Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#141

Post by bradleysmith » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:08 PM UTC

fleaflicker wrote: post #117

freakonom wrote: post #51

Between the lines: Google has calculated that ExpectedLockinValue(given(ventureFunded)) + SillyPRBoost.value > ExpectedUsage($100k/yr) Or, in other words, Google believes for the venture-funded cohort, giving you a $100k option now will set them up to take significantly more later. They also don't want to spend any effort administrating (vetting) this program. I don't think this is confusing or insulting. Google's ca…

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the most obvious (and innocuous) motivation: to expose young developers to google's cloud platform so that they'll be comfortable with it when they become big-time CTOs in a few years. The network effects for cloud services are nowhere near as strong as they were for operating systems (end users don't care which underlying platform is used) but there is an advantage to having more d…

This makes the most sense to me as motivation for this kind of give-away. Both familiarity to soon-to-be-promoted techs, as you said, and establish themselves as the system to migrate AWAY FROM.

To have the first $100k of server time's code written on their platform is not meaningless. Perhaps I'm a sub-par wizard, but host migrations are a very real pain point in my experience. With $100K's worth of time spent developing on Google's platform, that pain would be pretty well developed by the time a startup would get around to worrying about it.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#142

Post by tbyehl » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:14 PM UTC

Gmo wrote: post #32

idlewords wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, did they change the name of their thing again? I am really leery of these various clouds. They are like architectural catnip-using them requires you to use an order of magnitude greater resources than you would on a single server, but it's really fun to assemble the moving parts. I feel like some people don't fully recognize how much you can do on a single tiny machine in 2014 if you don't have 29 abstraction la…

BizSpark is called BizSpark since a long time. BizSpark is not their cloud offering, it's simply their program for giving away software licenses to startups

As part of the MSDN Ultimate benefit you also get $150/month of Azure credits. You also get the Linux rate on Windows VMs, and for dev / test purposes you can run any MSDN software at no additional charge.

http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/offers/ms-azr-0064p/

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#143

Post by pender » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:16 PM UTC

wj wrote: post #133

pender wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most startups need all the help they can get. Google has decided to provide help only to those who have sold their souls away. Seems rather evil to me.

Going through an accelerator mean you've "sold your soul"? That is a bit of a jump.

Obviously I'm jumping to a point beyond the notion of a soul.

Nice branding with "accelerator". What do you think one is trading for money? Even in a simple equity trade you are giving up more than just equity... you are also putting on a leash which will alter your original being. VC's and soul trading aside, it's the exclusion part that makes the deed evil.

And yeah, I expected down voting from a group of people flocking to a VC forum like HN.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#144

Post by calgaryeng » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:30 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #21

calgaryeng wrote: post #8

> This offer is available to startups that meet the following criteria: > - In an approved Accelerator, Incubator or VC fund Why is this a thing? Not everyone wants to build their startup through venture capital, or an accelerator. This just reinforces the existing "permission-based" startup ecosystem.

Starting a business was quite possibly the first thing in my life that I didn't need to ask anyone's permission for. You don't need Google's, YC's, or a VC's blessing to start. You might need it to get their money, but startup costs for many software companies are asymptotically approaching zero.

Appreciate your comment, but the act of starting the business is not what I was referring to. Obviously the cost of running a small startup is effectively zero for all practical purposes.

I'm talking about the VC/accelerator-backed startups that gain traction and mindshare, solely because of "permission" (otherwise stated "a nod") from VC's or accelerators, when other, better products may exist. The very fact that this program largely eliminates/discriminates against an entire swath of entrepreneurs who DONT want to move to Silicon Valley is closer to my point.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#145

Post by blauwbilgorgel » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:36 PM UTC

meowface wrote: post #43

idlewords wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really enjoy the dissonance between startup mythology (bold innovators who play by nobody's rules) and the very conservative reality, as expressed in eligibility criteria like this. Think different, in one of the approved ways. Why this part of our industry is exempt from disruption, while everything else is fair game, is a source of constant wonder to me.

This is just Google's form of semi-automatic due diligence. Instead of them having to carefully vet each startup, determine that they're actually getting work done and are a real company and have at least some tiny bit of potential, they'll just defer to the accelerators and incubators to decide on that. Remember they're giving away $100,000 of credit for free, so they have to make sure it's not being squandered. I a…

Google has another program for startups without funding or accelerator program access.

https://developers.google.com/startups/

I applied and received $500 in credit for free (also free access to online training and local events). To get 100k in credit would of course be nice, but I would have no way to spend that much in a year.

