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MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

nytimes.com

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Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#191

Post by pjlegato »

jameskegel wrote: post #116
wil421 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California is also one of the states being sued [0]. You obviously don't know much about Atlanta but seem to know a lot about Georgia by browsing wkikipedia. Our LGBT community is one of the largest in the US. California probably has more backwards people than Georgia fighting against stuff like this. [0] http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/26/california-tra...

Your response comes off aggressive, and I think that detracts from the validity of your comment.

That's irrational. The comment's validity is logically unrelated to how aggressively it was delivered.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#192

Post by mwfunk »

sametmax wrote: post #4

Then it's not called a start up, but a normal company. How is that a revelation?

They were a startup when the company began but are now an established company. They didn't transition from startup to normal company by taking VC funds and optimizing for growth, rather they went the route that most businesses take. That's what different/interesting about them when compared to most SV tech startups nowadays.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#193

Post by maneesh »

jasode wrote: post #96
maneesh wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is the position of WhatsApp significantly different than that of Snapchat? WhatsApp didn't need outside funding to grow huge...

WhatsApp raised "outside funding" of $250k from ex-Yahoo employees before publicly launching the app in November 2009. They then got another $8 million in April 2011 from VC firm Sequoia Capital. However, Jan Koum was already talking to Jim Goetz of Sequoia a year prior to that (Spring 2010) and it took several months of negotiation to close the deal. I don't think people would call Whatsapp a "bootstrapped company".…

You are correct --- I was mistaken about WhatsApp. Thank you for the reply.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#194

Post by gogopuppygogo »

echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

I have no doubt. I am in Chicago and recently found out about http://www.sockfancy.com and if they are crushing it I'm sure that the rest of the scene is doing well!

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#195

Post by nostrademons »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #152
SwellJoe wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterpoint: My family is in Atlanta (well, just outside of it), and it's probably my least favorite major American city. The traffic is out of control (and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country), McMansions and suburban sprawl are a way of life (my brother-in-law has an hour long commute to his near-downtown office, and keeps an office in his house so he doesn't have to drive down every day), an…

> and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country) There are 2 truths I've found, having lived outside Chicago, Manhattan, Atlanta (in 3 different areas), Orlando, Tampa, and Los Angeles: 1. Wherever you are, people think the drivers there are worse than other places. 2. Wherever you are, people think the weather changes more frequently there than other places. I have NEVER lived, and rarely visited places (…

Grew up in Boston, moved to the Bay Area, and I think Boston drivers are worse. Sister lives in Houston, and I think that Houston drivers are even worse. At least in most of the country, they won't fire a shotgun at you because you cut them off in traffic.

Also, I don't know anyone in the South Bay (SF is different) who thinks the weather changes more frequently than other places. Here the joke is "Walk outside. It's sunny. It'll be sunny from April until November."

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#196

Post by zippergz »

wil421 wrote: post #95
bendmorris wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Earning $200k most places is pretty nice, but most sources show that in Atlanta almost no one is making that much. The average is less than half that. For most of us, moving to Atlanta would probably coincide with a sharp pay cut. If that wasn't the case, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

According to this CNN Money calculator you would only need to make $114k here to match a 200k salary on SF. Even less if you didn't want to live downtown. The housing costs are listed at 75% less than SF! http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

Those cost of living things never make sense to me. Housing isn't the only cost in our lives. When I want to buy a car, computer, cell phone, or vacation, they cost exactly the same whether I live in California or Georgia (ok, sales tax will vary slightly, but that's it). Whenever I've done the math on moving to a cheaper area, it has not worked - even with cheaper housing, the vastly lower wages leave me with materially less money to spend on the other stuff that's not cheaper.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#197

Post by gopi »

I think such a story is difficult now unless its a niche small market. Lets say someone start a company and stumble-upon a massive market but decides to grow slow financed by revenue. The problem is others are going to copy the idea and grow fast with VC money and crush the original company. May be possible in the next downturn when VC money dries up

Read Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman - https://hbr.org/2016/04/blitzscaling

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#198

Post by wil421 »

zippergz wrote: post #196
wil421 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to this CNN Money calculator you would only need to make $114k here to match a 200k salary on SF. Even less if you didn't want to live downtown. The housing costs are listed at 75% less than SF! http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

Those cost of living things never make sense to me. Housing isn't the only cost in our lives. When I want to buy a car, computer, cell phone, or vacation, they cost exactly the same whether I live in California or Georgia (ok, sales tax will vary slightly, but that's it). Whenever I've done the math on moving to a cheaper area, it has not worked - even with cheaper housing, the vastly lower wages leave me with materi…

Material things are not cost of living!

You gotta compare apples to apples. I'd rather not have the majority of my paycheck go to housing. I'd rather buy than rent and I don't see that happening anywhere I've looked in Cali.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#199

Post by sremani »

nostrademons wrote: post #195
michaelcampbell wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country) There are 2 truths I've found, having lived outside Chicago, Manhattan, Atlanta (in 3 different areas), Orlando, Tampa, and Los Angeles: 1. Wherever you are, people think the drivers there are worse than other places. 2. Wherever you are, people think the weather changes more frequently there than other places. I have NEVER lived, and rarely visited places (…

Grew up in Boston, moved to the Bay Area, and I think Boston drivers are worse. Sister lives in Houston, and I think that Houston drivers are even worse. At least in most of the country, they won't fire a shotgun at you because you cut them off in traffic. Also, I don't know anyone in the South Bay (SF is different) who thinks the weather changes more frequently than other places. Here the joke is "Walk outside. It's…

If people in houston shoot at each other for cutting, in a week the whole city will be left with not a single eligible driver. Honestly this hookie non-sense about Texas and shot-guns is not funny anymore.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#200

Post by Falling3 »

michaelcampbell wrote: post #152
SwellJoe wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a counterpoint: My family is in Atlanta (well, just outside of it), and it's probably my least favorite major American city. The traffic is out of control (and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country), McMansions and suburban sprawl are a way of life (my brother-in-law has an hour long commute to his near-downtown office, and keeps an office in his house so he doesn't have to drive down every day), an…

> and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country) There are 2 truths I've found, having lived outside Chicago, Manhattan, Atlanta (in 3 different areas), Orlando, Tampa, and Los Angeles: 1. Wherever you are, people think the drivers there are worse than other places. 2. Wherever you are, people think the weather changes more frequently there than other places. I have NEVER lived, and rarely visited places (…

>I have NEVER lived, and rarely visited places (including Europe), where someone hasn't used the "if you don't like the weather, wait an hour" joke, non-ironically.

I've NEVER lived anywhere anyone has made that joke, ironically or otherwise. That may have to do with the fact that the last 2 places I've lived (Portland, OR and Phoenix, AZ) have very long stretches of monotonous weather. But 2 certainly doesn't seem nearly as true as 1.

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