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EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

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Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#11
post #7
post #2

I never used Hunch much, and I'm not sure if an 80 million exit with 20 million in VC funding is so great for the founders, but I suppose it gives eBay a footing in NYC - that's the part of the article I found most interesting.

15 million a piece. I don't know how long they were working on it but the very top billed actors tend to make, what, 20 million for movies that take ~3 years to make.

Most top actors spend 3-4 months on average per film. It's a scheduling things where you need a lot of people to film a movie some of which have offers for 3-4 movies that year. So people are working 12 hour days in one short burst and a lot of time in editing / post production but there is a ticking clock because investors want their money back ASAP. Reproduction can be slow simply because there is not a lot of money involved in the project yet.

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#12
"It’s been a long journey for Hunch. The company was founded in 2008."

Knowing how long it can take for a small company with a good idea and product to launch, I wouldn't really call that a long journey.

Still, congratulations to them. I hope eBay is able to make something good out of what they have created so far.

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#13

"It’s been a long journey for Hunch." They were founded in 2008 and sold for $80m 3 years later. That is considered a "long journey" these days? Statements like this give me that "we're in a bubble" feeling.

I am somewhat disappointed since Chris Dixon has said Hunch would be in it for the long-term. (I've followed Hunch since it's early days* and always wanted to see it go big.) $80m is a nice pay-out though, the systems they've built have the potential to bring an immense amount of value to eBay's offerings, and a lot of that money will trickle down to other startups via angel investments.

* http://hassy.posterous.com/my-favorite-startups-hunch

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#14

Wow, this is like a knight in a white horse for Hunch.. I seriously doubt they were making any profit... This sounds like a talent acquisition. I mean this is ridiculous... but it goes to show you.. you gotta show up for the game (the startup game, I mean) to win it... $80 m for a site that doesn't even get 1 million uniques (per Compete) a month is a STEAL. I mean.. seriously, everyone who has a CS background should…

> you gotta show up for the game (the startup game, I mean) to win it...

This type of thinking is why the valley is so full of zombie companies pumped up with capital, but with no real traction or any way of ever being profitable

PG and many speakers at startup school repeatedly said that its easy to spot the ones who are just doing it because they want to be "that guy" like Zuckerberg - the ones who want to play the game. Instead of starting a company to figure out what customers want.

What motivates you to start a company is really important. Especially during the downswings that kills most startups (google "trough of sorrows").

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#15

Wow, this is like a knight in a white horse for Hunch.. I seriously doubt they were making any profit... This sounds like a talent acquisition. I mean this is ridiculous... but it goes to show you.. you gotta show up for the game (the startup game, I mean) to win it... $80 m for a site that doesn't even get 1 million uniques (per Compete) a month is a STEAL. I mean.. seriously, everyone who has a CS background should…

+1 on the talent acquisition, although much like Slide, About.me, this shows that once you're lucky, twice you know who to speak to if you've gotten to a sizeable exit before. Also helps that eBay is looking for its second act to avoid the fate of a crumbling Yahoo!

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#16

"It’s been a long journey for Hunch." They were founded in 2008 and sold for $80m 3 years later. That is considered a "long journey" these days? Statements like this give me that "we're in a bubble" feeling.

I think Hunch was actually founded in 2009

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#17

Wow, this is like a knight in a white horse for Hunch.. I seriously doubt they were making any profit... This sounds like a talent acquisition. I mean this is ridiculous... but it goes to show you.. you gotta show up for the game (the startup game, I mean) to win it... $80 m for a site that doesn't even get 1 million uniques (per Compete) a month is a STEAL. I mean.. seriously, everyone who has a CS background should…

> everyone who has a CS background should just start something on the side if a deal like this is possible

Chris Dixon is a veteran investor and entrepreneur, with enormous visibility in the tech world. Contacts with potential acquirers are a non-issue for him.

A poor CS fellow could have created a version of Hunch that was 100x better and they still would have 1,000x less of an exit opportunity as compared to any startup Dixon founded.

Get real.

Re: EBay acquires Hunch for $80m

#18

Wow, this is like a knight in a white horse for Hunch.. I seriously doubt they were making any profit... This sounds like a talent acquisition. I mean this is ridiculous... but it goes to show you.. you gotta show up for the game (the startup game, I mean) to win it... $80 m for a site that doesn't even get 1 million uniques (per Compete) a month is a STEAL. I mean.. seriously, everyone who has a CS background should…

I dunno, their recommendation engine was scary good -- the technology Ebay's acquiring isn't anything to sniff at. They reportedly have a defensive portfolio of pending patents: http://www.formspring.me/hunch/q/169651283274266480

Ebay's been on a spending spree this past year and I'd say this is one of the better deals they've made, depending on how long they've locked in Hunch's team.

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