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YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

ycgiftideas.com

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Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#161

Post by llsf »

callmeed wrote: post #131
nostromo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To your point, Airbnb bucks the trend you identified by making travel more affordable and accessible. It's also far and away the most successful company listed.

More accessible, maybe (unless you're black [0]) More affordable, no. In my recent travels to NYC and SF, I was always able to get a hotel room via HotelTonight or Hotwire cheaper than an AirBnB unit. I know its not always an apples-to-apples comparison but even for just a private room (not an entire home), an AirBnB in SF is $100+/night.[1] All that to say, I think you're wrong. [0] https://medium.com/stay-woke/i-re…

I agree that in some markets the airbnb prices are close cheap hotels. From my experience, I used to use Airbnb in Paris (France) and for the past 2 years, I ended up in an hotel, since it was cheaper. Now, hotels pricing is way more flexible when it comes to react to low demand. Airbnb hosts, do not adjust as well or as quickly to the seasonal (even week day vs. weekend) nature of hospitality. Airbnb is not always the cheaper option vs. hotels.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#162

Post by andrewksu »

ashark wrote: post #68
xiaoma wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously hope that happens with Acre. They could be amazing.

Went to check them out. Their houses are beautiful, but they truly are targeting the high end—double the price of a mid-tier-fixtures McMansion-build-quality house of similar size, at least around here. I'm also not sure how I'd get one of them built anywhere near the city here without buying a house in a no-HOA, low-home-value neighborhood and demolishing the house already on it, which'd be throwing away a ton of mo…

Hey, this is Andrew (Acre Founder). Thanks for the comments.

Price is entirely depended on location, in Kansas City (our original hometown), our homes are in the upper most price tier. In the Bay Area we are at or below market rate for typical homes and significantly under for anything comparable in quality and efficiency.

In Austin and Portland (our other two focus markets for 2017) we are about at parity and a good fit for the sustainable cultures.

But alas, we are not currently a fit everywhere and for every home buyer. It's part of our vision, but just like Tesla, we have to focus on a higher end product before we can create the every-mans product.

Regarding commute, we have an option to easily and affordably add capacity to allow for 6,000 miles of EV charging with ability to go beyond. Tis the future.

Keep posted next year for our tech that stretches beyond our own walls.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#163

Post by andrewksu »

sarcher wrote: post #92
xiaoma wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously hope that happens with Acre. They could be amazing.

I agree, I hope Acre does well. I wouldn't say they are in a crowded market - but they are in a market where existing offerings (prefab or predesigned green homes marketed regionally/nationally) have struggled to make the numbers work. There are savings associated with producing a uniform building package with standard modifications, but there are also new costs associated with that kind of work - namely, those assoc…

Prefab is a struggle and why we specifically avoided it. For us it makes much more sense to focus on product and supply chain and partner with local builders to execute in the various markets.

Our system is built for speed and that is where we derive savings. Between our wall/roof system, MEP systems, and delivery method we can slash construction time 60%.

Happy to continue conversation on your experience.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#164

Post by tristor »

dsr_ wrote: post #153
tristor wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true in one way of looking at it, but the other way of looking at it is that these are companies offering products that were always out of the price range of the average person, but they've managed to drive the price down. For instance, handmade leather shoes are between $300-$500 for the entry level, but Markhor is selling them for $120. Yeah, maybe your average person can't spend $120 on a pair of shoes, bu…

Well... one set of the Markhors are $120. Most of them seem to be $250 and up. And, despite being handmade, are not available in my size.

Yep, handmade probably does not mean "custom" or "bespoke" in this case, which means limiting the options presumably allows them to take advantage of economies of scale to lower the price compared to other options for handmade shoes.

I've never used the product from Markhors, it was just one example I was using for my point previously. I'm more the type of guy that either wears cheap sneakers or actual bespoke shoes, not much in-between.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#165

Post by andrewksu »

xiaoma wrote: post #54
bhalp1 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your point is true, but it's also likely that the model for a lot of these companies is to start with premium so they can focus on a profitable model and get the supply chain and execution worked out while there is still wiggle room, and then move down market. This is what Uber and Tesla did, and I wouldn't be surprised if that is the most fashionable approach these days. There are probably plenty of exceptions, as w…

I seriously hope that happens with Acre. They could be amazing.

Thanks! We're toiling away to that end. Here's our home guide to see more detail of what's inside.

http://bit.ly/acrecatalog

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#166

Post by andrewksu »

jdhawk wrote: post #78
pswilson14 wrote: post #19

I see that Acre (a home construction company) is on there. Kind of odd for a gift giving site. "Merry Christmas! I bought you a house!"

I'll take one.

Here, take a look, pick your options and we'll stuff it in a stocking!

http://bit.ly/acrecatalog

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#167

Post by andrewksu »

antisthenes wrote: post #124
pswilson14 wrote: post #19

I see that Acre (a home construction company) is on there. Kind of odd for a gift giving site. "Merry Christmas! I bought you a house!"

And like all "modern prefab" houses, it is extremely overpriced. $400k for 1200 sq. ft is nuts.

It's all relative. In Des Moines it's outrageous (although still worth it!), but in the Bay Area or similar market it's a steal. Comparable homes out here can be 2-3x.

We did our fist home at $145K for 1200 sqft and can offer than again late next year. Margins are too slim to grow at that rate, re:Tesla.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#168

Post by baka »

grey-area wrote: post #27
cndksjc wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered that these companies might not actually be that innovative and that the parent comment was a legitimate criticism?

It's terribly easy and not very useful to dismiss things in a vague way like this, and it's often wrong, particularly if talking about an entire category or market. e.g. google could have been dismissed as just a search engine but it turned out eventually to be exactly what a lot of people wanted.

(As written now) I think it can be legitimate critic. Google really grew out of making a better search engine algorithm and all. Some of these businesses are essentially reselling things and not really focused on innovating the substantial part of the business. That can also work of course, but I can see why it's less interesting.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#169

Post by mahyarm »

sbov wrote: post #157
ashark wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Went to check them out. Their houses are beautiful, but they truly are targeting the high end—double the price of a mid-tier-fixtures McMansion-build-quality house of similar size, at least around here. I'm also not sure how I'd get one of them built anywhere near the city here without buying a house in a no-HOA, low-home-value neighborhood and demolishing the house already on it, which'd be throwing away a ton of mo…

I would question someone's actual motives if they demolished a house so they could build a new one in name of sustainability. How much time would it take to recuperate that full rebuild vs. just retrofitting the already existing house?

When the cost balance makes the new house cheaper than a retrofit.

Re: YC’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

#170

Post by School-Cotton »

qwertyuiop924 wrote: post #23

Man, I was hoping for books. The YC staff book recommendations are usually good. As it is, there is nothing of value on this list. Most of these are absolute rubbish. But most outstandingly rubbish is Vidcode. It claims to teach code to teens/tweens, but speaking as one myself, this looks like the same kind of condescending, manipulative, "we be down with the kids, yo" crap that attracts teens the same way that a man…

I'm not sure why this is so badly downvoted. Maybe the forced "covered in shit" metaphor was over-the-top but otherwise this is spot on.

I'm 27 which I guess counts as an adult but I certainly clearly remember that everything explicitly marketed towards kids or other varieties of "dummy" always felt forced and condescending to me when I was younger.

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