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ajkates

60 karma · joined October 3, 2007

Co-founder at Vetcove (Amazon for veterinary supply).

We're hiring! https://www.vetcove.com/company/careers/

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ajkates··on Our startup Seekler just launched (alpha release). Feedback is much appreciated
Looks good overall. I understand where you're going with it. However, I agree that the navigation is just a bit confusing. Also, the value proposition is a bit unclear, in my opinion (perhaps because there are limited amounts of users, and it's new?)

For instance: What benefit do I personally gain from using the site? To see what other people think?

I don't mean to belittle your startup, I just want to be sure that I'm not missing the point. Perhaps a bit more explanation on the landing page would help?

ajkates··on Serial entrepreneurs and today's Silicon Valley
When I was very young, I thought "well, I'll start a business, retire early, and enjoy my life." Now I have so many ideas that I could split into ten of me and still not see them all come to fruition. I guess I'm destined to be such a serial entrepreneur, for better or for worse.

The best line of the post: "Money, but not just 'I can buy a fancier cashmere car cover' kind of thing - just as often I think it's money as a way to keep score"

So true.

ajkates··on Google's Response to Facebook: Maka-Maka
As scary as it may seem to some of us, I can't wait to see it come to fruition.
ajkates··on World's Scariest Stock: Google
I agree with just about everything said here. I don't feel so strongly about some of those points, but they're all legitimate arguments to a certain degree. However, there's one thing I'd like to add to the author's argument.

Google lacks one thing that will prevent its true value from growing into its current market capitalization: trust. We already trust so much of our lives to Google. They know what we search for and do on the web, what we do with our time (Calendar), who we speak to and what we say (Gmail), and so much more.

People (and the regulatory authorities) were skeptical (and afraid) of Google's acquisition of Double-Click because of the "scariness factor." Soon, Google will hit a point where people will no longer trust it with certain kinds of information. People's lack of trust, or perhaps anti-trust legislation, will provide some setbacks for the company in due time.

Of course, this will leave "gaps" for more trustworthy young entrepreneurs to take the stage in certain areas; areas that people no longer trust Google to dominate. In reality, Google has nearly unlimited potential, but all-in-one integration in our lives can only reach a certain point before we become uncomfortable.

ajkates··on Ask YC: What's a reasonable share of equity to get as the first developer?
haha, wtf?

I understand what you're trying to achieve with this mathematical model, but I couldn't follow your logic at all...

ajkates··on Ask YC: What's a reasonable share of equity to get as the first developer?
It really depends upon a number of factors, though 2% does seem a bit low. In my startup, the development end is receiving 50% of the total equity stake. The other 50% is shared by those working on the business end (currently 1), in addition to those contributing the initial capital contributions. I think this is fair overall, since we currently have three developers, each receiving 16.67%
ajkates··on I have found a potential team, but...
Entrepreneurship is an adventure! You're young yet, give it a shot, and you'll learn a lot. You're team may not be superstars, but if they have the drive to see the project through, and can bring your idea to fruition, it's worth pursuing.

If you feel your idea is a truly radical innovation, and you're willing to give your heart and soul for it, then it might be worth seeking out an ideal team. However, given what you've said, it sounds like you've made this decision on a whim. I'd say, go for it if it feels right.

ajkates··on Joel: Five Easy Ways to Fail (in a Software Project)
This is phenomenal advice. In my experience, everything said here seems to be 100% true.
ajkates··on Fear and Loathing on Facebook
I don't hate facebook. I probably spend 3-5 hours each week on the service. I do, however, question its long-term sustainability, given the path they've chosen and the decisions they make.
ajkates··on Sunlight cuts risk of many cancers
They can say what they want...every other study suggests that the sun is bad for your skin overall....free radicals, basal/squamous/melanoma, etc. Plus, you can get Vitamin D from other sources.

How about the glow from my LCD screen though... Does that prevent cancers?

ajkates··on LLC vs C-Corp, What should a startup go with?
In most cases, I'd advise initially starting out as a Limited Liability Company of the state in which you reside. The main reason for this is that you (and your contributors) can get tax write-offs for investing in your startup. Also, it's much cheaper and easier to set up than a corporation, and provides a great deal of legal protection for your co-founders. There's really no reason to bother with an S-Corp, since an LLC essentially has all of the benefits and far less drawbacks.

However, most VCs won't fund an LLC for a number of legal reasons. If your LLC is planning to pitch to VCs, I'd recommend incorporating (into a C-corporation) before doing so. Sure, it will cost you a few thousand dollars in legal fees and paper work, but I don't know of any VCs that don't require incorporation first.

Also, I'd recommend incorporating in Delaware, since Delaware law is extremely forgiving to new startups. There's a reason why so many businesses are registered in that state...although, many startups have been incorporating in California recently as well.

ajkates··on Flock 1.0 Beta Released: Surprisingly Very Good
It looks pretty cool, but it would take more than a few bells and whistles to pull me away from firefox and the 38 plugins I currently have installed.
ajkates··on When it comes to taxes, Barack Obama is no Jack Kennedy (WRT capital gains taxes & technology)
It's a direct result of Obama's lack of understanding for basic economic theory.
ajkates··on What do you do when you have a great potential co-founder, but don't like their idea?
I think that honesty is your best weapon. If your co-founders are truly intelligent and motivated, you can probably convince them to think bigger. Try to do it in such a way as to show you thoroughly understand the current idea and its merits, which demonstrating its shortcomings. Just be sure to be nice about it; people tend to get angry when you talk about their own ideas that they put so much time and effort into.

Your course of action, I guess, really depends upon how far along you are though. If you're near a complete beta or working release, you might want to just ride it out.

ajkates··on Idea: Dating/Meeting Site In Real Life
Other startups have had the emphasis (or requirement) of face-to-face interaction. This one is specifically for dating. From what I hear, it actually works quite well.

http://www.zoodango.com/

ajkates··on Matt Maroon: Advice for Y Combinator Interviewees
That's all certainly good advice. Thanks for taking the time share it with us.

Speaking of advice though, a little padding on the left margin of your page wouldn't hurt...

ajkates··on Ask YC: What was your first computer?
Apple IIe...more stable on this POS I'm currently typing on, running Windows Vista.
ajkates··on Google, Apple and the future of personal computing
That honestly doesn't sound terribly innovative to me. Of course the data will be centrally located, and of course the low-end computers will be cheap. However, there will always be a market for high-end computers, and companies will gladly provide them (and reap huge margins)

The most important thing about the future of computing, in my opinion, is the connectivity; the fact that you'll be connected to all of the world's information, and all of its inhabitants, always, no matter where you are.

I'm still waiting for a computer I can wear.

ajkates··on Why Google Won't Help Your VC Pitch
Good advice, but certainly common sense. Startups that rely on others are destined to fail.

Using AdSense (or any such mundane scheme) is a sad excuse for lacking the creativity to develop an innovative revenue model that fits your startup and the values of the user community.

Piggybacking on facebook? Don't even get me started with that one; that's a another whole world of problems.

ajkates··on EC2 now out of limited beta; four-core and eight-core instances now available
Some shortcomings that still irk me.

http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=329797&th...

ajkates··on Top Books for Entrepreneurs. List them.
Smart Startups - David Silver

A great read for web entrepreneurs.

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