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The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

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Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#11

Post by SwellJoe »

replicatorblog wrote: post #3
dot wrote: post #2

So people are paying to get listed in a search engine before it even launches. What a scam. Reminds me of online directory listing scams that get gullible small businesses to sign up over the phone. Also reminds me of the million dollar homepage, for some reason. Probably because it's pretty clever :)

yeah seems a bit shady, but a really cool social hack to circumvent typical funding. If people used the power for good it would make an inspiring Startup School talk, ala the 1MM px page.

But, I suspect you'd have to lie outrageously to accomplish this "social hack". Who spends millions of dollars on nothing, without having heard a massive line of bullshit first?

So, I don't think I'd be inspired by such a talk. I was also not really inspired by the million dollar home page, either...sure, he made a million bucks, but that's not an enduring business and it is not a repeatable business model. It's a fluke, like winning the lottery. I'm not an entrepreneur to merely make a million bucks; I'm in it to build something of lasting value to the world. A common side effect of building something of lasting value is making a lot of money.

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#13

Post by staunch »

brk wrote: post #6

This was done in the 90's, but I can't recall the company name. I bought a handful of keywords that related to my market at the time. I expect this go-around to end equally badly.

I said the exact same thing to someone, and couldn't remember the name of the company either. It's killing me. Who knows the name of the late 90s company selling keywords, like "pizza", for millions.

Update: Goto.com is what I was thinking of, I think.

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#14

Post by replicatorblog »

SwellJoe wrote: post #11
replicatorblog wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah seems a bit shady, but a really cool social hack to circumvent typical funding. If people used the power for good it would make an inspiring Startup School talk, ala the 1MM px page.

But, I suspect you'd have to lie outrageously to accomplish this "social hack". Who spends millions of dollars on nothing, without having heard a massive line of bullshit first? So, I don't think I'd be inspired by such a talk. I was also not really inspired by the million dollar home page, either...sure, he made a million bucks, but that's not an enduring business and it is not a repeatable business model. It's a fl…

I don't mean this exact approach, but something like Kickstarter where people could prepay a few bucks for something. Imagine if Blizzard offered people who paid $15 some special weapon or tool in their upcoming MMO. They have a massive fan base, but is their a way to "presell" with a startup?

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#15

Post by [deleted] »

dot wrote: post #2

So people are paying to get listed in a search engine before it even launches. What a scam. Reminds me of online directory listing scams that get gullible small businesses to sign up over the phone. Also reminds me of the million dollar homepage, for some reason. Probably because it's pretty clever :)

[deleted]

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#16

Post by tomjen2 »

teej wrote: post #7
a-priori wrote: post #5

I have to say: watching that video made me want to grab a broadsword and kill some Orcs or something.

That's because it's pretty "inspired" by Hans Zimmer. Compare their video here ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qcMK1vPWFM#t=35s ) with Hans' Pirates of the Caribbean theme ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVmjAM5o1jg )

It is definately Hans Zimmer, but with the short part they used in the movie it might as well have been the theme to The Rock.

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#17

Post by SwellJoe »

replicatorblog wrote: post #14
SwellJoe wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, I suspect you'd have to lie outrageously to accomplish this "social hack". Who spends millions of dollars on nothing, without having heard a massive line of bullshit first? So, I don't think I'd be inspired by such a talk. I was also not really inspired by the million dollar home page, either...sure, he made a million bucks, but that's not an enduring business and it is not a repeatable business model. It's a fl…

I don't mean this exact approach, but something like Kickstarter where people could prepay a few bucks for something. Imagine if Blizzard offered people who paid $15 some special weapon or tool in their upcoming MMO. They have a massive fan base, but is their a way to "presell" with a startup?

That's why I suspect lying (over-promising, making outrageous claims, whatever) would be needed for an unheard of company to make a large sum of money on nothing more than a promise.

Yes, Blizzard could pre-sell products, because they have millions of fans that trust them to produce good games. Can a company no one has ever heard of do the same? If the founders are famous from prior ventures, perhaps, but completely unknown? It seems unlikely.

So, I guess if one could concoct a scheme that would work, honestly, and for unknown founders and an unknown startup, that would be interesting and inspiring. I lack the imagination required to figure out how to do it (as do the folks behind this particular scheme, since it seems pretty obvious that they chose the over-promise and outrageous claims path).

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#18

Post by agbell »

staunch wrote: post #13
brk wrote: post #6

This was done in the 90's, but I can't recall the company name. I bought a handful of keywords that related to my market at the time. I expect this go-around to end equally badly.

I said the exact same thing to someone, and couldn't remember the name of the company either. It's killing me. Who knows the name of the late 90s company selling keywords, like "pizza", for millions. Update: Goto.com is what I was thinking of, I think.

They became Yahoo! Search Marketing.

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#19

Post by rykov »

teej wrote: post #7
a-priori wrote: post #5

I have to say: watching that video made me want to grab a broadsword and kill some Orcs or something.

That's because it's pretty "inspired" by Hans Zimmer. Compare their video here ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qcMK1vPWFM#t=35s ) with Hans' Pirates of the Caribbean theme ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVmjAM5o1jg )

Amazing - I thought of Hans as well, but a different movie - Gladiator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFpZPZ_g4Hw#t=2m30s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

Re: The Very Strange Story of the Startup That Says It Made $10m Before Launching

#20

Post by asmosoinio »

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #8
JacobAldridge wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're paying to get listed in the search engine - they're paying for exclusive rights to Keywords for a year, and with first right of refusal next year. Imagine you had exclusivity to a Google keyword like Viagra, Sales, or Wedding? Crikey that would be worth a lot, so what if, just maybe, Leapfish get it right and compete with Google? Their argument, which I guess current customers have bought, is th…

Leapfish can't both compete with Google,and be dependent on Google, which their current model is. If they get "exclusivity to a Google keyword like Viagra, Sales, or Wedding" Google will change to fix that problem. Competing with Google's ownership of keywords on Google's own search engine ain't a reliable business model. Anything that involves outsmarting Google is a weak proposition.

I'm pretty sure JacobAldridge was using "owning Google keyword" as an example, and did not mean that you could actually own a Google keyword today by buying it from Leapfish.

You get exclusivity to a Leapfish keyword, and this might be the equal of owning a Google keyword if they go big.

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