In the light of this two-tier startup program already existing a lot of comments in this thread become uninformed. Stop looking a gift horse in the mouth (unless it is a Trojan).

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#146

Post by glimmung » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:40 PM UTC

wj wrote: post #139

glimmung wrote: post #124

Offering a very large freebie to a relatively very small no. of "qualifying" start-ups all of whom already have a degree of mentoring and investment sends an interesting message about Google's world-view and objectives. If they'd offered a small freebie to a large number of much more liberally defined start-ups, I would have been much more impressed. This has no relevance at all to my own modest start-up, but feels l…

The did offer Google Apps for Business for free for years to anybody who called themselves a business. You can still use almost all of their services for your business (Drive, Apps, Gmail) for free. They'll even give you a free phone number and voicemail box. I'd call all of that more than a small freebie.

Sure - and I've used many of those facilities (still am, in fact), and I appreciate them.

My intended point was really their miscommunication here - they exclude well over 99% of the organisations that consider themselves start-ups, and so the headline sets many up for disappointment. A better choice of wording would have sent a very different message.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#147

Post by mindcrime » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:54 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #26

idlewords wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really enjoy the dissonance between startup mythology (bold innovators who play by nobody's rules) and the very conservative reality, as expressed in eligibility criteria like this. Think different, in one of the approved ways. Why this part of our industry is exempt from disruption, while everything else is fair game, is a source of constant wonder to me.

I feel obligated to point out that Microsoft Bizspark will give you free software/services for 3 years and it is "one guy working from his kitchen table"-friendly. If you're building things, they will give you stuff. Bonus: You can help support underdog upstarts like Microsoft against uncaring tech titans like Google.

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not a Microsoft fan... I'm an old-school "open source" guy who thinks of M$ as the "Evil Empire" and that Gates/Borg picture is still kinda how I picture gates.

And I think BizSpark is a great program. IF you are interested in running on the MS platform, or want to integrate with MS "stuff" you can't beat it. Enrollment is simple and painless, it lasts for 3 years, etc. It's one of the things that I'll happily "give the devil his due" for.

There I said something positive about Microsoft. Now I guess I need to go click some rosary beads and say 3 "Our Stallmans" and 5 "Hail Raymonds". :-)

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#148

Post by tonysuper » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 4:57 PM UTC

miles932 wrote: post #100

tonysuper wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. This was pretty disappointing for me. I'm in the process of starting a company with a friend, but neither of us are 18 yet, so the chances of us getting into an accelerator or VC fund are next to zero (not that it's going to stop us from applying). We could have really used this service. Oh well. I understand why Google is doing it, but it's still disappointing.

What are you working on? Maybe I can help?

It's an image-search site. We have the core product (searches) about 99% finished. We're mostly trying to make the frontend as responsive and intuitive as we want it to be.

I want to work on it with my partner a little bit more before we get outside technical help. I'll keep you in mind, though.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#149

Post by ThomPete » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 5:13 PM UTC

jiggy2011 wrote: post #134

jdoliner wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that they can make this an eligibility criterion speaks to the fact that they're giving you something you'd otherwise pay $100,000 for. If this deal is somehow keeping startups outside the gate then said startups must really have been screwed 3 hours ago when this deal didn't even exist.

This deal makes things worse for non accelerated/VC'd startups because now they're competing with companies who not only have funding but also have $100K in free hosting.

exactly! In effect subsidizing the very startups who have the money to pay for hosting. Absurd.

Re: Google Launches Cloud Platform for Startups

#150

Post by gfodor » Fri, Sep 12, 2014, 5:17 PM UTC

mmariani wrote: post #25

trjordan wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not perfect, but what's a better way? There's a million people who could use this $100k to mine bitcoins, run personal servers, do scientific calculations, or more. Google isn't interested in those people: they want to lock in companies and keep them there as they grow quickly. If you worked at Google, what would you propose to catch these long-term valuable customers, without giving away a ton of free infrastru…

As there is another million people bootstrapping their businesses. What they should do is to find additional criteria to augment the startup validation process. A very simple criteria would be to maintain a front-facing service that provides value to consumers, excluding: bitcoin mining, run malware, etc.

And who verifies these things? How often? And by what rules? And why bother, when just limited it to accelerator startups is much easier and most likely will pick up the majority of successful long term startups anyway? I don't like it either, but it's obviously a logical move.

By screening for "you are in an accelerator" you not only have ensured some due diligence has been done, but you also know someone else's money is on the line, so they will keep tabs on them.