smartbear

14 ms·

91.
Startup Advice in just three words(onstartups.com)
86 points by smartbear 17y ago|53 comments
92.
by smartbear 17y ago
Thanks -- that's a good criticism. But remember that the point is to find the things you do ALL THE TIME. You probably don't dial the phone often in one day, so that wouldn't have been on your list. About six years ago I was on the phone a
93.
by smartbear 17y ago
I see what you mean about the targeting, and I do agree with you on that. And I agree with your general argument that their techniques might put them into the driver's seat generally. I see what you mean about not getting a response quickl
94.
by smartbear 17y ago
However if you were watching closely, as we are, you'd discover that most of the numbers you site are fake. For example, they invented "users" who aren't real people. You can tell because there are 100 users with the same IP address. Anoth
95.
by smartbear 17y ago
I completely understand your hesitation! I feel the same way. We used to say we straightened paperclips to save money. I would say: Don't turn off the switch! Not ever. Maybe a better way to think about it, especially at the beginning: L
96.
How we discovered 75% of our users don't report bugs(rocksolid.gibraltarsoftware.com)
3 points by smartbear 17y ago|0 comments
97.
by smartbear 17y ago
Glad you liked it! :-) The idea isn't to tell you what to do, but rather to make sure you're doing things on purpose rather than by accident. And sometimes we're so close to daily activities that we don't stop to ask the bigger, important
98.
by smartbear 17y ago
Good point! Although with around N > 25 you're OK. See: http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/binomial.htm
99.
by smartbear 17y ago
No Torn, you're still not using the correct statistic. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH STANDARD DEVIATION. Also, how can you say that the article isn't "honest," especially given the complete, precise explanation for the stats at the end.
100.
by smartbear 17y ago
Your criticism is great as are your alternate ideas, but I think you might be missing the point of these questions. For "why do you want to work," you can detect immediately any BS answers. What it really does is show whether the person LO
101.
by smartbear 17y ago
Like another commenter in the blog itself, I think you're confusing "filtering out 100 resumes from Craig's List" with "How you should hire everyone." If you're sending generic copies of your resume and cover letter to a company, you cannot
102.
by smartbear 17y ago
I can certainly see your point here, and I agree that it's only a true problem if they're hung up on it. It's really an attitude determination. If they're focussed on reviews instead of making the business work best, that's the problem. Of
103.
HubSpot has now raised $33m... and is growing fast(onstartups.com)
26 points by smartbear 17y ago|9 comments
104.
Answers.OnStartups.com -- StackOverflow for startups(onstartups.com)
98 points by smartbear 17y ago|49 comments
105.
by smartbear 17y ago
Thanks, yes it's a new server and it got smashed. :-( Back up now, cheers.
106.
by smartbear 17y ago
Thanks for the feedback; it was especially useful to see that so many people up-voted it! I've removed that special banner. You're right, HN folks know to upvote if they like it, of course, and it's insulting to say otherwise. In my defens
107.
by smartbear 17y ago
I guess the Squarespace blogging platform just does that automatically. Agreed it's odd.
108.
by smartbear 17y ago
Agreed with mediaman here. Select both successes AND failures. Where they seem similar, those things may not teach us much. Where there is a pattern shown ONLY IN ONE SIDE (more or less) there might be a lesson. I have a fear that there's
109.
by smartbear 17y ago
Yes! You're right I'm hardly the first people to talk about such things. The Black Swan is a classic although oddly enough right now on the front page of HN there's a critique of Black Swan that pokes holes in it. :-) But yes it's true t
110.
by smartbear 17y ago
I agree there's too much advice from people who haven't been there themselves. My own article shows that advice from people who HAVE been there (like me) is still suspect, but at least it's MORE interesting than people who have ONLY failed.
111.
by smartbear 17y ago
I admit an amount of hyperbole when I implied that you NEVER read such blogs, and of course it's good that you do! In general I think it's fair to say that the more popular blogs and books about startups talk about successes rather than fai
112.
by smartbear 17y ago
Did I cause you to say that? :-P
113.
by smartbear 17y ago
Of course being unhealthy doesn't lead to success. I suppose the title might suggest that but obviously that's artistic license. The message is that obsession is key and often the trade-off is in favor of time with the business and not tim
114.
by smartbear 17y ago
(I'm the author of the article) Good comments, thanks. I was hoping others would argue the other side; indeed that's also why I started the post with four excellent articles about how you CAN have a family and good health and do a startup.
115.
by smartbear 17y ago
Satire guys, satire!
116.
by smartbear 17y ago
(I'm the author!) Yes I'm including "blogs" in social media. I'm also including things like having customer-driven reviews. It's sensible because "social media" general means things like going where the customers are and giving customers
117.
by smartbear 17y ago
Agree with both of you! :-) Ignoring it is like ignoring the Internet, but you still have to be cautious with new technologies.
118.
by smartbear 17y ago
I accept your argument that "you HAVE to" is too strong and for many businesses is actually false! Of course it's a literary device, not meant to be a mathematical statement. I'm not sure "stupid and irresponsible" is quite right either? B
119.
by smartbear 17y ago
I don't want them to use caveats either. I don't either in my own writing! Rather, I want to step back every so often and show others that real life isn't like this. That it's ok to be scared and unsure. That this is a WRITING DEVICE and
120.
by smartbear 17y ago
Correct, that's why I wrote it! I love 37signals of course. They shouldn't change. But I'd also like to tell new startup owners that their feelings are normal, even though they aren't reflected at places like 37signals' public persona.

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