday 17y ago
    ...but to have a quality discussion Some articles & videos speak for themselves. See http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html . What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
  - weaksauce 17y ago
    The thing is that if it is quality and you are a HN member and your first instinct is not to run to HN and find the article and vote on it if you like it, then this is an easy way to get you to the submission and see the relevant discussion and upvote it if you like it.
falsestprophet 17y ago
If you think this is awful, could you flag it on Hacker News?
rms 17y ago
That's no different than the digg/reddit vote buttons.
jlees 17y ago
There's even a wordpress plugin that detects where you come from and tells/asks you to digg/upvote items if you come from an appropriate site. (Maybe Andrew's using it?). It makes my eyes bleed, but I bet it works...

colinplamondon 17y ago

Really great interview- this is actually my favorite on Mixergy so far. As an aside, I don't know why there's always a bunch of hate on Andrew and Mixergy when these threads come up. Personally, I appreciate it when his interviews are linked on HN, as this is how I hear when there's a particularly good one live.

joeythibault 17y ago
Really isn't this the point of Hackernews? to promote and link other sites (even you own) and to enable intelligent discussion? If it wasn't added here I for one wouldn't have learned about it or wegame.com. That being said, I liked the interview. Though, I don't agree that failing at a business makes an individual more qualified to create another startup. I've met a few entrepreneurs who probably should just pack it in... Really I think the key is that this guy made good connections and left and impression. If he had made the same connections (somehow) without failing first in a business things might have played out similarly. Though, the fact that he had the wherewithal to start/fail at 15...kudos to him. On another note, one of his points is similar to another current topic "eating/buying you own dog food". I suppose it's easy when your a 15 year old male and your market is video games...
jlees 17y ago
I think it's really the smug air that surrounds Mixergy and Andrew. (Disclaimer, haven't met the guy, but from his site, I'm afraid I don't really want to.) You have an excellent point though that selective HN highlighting of half-decent content actually minimises exposure to the site.
- AndrewWarner 17y ago
  Jennie, could you be more specific? I know I have a lot of room to improve. That's why I ask for feedback at the end of most of my videos. I know you work. You have a good sense of style. I'll take all the advice you're willing to give. mail at awarner dot com is my personal email address.
  - 17y ago