HN- you are the community that convinced me to get into startups. I wanted to come back and share what the experience of building a company has been like from inception to public listing. I'll be here for a couple hours to answer your questions. Ask me anything.
Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
1–10 of 154 posts
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#2Hi Spenser! Congratulations by the way to you and your team.
I've been working quietly on a project which I hope to turn into a product. When I speak with potential customers and users, they're very excited, but when I work with VCs, I receive the tired argument of "but XYZ incumbent pretty much dominates the market."
That's fine, and I feel that I am differentiated enough, but I'd love to hear how in the early days of Amplitude you battled the "okay but what about Mixpanel" conversation?
I'm fine with not raising cash for a while. I'd much rather put something out there and then have my user growth speak for itself.
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#3Do you have any screen shots from the first version you put in front of customers? It'd be fun to see how far it's come.
I assume investment banks were trying to convince you to do a traditional IPO instead of a direct listing, so they could collect some fat fees. What were their best arguments?
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#4Well done and congratulations.
Just like the Freshworks IPO which the CEO was inspired by a HN comment [0], it is good to see more founders getting their companies listed on the stock exchange and have gotten their inspiration from this site which is what I want to see here. Once again well done!
And I also will be buying Amplitude stock at near market close.
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#5[deleted]
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#6Congrats Spenser & team!
I hadn't realised that you pivoted a couple of times before starting Amplitude. Do you have any advice for powering through in the early days and evaluating startup ideas to get beyond the dreaded 0 to 1 stage?
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#7Congrats! Any string views on how pricing changes over time? (Do what it takes to get early reference customers versus maximizing long term revenue later on)
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#8Congratulations! So happy for you. I'm sure others in this community are too.
Some Qs:
In as competitive a space that Amplitude operates in, what were some decisions the company took during tough periods or in anticipation of dooms-day scenarios that you think proved invaluable?
Consequently, what moments do you think would have killed Amplitude if not for luck or execution or vision or hardwork?
What is that unique insight the competition still doesn't get?
Thanks.
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#9Congratulations Spencer! Had a question about the early days. How did you keep everyone motivated during the early days of heads down building before you had real customers?
Did you talk to customers during that time, and what best practices can you share?
How did you communicate your vision to your team / investors?
Re: Tell HN: Amplitude (YC W12) just went public – AMA
#10Hey Spencer, congrats on going public! I’ve been a happy Amplitude customer at several companies now. If you were starting a company today, what would you do differently from how you approached starting Amplitude?