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Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

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161–170 of 234 posts

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#161

I feel like this could also be a tool for friends or cofounders. I'm not sure I see it as really that advantageous in a work setting (aside from cofounders who tend to chat and have that kind of social enthusiasm often), but that's just my personal opinion.

Thanks for the data point. Yeah to be honest we do really well with very tight-knit teams right now. Cofounders are generally already good friends.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#162

For the sake of mental health and privacy, I hope this product crashes and burns.

Yep. Couldn't agree more. This reads like a group of co-founders and all their mates/YC cohorts saying how great a product is because they want it to be a great idea so bad.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#163

I sincerely wish you luck on this. I suspect I won't be using this, but that's more of an issue of workflow, as opposed to a judgement of the device. I don't like being interrupted while I work. I don't run Slack continuously, like many do. Also I'm a hired gun. I don't have a constant gig, and 90% of my work is alone. I think a device approach is reasonable. People like a device. They tend to not like a bunch of dev…

Yes that's really helpful. As a software engineer by trade, I totally understand wanting to maintain flow.

Someone else in the thread talked about how to find the balance between what's most productive for you and what's most productive for the team. I think that's going to be key for our users as well.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#164

A company owned always on video and listening device in my home? How about not.

We totally agree that this would be terrible - any company listening to their employees goes against the mission of the company. We built Sidekick for the subset of teams that actually want to feel like they're in the same room. They actually want to be on camera so they can turn to their teammates and talk.

Terrible but you're enabling it.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#165
The moderation of the negative comments on this post, for once, seems a bit overkill.

I think what's missing here in the moderation is the visceral reaction that people have to such a product, (to the point where their feedback seems a bit unproductive), is as much part of the conversation here as the constructive criticism.

The people who have a complete gut reaction against this don't want to enter the conversation with criticism that can seem like a negotiation with the founders, where the founders can reply with "ok we'll work on adding more cool privacy features".

They don't want to engage with the product in the first place.

However they feel that without shouting it from the rooftops, a perceived consensus might emerge that this type of product is OK bar a little privacy refinement, and thus be forced upon them by team members who don't have the same privacy appreciations as they do.

Edit: I'd like to add that I don't attribute any malice towards the founders of this. I accept that they're trying to make the right product for them.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#166
post #3

> Sidekick is a new hardware device […] So your "new hardware device" is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019) with a stand, isn't it? What's your motivation to offer hardware instead of selling the Android app separately as well, so customers could use it without the hassle of getting hardware shipped?

Haha yeah a $200 tablet for $300 a year!!! Bargain. I’d rather just use afterpay if I was that poor.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#167
post #17
post #3

> Sidekick is a new hardware device […] So your "new hardware device" is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019) with a stand, isn't it? What's your motivation to offer hardware instead of selling the Android app separately as well, so customers could use it without the hassle of getting hardware shipped?

I guess the same reason why companies lease hardware like laptops for their employees.

Yes except the leasing cost is not $150% of the cost of the laptop per year.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#168
post #160

We tried something like this in 2014 so our remote graphics designers would feel like they’re more in the office. It was a small team of 10 in the office plus 3 remote. Everyone HATED it. Having a camera actively on you all the time is incredibly unsettling. We ended that experiment really quick.

Thanks for the data point! It's definitely not for everyone, but the teams that actually need to be in the same room really love Sidekick.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#169
post #165

The moderation of the negative comments on this post, for once, seems a bit overkill. I think what's missing here in the moderation is the visceral reaction that people have to such a product, (to the point where their feedback seems a bit unproductive), is as much part of the conversation here as the constructive criticism. The people who have a complete gut reaction against this don't want to enter the conversation…

Yep well thought out response. It’s interesting the level of moderation in defence of of a YC company - I’ll bet they wouldn’t be deleting comments if it wasn’t one of their companies.

Re: Launch HN: Sidekick (YC S20) – A hardware device to connect remote teams

#170

I feel like this could also be a tool for friends or cofounders. I'm not sure I see it as really that advantageous in a work setting (aside from cofounders who tend to chat and have that kind of social enthusiasm often), but that's just my personal opinion.

Thanks for the data point. Yeah to be honest we do really well with very tight-knit teams right now. Cofounders are generally already good friends.

Yeah and that's where work tends to be more 'fun'
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