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Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

repl.it

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Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#11

Post by krrrh »

debt wrote: post #6

This is awesome I hope they invest some of that into rebranding as I do believe Repl.it is probably the worst name for anything. It almost sounds like a nefarious file format or like some software company for the early 90s; maybe that’s the vibe they’re going for. Even the word Replit looks like “reptile”. I guess it’s very developer-y it’s just grammatically grating on the nerves.

I think it's perfect. Obviously the customer base is never going to expand beyond programmers who already know what REPL stands for, and the full name is a homonym for "replete" which is aspirational for a tool that aims to grow into a more fully-featured service.

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#12

Post by ikfmpwdsoz »

debt wrote: post #6

This is awesome I hope they invest some of that into rebranding as I do believe Repl.it is probably the worst name for anything. It almost sounds like a nefarious file format or like some software company for the early 90s; maybe that’s the vibe they’re going for. Even the word Replit looks like “reptile”. I guess it’s very developer-y it’s just grammatically grating on the nerves.

Their name is honestly fine - it's memorable, has a good domain, and is super, super search-friendly.

Also, personally, it reminds me of "replete" more than "reptile", but that's neither here nor there.

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#13

Post by always_good »

debt wrote: post #6

This is awesome I hope they invest some of that into rebranding as I do believe Repl.it is probably the worst name for anything. It almost sounds like a nefarious file format or like some software company for the early 90s; maybe that’s the vibe they’re going for. Even the word Replit looks like “reptile”. I guess it’s very developer-y it’s just grammatically grating on the nerves.

On the other hand, the name creates a pretty clear picture of the service to its audience.

If you start looking at demographics outside the audience to qualify the name, then you'll probably end up with an abstract-but-brandable name that communicates less which seems like a regression.

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#14

Post by mark212 »

the jobs link is interesting. Takes you to a functioning command line but has no other hints or instructions. An interesting gating function: those who don't know how to proceed further (or can't problem-solve sufficiently to find out) aren't likely to succeed in the role and can safely be excluded.

Might also have the added bonus of being safe from headhunter bot scrapers.

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#17

Post by amasad »

cercatrova wrote: post #3

I'm disappointed that now you need to sign up on www.repl.it rather than just spinning up a test environment, definitely cuts down on usage. I've found a workaround with www. http://repl.it/languages/python3 for example, but I'm not sure how long this will still be active given their plans to become a full-fledged IDE.

We have no plans and I see no reason to make you have to sign up. (Although to cut down on abuse some things aren't available for anonymous users like long-term web hosting).

You can also go to repl.it/languages and see all the langauges.

As for our plans to become an IDE: we've given ourselves the hard task of being a REPL-first IDE and to always load in under 2 seconds. More here: https://repl.it/blog/platform

For the landing page: we've found that most people coming through there go through the signup/login flow anyways so we've emphasized that. You can still get to the languages in the footer.

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#18

Post by _sword »

amasad wrote: post #17
cercatrova wrote: post #3

I'm disappointed that now you need to sign up on www.repl.it rather than just spinning up a test environment, definitely cuts down on usage. I've found a workaround with www. http://repl.it/languages/python3 for example, but I'm not sure how long this will still be active given their plans to become a full-fledged IDE.

We have no plans and I see no reason to make you have to sign up. (Although to cut down on abuse some things aren't available for anonymous users like long-term web hosting). You can also go to repl.it/languages and see all the langauges. As for our plans to become an IDE: we've given ourselves the hard task of being a REPL-first IDE and to always load in under 2 seconds. More here: https://repl.it/blog/platform For…

Congrats on the fundraising and the momentum Amjad!

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#19

Post by amasad »

krrrh wrote: post #11
debt wrote: post #6

This is awesome I hope they invest some of that into rebranding as I do believe Repl.it is probably the worst name for anything. It almost sounds like a nefarious file format or like some software company for the early 90s; maybe that’s the vibe they’re going for. Even the word Replit looks like “reptile”. I guess it’s very developer-y it’s just grammatically grating on the nerves.

I think it's perfect. Obviously the customer base is never going to expand beyond programmers who already know what REPL stands for, and the full name is a homonym for "replete" which is aspirational for a tool that aims to grow into a more fully-featured service.

Oh that's a cool thought thank you!

Re: Repl.it raises $4.5M from A16Z, Paul Graham, and others

#20

Post by gcb0 »

meguest wrote: post #10

I am a long time user of repl.it and I think it's great but I do wonder what the expected ROI is here? Call me short sighted, but It's still just a repl. Perhaps it could be sold to GitHub to integrate with Gist?

they will evolve/pivot to a "big data notebook" and monetize on this.
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