md1515

Says the guy working on a city-guide startup. Why not try something more constructive?

OP, I haven't used the other hosting sites, but I do like the drag-drop feature. Perhaps distinguish yourself from competitors with simple features such as this. Good luck!

Hey, this may sound strange, but if you would like to save some money and speak to someone who knows firsthand the troubles of a startup founder, then you can email me if that would help. Not really what you asked for, but offer is on the table...

Most of the time a VC or investor is not going to take your idea and decide to stop investing, but instead go back to his basement and code for hours on end.

I would suggest not even mentioning an NDA and don't worry about spilling the secret sauce. It's hard enough to get advice from them so why make your/their life any harder?

An infographic on the number of people startups that offer beta invites, the number of actual users that use the invites, and the retention rate of those users would be pretty cool. It would be an infographic for the startup community as a whole to see. Whether is is doable or not, I'm not sure, but thanks for the offer camz! It is nice of you to help out HN.

All of these programs / apps / sites etc. are new things. I would say that zeebox.com actually validates your work so far by showing there exists a market for it already.

Plus, it is not a zero-sum game. You can both win (in terms of profitability, exit, etc.) If you are far along and will not need to spend much more money or time, go for it. If you have just started, maybe take a moment to think about it. Either way, you can just learn from zeebox.com mistakes and implement better with your own project.

You must be realistic to know when to quit and use your time more wisely, BUT most startups don't actually die - they commit suicide. Good luck

Wow this is an amazingly well-done site for 24 hours. Simple design, good UI/UX from what I can tell, and it is clean and neat. Not really spending much so I didn't get into the 14 day free trial, but still cool.

Perhaps make it free for a limited time? I mean, allow everyone to come try it out for the next 2 months or something. You'll be able to gain traction and maybe get the word out / get people hooked on using it.

Hey temp, I've actually been debating whether I want to start a project, which is kind of simple, but could help a lot of people. Let me know if you are interested - email is in my profile.

The problem I see is this: How can anyone prove anything? Will they be entering exact factory numbers etc? I ask because one could easily include a bunch of very expensive laptops with stock photos / photos taken from a friend and then get "robbed" and provide this evidence. This might be the only trouble with attacking the insurance providers (although I could be wrong if there is a way to insure they actually own it).

In any case I wish you the best of luck!

Your tech team sounds very experienced and competent, but 3 co-founders is already enough for a startup. Also, the dynamic of a team where three people know each other really well and then one business guy is totally new, might be a bit of a problem.

It looks to me you have all your bases covered - including the 1 SW dev who does business. Honestly, there are so many tech people that do the business side out of necessity. I think you guys should do a 3-man startup by yourself. Just my two cents.

If you really need to find a business founder, then perhaps visit some networking events in an EU startup hub (Berlin, London etc). Best of luck

I think that is pretty dang cool. Perhaps one expansion could allow people to add some text - details about each photo if an explanation is required. Either way, that's a neat site - nice work.

I don't know about the CS industry, but I know many other industries have employers sending employees to school fully paid-for. Usually I hear about MBAs being paid for, but I imagine you could at least ask your current employer?

One option may not to surrender any equity at all. If you have enough faith, try to use the credit card, friends, and family etc.

Indiegogo.com might be an option as I do not know of any restrictions on locations (though they may exist)

Yeah, I really don't know. That's a good question, but I think it can be worded along the lines of "I can legally kill your company, but I would prefer to discuss this with you first. Please do not make me do this and just contact me so we can work together or something." - Last ditch before you keep yours alive.

P.S: Be careful of stalling. They can just stall you and keep working on their project...reminds me of the Facebook?

Well you have to look out for number one here so I think you should get a dialogue going with them. Tell them you would like to collaborate and at least speak with them about their license, but mention you can also have their contract terminated. I would say that it isn't something you want to do, but for the shareholder's interests you will be forced to do so without a dialogue between you both.

Best of luck...

I would suggest a book by James Altucher (www.jamesaltucher.com) - Although he is a serial entrepreneur and is now an investment "guru", his previous two books have been just helpful for people in general. He has already alluded to having many more in the works so I think he would be an ideal candidate to contact. Congrats with the round and good luck!

In today's world I don't think it matters all that much. Few people don't use these sites and the ones who say they don't are usually liars.

Truth is, if the job itself is good then why not? You have good compensation, five weeks paid holidays etc. You're not doing anything illegal or immoral AND you get to relocate to a cool place in Europe.

On a resume just talk about the day-to-day activities you had to do. It isn't like you are an actor, you're a web developer - it doesn't really matter for whom.

About the comment about proudly telling your kids. Look at it in a different perspective. You are keeping millions of lonely men from blowing their brains out, you are helping provides millions more with a great stress relief. You're working for a legal company that is producing taxable revenue to build roads and other infrastructure projects. You will be doing a world of good for the world - the adult industry isn't a bad thing!

By the way, send me an email (in my account) - I have a cool idea for you.

I was thinking it might be cool for a job recruiting software program.

The software would pull data from Facebook and find people that are graduating the upcoming academic year, find the correct major for the job, and then send the applicant a job proposal.

It reverses the job search, helps students leaving college have options immediately after school, and makes companies bid on the best and brightest - i.e: Stanford grads would perhaps have many offers and would require bids from companies.

Just thought of it - probably not THAT viable of a program.

This is kind of a shameless plug (although I don't much benefit from it).

