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How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

inc.com

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Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#41

Post by yewweitan »

From the article, on going to college: "The way it works in Israel, you have to go to the army first"

I wonder how much this impacts the entrepreneurial mindset in male youth. I grew up mostly in Singapore, and they too have conscription upon reaching the age of 18 (with some exceptions, eg: for medicine and for national scholarship holders). From what I see from my friends' facebook channels, it's definitely a draining experience indeed, one that takes months to recover from once its done.

But Kudos to this guy! Greplin is pretty awesome and I've already put it to use.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#42

Post by silverlake »

iworkforthem wrote: post #4

easy to click Greplin Programming Challenge: http://challenge.greplin.com/ Anyone managed to pass level 1? I am stuck at level 1. Please share the logic.

I solved all of them in 30 min. using Python. Since it's brute force it's not that hard.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#43

Post by ryanwaggoner »

mayank wrote: post #38
acconrad wrote: post #13

I thought this was a cool article until I read this line: "But regardless of how successful Greplin is, say, even if we go public someday, my parents won't be satisfied unless I get a degree. They won't speak to me." That's pretty sad, actually :(

I don't think it's sad at all. People seem to forget that college can be about more than career advancement. In this case, he clearly doesn't need a degree to be gainfully employed. Chances are that he's a pretty intelligent kid with other interests. If he puts 3-4 years into startups, not only will he probably be able to pay his own way through college, but will be at a point in life to appreciate the learning optio…

Sorry, but it's definitely sad if your parents are more hung up on some external arbitrary stamp of approval than on your own true achievements and passion for how you spend your time. Especially if it's to the point that they won't speak to you? That's pathetic.

How ridiculous would it be if Bill Gates or Steve Jobs parents still refused to speak to them because they had dropped out of school, despite creating two of the world's most powerful companies, employing hundreds of thousands of professionals, and making hundreds of millions of lives better every single day?

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#44

Post by mannicken »

m_myers wrote: post #35
acconrad wrote: post #13

I thought this was a cool article until I read this line: "But regardless of how successful Greplin is, say, even if we go public someday, my parents won't be satisfied unless I get a degree. They won't speak to me." That's pretty sad, actually :(

I came here to say the same thing (even worded the same way in my head). Why are people so fixated on college degrees -- even if they've already built a profitable company from scratch? Is it to prove something? If so, what?

It's a status thing. Same reason why people buy expensive cars.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#45

Post by ryanwaggoner »

pbiggar wrote: post #34
djahng wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It happened to Facebook Breakup Notifier recently. Facebook revoked API access without notification.

Sure, but why would they do it to Greplin specifically?

Why wouldn't they? Why did they kill off Breakup Notifier? It's not like that was obviously going to happen.

The problem here is that you have no visibility into Facebook's roadmap, priorities, etc. Sorry, but I think betting $5m (or years of your life) on a startup that can literally be killed overnight on the whim of someone at another tech company is crazy.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#48

Post by danicgross »

acconrad wrote: post #13

I thought this was a cool article until I read this line: "But regardless of how successful Greplin is, say, even if we go public someday, my parents won't be satisfied unless I get a degree. They won't speak to me." That's pretty sad, actually :(

I think I came across slightly more seriously then I indented - as much as they'd prefer me to have a degree, I'm sure they're quite proud.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#49

Post by pbiggar »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #45
pbiggar wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but why would they do it to Greplin specifically?

Why wouldn't they? Why did they kill off Breakup Notifier? It's not like that was obviously going to happen. The problem here is that you have no visibility into Facebook's roadmap, priorities, etc. Sorry, but I think betting $5m (or years of your life) on a startup that can literally be killed overnight on the whim of someone at another tech company is crazy.

Breakup Notifier was stalker-ish - not guaranteed to get cut off, but certainly a risk. I wouldn't bet $5m on that, definitely.

In general, we're young in the space of companies that rely on APIs and other companies (App Store much?). Zynga has made a pile of cash relying on facebook, and plenty more will too, and that's just the way the world is from now on.

As for the whim of some individual, you are absolutely right. But that will sort itself out in the next few years, and it doesn't seem like a good reason not to get in early on what is obviously a trend that's here to stay.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#50

Post by auxbuss »

danicgross wrote: post #48
acconrad wrote: post #13

I thought this was a cool article until I read this line: "But regardless of how successful Greplin is, say, even if we go public someday, my parents won't be satisfied unless I get a degree. They won't speak to me." That's pretty sad, actually :(

I think I came across slightly more seriously then I indented - as much as they'd prefer me to have a degree, I'm sure they're quite proud.

indented -> intended
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