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

Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

cnn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 289 posts

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#211

Post by wavefunction »

TheKarateKid wrote: post #202
xnyan wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm dumb - Can anyone tell me why PHP vs JS for a "generic" web application? \In 2019 there are far far far more developers with real experience developing in Javascript vs PHP. There are obviously a lot of other factors in considering the base dev language, but unless you can make a strong case for PHP vs JS, I'm picking JS every time because in the generic case they both meet my needs but a lot more devs work…

PHP an older and more mature language. It also is synchronous so it runs similar to C/Java/Python. Programming full stack with JavaScript requires a different programming mindset with its asynchronous nature.

JavaScript predates PHP by five years. 'Maturity' is a subjective quality in my opinion and I also think PHP is a hot mess. JavaScript is synchronous unless you specifically utilize its asynchronous parts. Asynchronous execution is possible with PHP

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#212

Post by goatinaboat »

loganfrederick wrote: post #16

What I don't get about the Vision Fund is how so many of its investments lack (pun intended) vision. Other than the ARM, Nvidia, and a few billion in biotech (about $3 billion[1]) investments, so much of the fund has gone into pretty "obvious" traditional startups. If I had a $100 billion fund, I wouldn't be swinging for these singles and doubles (which Uber and WeWork were by the time Softbank got involved, although…

The “vision” of Uber, WeWork and so on is to radically redefine the relationship between worker and company and company and regulators, then the Vision Fund can swoop in and profit in a world with no workers rights, benefits, job security etc. Fortunately it seems that people are waking up.

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#213

Post by goatinaboat »

chewz wrote: post #209
thecleaner wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A large part of this vision fund is basically Saudi oil money. These folks realize that oil doesn't have that much future if you think in terms of hundreds of years, so they are looking to diversify. Vision fund is not a tool to be on the cutting edge, its just a means to not be left behind. Hence they let VC market decide which horse is worth backing and then they swing their dollars around to see what happens.

This should be an obvious warning sign. Someone whose core business is losing money is trying to recoup them in an area that they have no clue about. This is a typical guy who feels pressure so he buys at the top and puts his money based on recommendation of others in a business that is going to be next big thing. A typical sucker in other words who will end up penniless. Poor Saudis.

Poor Saudis.

They should invest in nanotechnology, and make the world’s smallest violin.

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#214

Post by hdfbdtbcdg »

wavefunction wrote: post #211
TheKarateKid wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

PHP an older and more mature language. It also is synchronous so it runs similar to C/Java/Python. Programming full stack with JavaScript requires a different programming mindset with its asynchronous nature.

JavaScript predates PHP by five years. 'Maturity' is a subjective quality in my opinion and I also think PHP is a hot mess. JavaScript is synchronous unless you specifically utilize its asynchronous parts. Asynchronous execution is possible with PHP

> think PHP is a hot mess.

Have you used PHP in the last 5 years?

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#215

Post by puranjay »

ajmurmann wrote: post #174
thecleaner wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A large part of this vision fund is basically Saudi oil money. These folks realize that oil doesn't have that much future if you think in terms of hundreds of years, so they are looking to diversify. Vision fund is not a tool to be on the cutting edge, its just a means to not be left behind. Hence they let VC market decide which horse is worth backing and then they swing their dollars around to see what happens.

That’s another thing I never got about Saudi’s investments. To me the obvious strategy with all the money would have been to not invest in empty skyscrapers or foreign investments, but pick two or three areas in which you massively bolster research and investment in an area like solar energy. Investment would be local and you try to attract all to talent in the field for both fundamental research as well as to fund c…

Saudi Arabia has a problem in that its far larger than UAE and it is also the home of Islam. Loosening cultural restrictions might fly in Dubai, but I'm not sure the Muslim world would be as okay with the same happening in the country that hosts their most sacred site.

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#216

Post by jakoblorz »

chewz wrote: post #209
thecleaner wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A large part of this vision fund is basically Saudi oil money. These folks realize that oil doesn't have that much future if you think in terms of hundreds of years, so they are looking to diversify. Vision fund is not a tool to be on the cutting edge, its just a means to not be left behind. Hence they let VC market decide which horse is worth backing and then they swing their dollars around to see what happens.

This should be an obvious warning sign. Someone whose core business is losing money is trying to recoup them in an area that they have no clue about. This is a typical guy who feels pressure so he buys at the top and puts his money based on recommendation of others in a business that is going to be next big thing. A typical sucker in other words who will end up penniless. Poor Saudis.

> This is a typical guy who feels pressure so he buys at the top and puts his money based on recommendation of others in a business that is going to be next big thing

Well that is how the current VC market works - sadly

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#217

Post by puranjay »

parliament32 wrote: post #82
RandallBrown wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point wasn't that javascript would be better, it was that the person couldn't answer why they chose an older tech stack instead of one of the newer ones.

There are a lot of reasons why choosing a mature tech stack is a better idea than the stack-du-jour. Better support, less bugs, and you know you won't be rewriting to the next stack when this one gets abandoned in a year.

It's an app that connects dog owners with dog walkers. People here are treating it like it was a CERN project.

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#218

Post by hdfbdtbcdg »

lowercased wrote: post #186
kortilla wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe they didn’t want to waste time on a candidate with such superficial focuses? Next time ask them why they chose to paint the wall dark blue instead of navy blue.

If they were hiring an interior designer or painter who asked why a specific color or paint type was chosen, but gave no answer... that might still be weird.

This highlights something most devs don't understand. Product development is about developing a product not about writing code. All the choices we make should facilitate making a good product, writing good code is a side effect.

In this metaphor the colour of the wall is equivalent to the product. The code is equivalent to whether the painters used brushes, pads or rollers or whether they used ladders or scaffolding - the customers do not care.

By asking why choose php you are asking why use rollers to paint.

Re: Dog-walking startup Wag raised $300M, then things got messy

#219

Post by puranjay »

slimsag wrote: post #62
tempsy wrote: post #60

I think Softbank's main problem is that they fund opportunity without considering execution at all. It's very possible that a dog walking service could be a multibillion opportunity (millennials/gen Z choosing to have pets over kids in greater numbers and working FT), but was there really anything special about this specific team that would lead anyone to believe they could execute with a $300m injection? I don't thi…

But.. they said they are all experts and care about animals! And the founders are super-genius hackers from MIT!

A business like this that doesn't really rely on technology would be far better run if it was helmed by MBAs with operational experience.

This entire business is basically a gigantic spreadsheet where you move things around to optimize profitability. Believing that this is a "tech" startup is where you start to fail.

I see so many businesses fail to make this distinction.

Stripe is a tech company, as is Boston Dynamics. But Wag is a tech leveraged business.

Post reply on HN