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Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

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Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#81

Post by istorical »

ph0rque wrote: post #62
phantom_oracle wrote: post #45

I'm being biased towards anything that isn't software-first. I'd like to see something like the aquaponics idea get a kickstart from this Apply HN. And of course, the venerable Pinboard deserves a vote as well, simply so that the owner can write about how he "scaled Pinboard after a major pivot": Pinboard is now THE marketplace for AAA-grade Argentinian beef ;)

Thanks for the AutoMicroFarm shout-out. We do have plans for software, but that's stage three, when we're trying to achieve stage one. Specifically, here are the stages we have in mind: Stage One: Dumb hardware, such as the mushroom media mentioned in the Apply HN Stage Two: Smart hardware (sensors) Stage Three: Software (control and communication) Stage Four: Services and Marketplaces

I love that you guys are working on such a universal problem.

Everyone on earth needs food to eat.

And it costs money.

If you can make a good product that improves how people eat, or make food cheaper, or better, I'd say that's a big accomplishment.

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#83

Post by karmacondon »

Q6T46nT668w6i3m wrote: post #13

Voting for Pinboard feels like a protest vote. Naturally, I voted for Pinboard.

This is why we can't have nice things. Protest votes are fun, but they also undermine the system. "If people don't take voting seriously, then what's the point of voting in the first place?", people in power will ask themselves. So yeah, it's cool to vote for Donald Trump or Boaty McBoatface or whatever other silly thing. But the protest itself isn't accomplishing anything. Choosing the silliest option available doesn't make you Ghandi. It's just a waste.

Making it into one of the two slots available for YCF could be a really big deal for someone. The founder of Pinboard is already very successful by any standards, and the product itself probably isn't going change drastically. Can't we let someone else catch a break?

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#84

Post by jonwachob91 »

cperciva wrote: post #53

Infection-resistant materials Suggestion to the founders of this: Explore insulin pump infusion sets and continuous glucose monitoring sensors as a possible market for your technology. This is a significant and growing market, and it's one where infection resistance is important: Non-professionals in non-sterile environments, inserting devices through the skin which stay there for between a few days and a couple week…

I'll definitely take a look at it!

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#85

Post by harigov »

bcoates wrote: post #66

Edit: This may have come across as too terse to pass the not-just-civil-but-nice test so I've added more explanation to my choices I wasn't following the initial wave of submissions so here's my fresh-eyes take on the finalists. I'd particularly like to see other people's assessments of the whole field (vs individual submissions) Not Ambitious Enough: These are in competitive spaces -- even if they delivered on their…

I disagree about your assessment on AutoMicrofarm. If they execute it well, I believe there is a good market for such things. If it doesn't break my bank, I would love to have my own micro farm to product most of what I need, for the most part. I think its fun and I don't think I am alone in this regard.

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#86

Post by david927 »

toyg wrote: post #24

TBH none of these look like unicorns in the making, so the only meaningful choice is really Pinboardy McPinboardface.

In 1998, Larry and Sergey took their Page Rank algorithm to the top minds of the big search engines at the time -- Yahoo, Alta Vista, and Excite -- where they tried to explain why Page Rank was better and offered it for one million dollars. They were turned down every time.

They were told it was not a unicorn in the making. Don't be dismissive until you can see the future.

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#87

Post by jonwachob91 »

toyg wrote: post #24

TBH none of these look like unicorns in the making, so the only meaningful choice is really Pinboardy McPinboardface.

I beg to differ. Infection Resistant materials could be used on any number of surfaces. It's has a real chance at being a Unicorn ;)

... But I'm biased...

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#88

Post by tomplace »

nickysielicki wrote: post #27

I voted for Utiliz, Casepad, and Jury Board. Good luck to everyone!

nickysielicki. Tom from Utiliz here, thanks for your vote! We are super excited to make the final cut as we realize the opportunity here is skewed towards the north east, great to see the idea connects nationally. Kevin and I have progressed the business significantly since the original post and would welcome any Q&A on the idea and our current activity - Tom

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#89

Post by gus_massa »

Suncho wrote: post #73
random28345 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm really liking the Gresham dollar idea. The main point is that it expires, thus forcing you to circulate it. I like the idea as well, but in the description it said that vendors would be onboarded with a promise to allow g-bucks to be converted back to dollars at par. The obvious outcome is that issuing a g-buck is going to immediately result in depleting USD reserves by a dollar as soon as the g-buck is spent.…

The obvious outcome is that issuing a g-buck is going to immediately result in depleting USD reserves by a dollar as soon as the g-buck is spent. It's kind of the opposite of that. Every time a GD is spent, it protects our USD reserves by resetting the expiration time on the GD. Anything that inhibits immediate redemption for USD is going to inhibit adoption. I don't think adoption is a huge obstacle. The plan is to…

Many business have a net-30 policy, so they will not mind sitting on the GD for 30 days until they convert to 30 dollars.

I'll copy a comment from other user:

> What happens if there's a "bank run" where everyone waits for their GD to mature rather than spending it?

In a normal "bank run", the people are afraid that if they don't exchange the bad currency now at a discount, they will get a worse exchange later. But in this case there is a guaranty that waiting only 30 days they will be converted to dollars.

Re: Poll: Apply HN Runoff – Which two startups should YCF fund?

#90

Post by ph0rque »

harigov wrote: post #85
bcoates wrote: post #66

Edit: This may have come across as too terse to pass the not-just-civil-but-nice test so I've added more explanation to my choices I wasn't following the initial wave of submissions so here's my fresh-eyes take on the finalists. I'd particularly like to see other people's assessments of the whole field (vs individual submissions) Not Ambitious Enough: These are in competitive spaces -- even if they delivered on their…

I disagree about your assessment on AutoMicrofarm. If they execute it well, I believe there is a good market for such things. If it doesn't break my bank, I would love to have my own micro farm to product most of what I need, for the most part. I think its fun and I don't think I am alone in this regard.

As an AutoMicroFarm co-founder, I think you're exactly right: the idea itself is good, almost too good to be true (a concept my boss blogged about: https://medium.com/@snootymonkey/paul-graham-is-wrong-411fe0...).

I think the market will be obvious when each AutoMicroFarm pays for itself in a year (or even better, a growing season). But, that's a few orders of magnitude away in terms of manufacturing scale.

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