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AngelList acquires Product Hunt

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Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#181

Post by Jasber »

untog wrote: post #173
Jasber wrote: post #112

Don't understand the negativity. What Ryan and Product Hunt did was incredible. So many people wanted to create an alternative to Hacker News and Reddit for product people. Everyone else failed but they figured it out. That's awesome. Product Hunt personally helped me in my goal of becoming a independent app maker by showcasing my app https://www.producthunt.com/posts/focus . As of tomorrow I'm full-time indie (YES!)…

I don't mean to sound mean spirited, but I know I am about to. Your post is an example of what frustrates me about Product Hunt (and, at times, HN) - people crowbaring in a reference to their startup/project/idea and throwing in a few links in a very transparent bid to get referral traffic from a popular message board service. On Product Hunt in particular it starts to sound like an echo chamber of people shouting st…

Yea, I agree excessive self-promotion can be bad for a platform.

In this case I included a link because I think it strengthens the argument. Product Hunt was built to help people like me—and it did. Here's the proof!

And I think my post confirms what you're saying—I was able to use Product Hunt as a tool to help reach my goal. I know this isn't always the case, which is why I wanted to give my experience.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#182

Post by shostack »

olalonde wrote: post #152

> He gets asked where he "summers" and then walks out confused. Anyone cares to explain that one?

While I don't agree with the comment, it is referencing the fact that very wealthy people often go to a summer estate or some destination. Thus, someone who responds with a known wealthy summer hot spot is identifiable as coming from a certain level of wealth.

The parent was then taking that a step further and insinuating that a VC might casually ask about this and lose interest in the person unless they come from wealth.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#183

Post by exogeny »

brentm wrote: post #179
exogeny wrote: post #103

Why are we applauding Ryan again? This is a saving face bailout from one of their own investors and a particularly embarrassing one at that given his statements of "I wouldn't consider anything under $100mm" and the pedigree of his investors. They raised a shit ton of money and built nothing. No real technology, no significant additions to their platform, no development of community. And now the result is an all-stoc…

I think that's being a little harsh. If you started something and A16Z offered you 7M you'd probably take it on the spot regardless of what it was you built. I'm sure when Ryan launched this thing he never thought it would be more than fun. It ended up spiraling into something much more than that. He was offered an investment from a grade A firm who was willing to let him to try and figure it out so he took it like a…

While I agree that I would also take the money, I disagree with the implicit argument that raising money in and of itself is a milestone with applauding. I also disagree that I'd end up taking that much - hindsight of course being 20/20 - since it obviously proved to be a difficult hurdle for them.

A large fundraise that doesn't have a very specific purpose or product milestone attached to it is a time bomb, and in many cases (Secret, YikYak, etc.) a bear hug that they can't possibly escape.

If you want to make the argument that Ryan didn't necessarily know how much runway he needed to build the vision he had, fine, but again, I don't think that excuses him from the consequences of that decision.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#184

Post by rfrank »

was_boring wrote: post #158
olalonde wrote: post #152

> He gets asked where he "summers" and then walks out confused. Anyone cares to explain that one?

I assume you're asking for an explanation of what "summers" or "summering" means. The basics of it are those with wealth can afford to spend weeks/months away from the place they call "home". They can also afford to drop their work commitments, or otherwise force those around them to conform to their wishes. With that in mind, wealthy people from New York are known to "summer" in the Hamptons. Well off retirees will…

Never really been a thing around here from my experience, and I grew up in Alamo, surrounded by the type of people who would happily flaunt a summer home. Second properties are usually in Tahoe or southern California somewhere, maybe Hawaii. I know a few people who have done the whole Napa thing and started their own labels of varying quality, but that's less common.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#185

Post by wwalser »

Jasber wrote: post #181
untog wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mean to sound mean spirited, but I know I am about to. Your post is an example of what frustrates me about Product Hunt (and, at times, HN) - people crowbaring in a reference to their startup/project/idea and throwing in a few links in a very transparent bid to get referral traffic from a popular message board service. On Product Hunt in particular it starts to sound like an echo chamber of people shouting st…

Yea, I agree excessive self-promotion can be bad for a platform. In this case I included a link because I think it strengthens the argument. Product Hunt was built to help people like me—and it did. Here's the proof! And I think my post confirms what you're saying—I was able to use Product Hunt as a tool to help reach my goal. I know this isn't always the case, which is why I wanted to give my experience.

