aberman

9 ms·

31.
by aberman 16y ago
Couldn't agree more. I'm always more impressed by the companies that show a list of customers before they launch, then the companies assuming they need to launch to get customers (or that launching will necessarily lead to additional custom
32.
by aberman 16y ago
Agreed, gringo. If nothing is going to happen, I'm still going to make a ton of noise about it.
33.
by aberman 16y ago
Curious why so many people upvoted this comment. Is it because you are interested in hearing the answer? It's a social media company focused on attracting users and eyeballs (at the moment). The revenue is nil, same as it was for fb and goo
34.
by aberman 16y ago
> I know of one incredibly talented potential female founder who applied with a killer idea and was rejected. I know of dozens of incredibly talented potential male founders who applied with killer ideas and were rejected. Seriously. &#
35.
by aberman 16y ago
>> This is also why I hate VC's (PG included), they force you to become inward focused rather than seeking external inputs (IE: Customers). In my humble and limited experience with both PG and VCs, the focus has always been on custo
36.
by aberman 16y ago
the two requirements are pretty related. Not many consumers (besides people collecting donations) need international, and very few merchants would be happy without it. It's been made clear to us that this is a pretty big opportunity.
37.
by aberman 16y ago
stay tuned...
38.
by aberman 16y ago
I'm not sure which comments to answer first: The ones that say WePay is nothing like PayPal and the comparison is misleading, or the ones that say WePay is just a feature of PayPal and therefore undifferentiated. We'll just keep building th
39.
by aberman 16y ago
I know nothing about this industry, but I can say categorically that hipmunk has the best UX of any airline search site on the web. It just makes me happy.
40.
by aberman 16y ago
> Also I suspect a billboard advertisement for something with such a small user base (vs. the average person who will see this)... Probably true for most billboards, but the 101 on the peninsula might be the one place in the world it ma
41.
by aberman 16y ago
"After thinking about it for a moment, I guess I'm totally wrong." And yet, your totally wrong and snarky comments above get up-voted. Go figure. "The secret of dating in SV/SF that I wish I knew when I moved there: the women are all in Pal
42.
by aberman 16y ago
Silly me. Edited my comment. Thanks :)
43.
by aberman 16y ago
Did you read the post? I mention PayPal 17 times to explain why the comparison doesn't make sense, and to explain where the comparison came from. > WePay offer 1/3rd the functionality of what Paypal offer This is factually untrue. We of
44.
by aberman 16y ago
I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the the founders. I can say, categorically, that your analysis of their motivation is wrong. Yes, they are interested in growing their business, but their commitment to helping people r
45.
by aberman 16y ago
My gf said she couldn't figure it out. I seriously almost broke up with her on the spot. I LOVE hipmunk.
46.
by aberman 16y ago
I'm not recommending that companies do this to figure out how to acquire customers. I'm saying a person should do this to help determine whether an idea is worth pursuing.
47.
by aberman 16y ago
upvoted and appreciated. thanks for the insight.
48.
by aberman 16y ago
um, the business model I recommend is building products that solve real problems and charging people a fair price to use it. Testing ideas has nothing to do with determining a business model. Not sure how this relates to WePay's ethics or w
49.
by aberman 16y ago
"Do you respond to others who provide you feedback like this? I sure hope not." I don't, no. But most people that are genuine in their feedback about a blog post on a very specific topic don't preface it (every time) with "how can a company
50.
by aberman 16y ago
If I had more time, I'd go through all your previous HN comments disparaging WePay for different reasons. Somehow I doubt your motivation for doing so is a sterling commitment to morality. If it was, I doubt you would introduce your critici
51.
by aberman 16y ago
I think you are being a little melodramatic. This is to vet an idea, not a sustainable way to build a business. I even said that it could/should be more of a thought experiment. And besides, I'm not recommending that you maliciously and del
52.
by aberman 16y ago
I agree. I need to be more disciplined about that...
53.
by aberman 16y ago
I named fb as a counterexample. I think you can definitely succeed without validating or invalidating your idea first, but it's a much bigger risk, and you are building a very specific kind of company. How many facebooks and twitters are th
54.
by aberman 16y ago
I wouldn't complain if this was reposted once every six months. Thanks for the reminder :)
55.
by aberman 16y ago
It's not Virgin America's policy. Also, in regard to me not being a "customer" (and that justifying their attitude): how do you define "customer"? If I don't have an active ticket with them, am I no longer a United customer? What if I bough
56.
by aberman 16y ago
Actually, I don't find flying particularly frustrating. Waiting on the runway, getting kicked off my flight because it's overbooked, getting stuck in the airport - it goes with the territory, and I am okay with that. My grudge with United (
57.
by aberman 16y ago
Great post, and so true. Unfortunately, "user acquisition hackers" are basically priceless. A hacker that builds great product is hard enough to find, a hacker that BUILDS TRACTION?! Holy God would that be amazing.
58.
by aberman 16y ago
We (WePay) applied at the last minute on a whim, and it was honestly one of the best decisions we have made as founders.
59.
by aberman 16y ago
Damn! The one time I actually wanted to read about the drama!
60.
by aberman 16y ago
Unless of course you follow that argument to its logical conclusion...

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