A good friend of mine runs Staff Connect (www.staffconnect.com). The site is made for large organizations that send people to multiple locations (promotional / modeling agencies), but I have seen the system used quite well for just large organizations in general. Send an email my way (in profile) and I'll give you more details to see if it might be a good fit.

I think you can do both if you make the sacrifice to do so. Take night classes.

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the information. I also got an email regarding this startup and the comments about the landing page were the same - and quite frankly I agree.

Ironically, in the time between posting this and the first post, I was doing some brainstorming and I thought about adding a brief video tutorial clip and some testimonials. He just threw it together as his background is NOT design, but I will get him to change a few things. Thanks again for your help! Maybe Europe would be good to try..

Here is my take on the situation.

At the end of the day everyone wants to be happy. Some people are lucky enough to be happy without money. Others are happy after they get the money, but that is only because of the freedom granted to those with money.

I promise you will regret not earning lots of money while you are young. You are in a great position. You have no debt (that you told us about)and you stand to take up a really great job. If you even only put in 10 years in that really good job you will have bought your freedom in some way. Then you can do whatever you want and your family will be fine. I suggest taking that path...and who knows, your tech enthusiasm could just be a phase. We've all had them...who didn't want to be an astronaut?

I think it is a great idea. Your homepage looks a bit bland, but your description of the content in the above post is quite good.

Not sure how you will monetize and I would encourage you to NOT monetize (for a while). Instead, perhaps you can create a tool that will just be really useful. It seems useful enough anyway

The buyout depends on the method in which you make your money. If you make money on advertising you have to make sure your users are as engaged as they have been since your launch (this often doesn't happen if it is a short game or you don't add features etc).

If you make money on app purchases then you need to be careful that you continue to have as many users buying it.

If it is in-app purchases then you need to make sure that features are promoting users to purchase.

Anyway, you probably know all that - the point is, you have to realistically forecast your revenue projections for the next few years. IF you think you can make the same amount then it is not a big deal to buy out for 2x his share of revenue (so $17K). If it looks like projections for next year will be $10,000 you need to seriously consider the offer. Good luck

You always want to get a MVP set up and if your idea is too amazing to wait, then go for it. I'm reminded of James Altucher who outsourced the designing and creation of Stockpickr.com for the MVP to show to investors. He hadn't even paid for the outsourced material when he got the money (he was already established, but still..)

So I would say it really depends on your idea. In my opinion, if you cannot convince or find a technical person to help you with the product you do you have an inspiring enough product or you do not have the skills as a founder/organizer. Both are killers...

That's not a bad idea. Like Martey said, there are probably many similar things.

My advice would be to focus on technology (like you are doing) as much as possible. That is your niche and that might be why you are successful. (Speaking of success, how many units have you been able to sell to date and how long have you been operational?)

I would suggest marketing at technology events. Maybe walk person-to-person and hang out with people waiting to buy new iPhones. They would be glad to shell out the dough to make sure they do not lose their expensive new gadget.

Send some free samples to gadget bloggers. They might give you a plug and use it / discuss it in gadget blogger circles.

Good luck with it!

Not a bad idea and UI/UX. I'm checking it out now. Good luck with it.

I was just running through the matches and there are like >10 girls (which is fine for a young startup). Nonetheless, don't just have a message that says you're out of matches. Allow the user to start his /her search over again. The site is of no use to me now because I couldn't see matches.

With 4 people there is absolutely no reason to get 3000 sqft especially for $6500 per month. I would suggest either staying put or finding something much cheaper you can all live in and work in.

You are tiny and you have to act as if the money is yours (perhaps it is actually your own investment). Even if it is VC money you do not want to blow through that on BS stuff like renting space in a "nice" "cool" location. In the end it will make you run out of VC and need more, diluting you further and losing you money in the long run. No matter how you look at it, this is your money so spend it wisely! Ramen profitability is the goal! (PG plug)

Ways to escape technological addiction... hmm

That is something I've had to deal with myself. First of all, I like working out and playing soccer so I try to do as much of that as possible. At least a few hours a day or so.

Otherwise, find a book and don't just read in the house, but go to the park or outside. Remove yourself from the ability to be on the computer (and if you have a smart phone, leave it at home).

If I start doing things, like reading, while I am at home I usually end up checking HN or something :P Try to remove the ability and the urge will follow. It takes time and effort, but giving your eyes a break and doing other things is well worth it. Even if you aren't necessarily "productive" when you are not using the computer, it is still better than being unproductive in front of the screen all day. If you are a programmer then do some lawn work in your break instead of checking HN, facebook etc. Go for a picnic with your girlfriend

Right now CDs are not a great option. Very low yielding.

I would suggest spending a few hours every week studying the stock market so that you can at least understand things that are going on, fluctuations that take place etc. I also recommend (my father pays for) Stock Market Mentor. He is a really brilliant guy and although his service is expensive it will be made up for by the knowledge you gain. That knowledge (both relevant to actually picking stocks AND learning to pick your own) will stay with you forever when you have even more money to invest.

I would suggest spending a few months listening to him and doing your own research. Find some stocks you like (or sectors) and follow them. You could test the waters with ETFs because a lot of the stimulus money will be entering the market soon. Right now the market is quite low by historic levels - that doesn't necessarily mean it will go up, but the chances are better.

The market is extremely volatile now. Just be careful..invest in LEARNING and then test things out. Good luck

Well it isn't worthless and if you are $35K in the hole, you should just try to release some MVP and see what feedback you get. You do not want to waste too much time if it will not work, but be sure before closing shop. Most startups do not die. They commit suicide.