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Earlier quoted context omitted.
His statement is correct, and totally irrelevant when considering consumers.
> and totally irrelevant when considering consumers. That's the most important part, and the mostly often ignored in HN discussions It's the same with the difference between the Apple I and Appple II
Internet archive link to the demo/screencast: https://web.archive.org/web/20070407145348/http://www.getdro...
You have to watch his Dropbox video and read his YC application to really appreciate how articulate, succinct and fluid Drew communicates.
This is a perfect example of why you should ignore the naysayers and "experts" on HN when you first pitch your idea or product. Also, a great example of why the best startup ideas look initially like bad ideas ( http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html )
If you look at the top rated comment on that thread it is certainly a valid criticism, namely that corporate computers are often locked down and won't allow installation of third party software without getting sign off from IT. In the case of dropbox that managed to sidestep this by mainly targeting smaller businesses and individuals and also have the fall-back of letting users access their files over the web.
I think the top comments there show how sometimes the HN folks can get caught up in the details. I did a show HN today for a restaurant analytics concept and people commented on the ugliness of the launch page and over pixels.
This is a perfect example of why you should ignore the naysayers and "experts" on HN when you first pitch your idea or product. Also, a great example of why the best startup ideas look initially like bad ideas ( http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html )
Funny how a good enough implementation and good marketing managed to turn that around.
I don't remember what was wrong with Microsoft's solution, but I remember not buying into it.
I was among the naysayers. I first met Drew at pg's house just before Dropbox did YC. I listened as he explained Dropbox, and I immediately thought of a dozen reasons why it would be very difficult and probably fail (I'd recently worked on something very similar for a month or so just to figure out whether it was a direction I wanted to go with my own company, so had some familiarity with the scale of the problem...I…
it may not be of much comfort to you, but sometimes naysayers are important. Even if they are wrong about the overall trajectory, they may in the process of naysaying point out specific weaknesses that the visionaries might have missed, and, thus, ultimately allow for the success of the product.
"It does not seem very "viral" or income-generating."