Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 267 posts

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#131

Post by taeric »

cyanbane wrote: post #55
irishloop wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to work for a company based in Conyers, GA, and would hang out in Atlanta when I traveled there. It is a great city. However, there is a huge cultural shift outside of Atlanta for people used to Silicon Valley or NYC, because the rest of Georgia is definitely... different.

I think it is different in the way that most big cities are when compared to other parts of their states. San Fran and East California might be one of the better examples. Marietta is very similar Merced; Athens is similar to Berkeley. I don't think Atlanta is very different in that regard. (From Athens, longtime Atlanta resident - spent a lot of time in Cali, lots of family out in Sacramento/Berkeley)

My understanding is that the difference is most other states highly fund their large city.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#132

Post by pitchups »

Another example of a company that has grown quite large without using venture funding is Zoho.com - based out of Chennai, India. They are even larger than Mailchimp in terms of revenues - clocking over $1 Billion and with over 3000 employees.

[1] https://pando.com/2014/10/14/anti-burn-how-bootstrapped-zoho...

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#133

Post by drakonandor »

jameskegel wrote: post #116
wil421 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California is also one of the states being sued [0]. You obviously don't know much about Atlanta but seem to know a lot about Georgia by browsing wkikipedia. Our LGBT community is one of the largest in the US. California probably has more backwards people than Georgia fighting against stuff like this. [0] http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/26/california-tra...

Your response comes off aggressive, and I think that detracts from the validity of your comment.

Does shutting down nonsense posts really require perfect civility in the reply?

It's the same pattern I see often here... made up story incoming. The original person who spouts nonsense is never hold to account, especially if what they're saying fits with the status quo.

Person1: Trump is literally a lizard person!

> Person2: You're an idiot, and here are some facts that show he's not.

> > Person3: Whoa whoa, you're probably right but be civil!

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#134

Post by icebraining »

chatmasta wrote: post #99
mazeway wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it then bears the question that if the so called "network effect" companies has any real value (that is to generate profit in the future) or are manifestations of a bubble?

It's pretty clear that they have value, or the entire VC industry would not exist. At least, enough of them have value to pay for the ones that don't. This is basic economics.

That means they have value for the VCs (usually in the form of "exits", ie, selling to other investors), but the question was whether they'll produce profits (and consequent dividends).

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#135

Post by matthewmcg »

SwellJoe wrote: post #117
echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

As a counterpoint: My family is in Atlanta (well, just outside of it), and it's probably my least favorite major American city. The traffic is out of control (and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country), McMansions and suburban sprawl are a way of life (my brother-in-law has an hour long commute to his near-downtown office, and keeps an office in his house so he doesn't have to drive down every day), an…

All true, but it's getting better. Also, there's a huge quality of life difference in Atlanta between living just outside city limits and living in the urban core or one of the adjacent former streetcar suburbs. Not only in terms of traffic and transit options but proximity to entertainment and cultural attractions.

Historically, most of the technology companies in the metro area were located in office parks in the northern suburbs. But momentum seems to be shifting back to in-town locations. When my firm moved to its present location in NW Midtown in 2007, we were the only tenant in our building. Since then, we've been joined by a marketing agency, Uber, Square, Worldpay, and a few others.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#136

Post by westbywest »

rebelidealist wrote: post #127
echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

How is the weather in ATL?

Hot, dry, humid, in varying quantities during the warm season. Occasional bouts of days-long rain when the remnants of tropical storm systems come ashore.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#137

Post by tedunangst »

MrMullen wrote: post #120
wil421 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California is also one of the states being sued [0]. You obviously don't know much about Atlanta but seem to know a lot about Georgia by browsing wkikipedia. Our LGBT community is one of the largest in the US. California probably has more backwards people than Georgia fighting against stuff like this. [0] http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/26/california-tra...

Because our population is 4 times larger.

That's a peculiar reply. Like it's ok to have bigots, as long as there's lots of them?

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#138

Post by jjjpk »

echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

Work just outside the perimeter (near the airport) and live fifteen minutes away from work (Chattahoochee Hills/South Fulton county), and I have a very nice private house in the country for $850/month (utilities included). It's perfect for my lifestyle.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#139

Post by piptastic »

rebelidealist wrote: post #127
echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

How is the weather in ATL?

Hot and humid in the summer. Rains frequently.

It's the South.

Re: MailChimp’s founders built the company slowly by anticipating customers’ needs

#140

Post by ethbro »

SwellJoe wrote: post #117
echelon wrote: post #37

The Atlanta tech scene is blossoming, just like our film industry. We have a couple of incubators, including a few that are funded/supported by Georgia Tech. The cost of living here is super cheap, and there are brilliant and talented people everywhere. We have satellite offices for tons of major tech companies, so there are traditional tech jobs too. Earning $200k here while the cost of living is so low is phenomina…

As a counterpoint: My family is in Atlanta (well, just outside of it), and it's probably my least favorite major American city. The traffic is out of control (and has possibly the rudest drivers in the whole country), McMansions and suburban sprawl are a way of life (my brother-in-law has an hour long commute to his near-downtown office, and keeps an office in his house so he doesn't have to drive down every day), an…

As someone who's lived in Atlanta for 8 years there's a massive difference in mindset and culture between the city (often referred to as ITP/Inside-the-Perimeter, referencing the ring of I-285 circling the city) and the various suburbs surrounding it. There's no way I'd live OTP by choice, especially with a non-flex, non-remote gig.

Imho, Marietta/Cobb County (NW of Atlanta) and Alpharetta/North Fulton (N of Atlanta) especially tend to have... less than cosmopolitan perspectives. DeKalb (NE & E of Atlanta) can go various ways.

My rebuttal to Atlanta being casually racist is always "Have you lived in the NW/NE?" We're absolutely still racially stratified (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta ), but compared to the other places I've lived and visited you run into a wider variety of people in everyday life. Which is important to me.

Hell, when I was younger I once worked a service gig at a beach restaurant in CT and could count on two hands the number of non-white customers I served the entire summer.

Post reply on HN