Congrats on going full time. Don't sweat the salty comments.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#186

Post by exogeny »

dang wrote: post #178
exogeny wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The profanity is a movie reference, which if you've seen that movie would perfectly illustrate my personal frustration towards the tacit acceptance of incompetence that this thread signifies. They did very little with an extreme amount of advantages handed to them vis-a-vis A16Z's involvement. It's not intellectually honest to praise them for being able to raise money while simultaneous consider them immune from crit…

Now that you mention it, I have seen that movie! Okay. The rest of your comments, though, including this one, are just the same cocktail of bile and snark, with more than a dash of personal attack. That's not cool. It has nothing to do with how right you are; it has to do with what a jerk you're being on this site. If you want to comment here, please make your points substantively, without that. I don't care about wh…

I would counterargue that the pervasive "A for effort!" sunshine and happiness that you're trying to embed is just as dangerous, if not more so, than the bile and snark you're trying to ward off. The success of the overall startup ecosystem needs to be equally supported by the naked, cold truth than it does by blind optimism; ultimately it does no one seeking lessons and guidance any good to look retrospectively at the case study of PH and conclude "Wow, what a great company, they did nothing wrong! Ryan forever!"

Also, just because you prefer to read fluff replies of support and cheerleading and just because you are tired of people calling out editorial and financial conflict, it doesn't make the point of the replies you find bothersome moot. But it's your igloo and not mine; by virtue of me being here I am ultimately a guest at the discretion of you, and thus am bound by your rules in order to stay. I can also appreciate that your specific role can feel like shoveling shit against the tide, and that it's a thankless, rote task that can be at times extremely unpleasant. So, fair enough.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#188

Post by dang »

exogeny wrote: post #186
dang wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now that you mention it, I have seen that movie! Okay. The rest of your comments, though, including this one, are just the same cocktail of bile and snark, with more than a dash of personal attack. That's not cool. It has nothing to do with how right you are; it has to do with what a jerk you're being on this site. If you want to comment here, please make your points substantively, without that. I don't care about wh…

I would counterargue that the pervasive "A for effort!" sunshine and happiness that you're trying to embed is just as dangerous, if not more so, than the bile and snark you're trying to ward off. The success of the overall startup ecosystem needs to be equally supported by the naked, cold truth than it does by blind optimism; ultimately it does no one seeking lessons and guidance any good to look retrospectively at t…

> the pervasive "A for effort!" sunshine and happiness that you're trying to embed

You've imagined this. Nobody wants that, certainly not us. The day that HN shows signs of it becoming a top risk, we'll adapt accordingly.

Meanwhile, the risk that I'm talking about (and that you've been worsening) is the one that keeps us up at night. So yes, please follow the rules when commenting here from now on.

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#189

Post by melvinmt »

dang wrote: post #51
svskeptic wrote: post #26

'Experiment' with no conceivable way of monetization gets 'investment' for some behind-the-scenes, non-investment reasons. Bros funding Bros, and then bro acquiring bro when the first-bro has blown through 7.1M. Its the Silicon Valley version of nepotism. Its all play money, but is only available if you are in the circle. Now that you have an exit to your name, next stop, VC partner. And then ask all the startups pit…

Much of this ("for some behind-the-scenes, non-investment reasons") you've simply made up for rhetorical reasons. But even if you were right on the facts, this kind of rant makes for a bad HN comment. A good HN comment is one that contributes to thoughtful, curious discussion. Stimulating rage among those who already agree with you is the opposite of that. Since such comments routinely get upvoted, they're a particul…

This was actually one of the more insightful comments on this page…

Re: AngelList acquires Product Hunt

#190

Post by [deleted] »

jballanc wrote: post #172
nostrademons wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is more true of communities built around ideas rather than activities, and there are also moderating tactics you can use to avoid it. For example, online communities based around astronomy, or radio-controlled airplanes, or baking, or other hobbies remain relatively healthy even decades after their founding. Also there are communities around conventionally caustic topics (eg. Lambda: The Ultimate for programming…

I don't understand how people constantly miss the most obvious solution to keeping a community grounded: charge an entry fee.

[deleted]
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