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

Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 63 posts

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#31

Post by Johnny555 »

pen2l wrote: post #19
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in SF, where the median rent is now $4,225/month, or $50,700/year. Realistically, you can't even expect to take home $50,700 on a gross income of $75k. http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/06/02/san-franciscos-...

I've been thinking about this lately. Why doesn't Google or Facebook just pack up one day and go to... say, Detroit? Buy a shitload of property there, and tell all their workers that in the course of the next 5 years they want to have presence in two places: this new place in Detroit, and the old place in the Valley. Whoever wants to stay in the valley can stay... and whoever wants to move to Detroit can come move to…

One reason is because Detroit has 24x7 winter -- in the Bay Area it's a 4 hour drive to winter so you only experience it when (and if) you want to.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#33

Post by voltagex_ »

mrjaeger wrote: post #23
porsupah wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it actually that bad? SF rents are certainly not low, but if you check Craigslist/PadMapper, it would seem difficult to pay $4k, let alone that being the median.

That number is for all apartments ( http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/06/02/san-franciscos-... ). So this lumps in studios, 1 BRs, 2BRs etc. When you consider that it is (slightly) less crazy. However the median rent for a 1BR is still $3,530 ( http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/03/san_franciscos_medi... ). More anecdotally it is basically impossible to get a studio for less than $2k or a 1BR for less than $2…

That's ridiculous. You're talking about the kind of money I paid in mortgage repayments for a 2 bedroom house 12km outside of Canberra, Australia.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#34

Post by draw_down »

voltagex_ wrote: post #33
mrjaeger wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That number is for all apartments ( http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/06/02/san-franciscos-... ). So this lumps in studios, 1 BRs, 2BRs etc. When you consider that it is (slightly) less crazy. However the median rent for a 1BR is still $3,530 ( http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/03/san_franciscos_medi... ). More anecdotally it is basically impossible to get a studio for less than $2k or a 1BR for less than $2…

That's ridiculous. You're talking about the kind of money I paid in mortgage repayments for a 2 bedroom house 12km outside of Canberra, Australia.

The prices go down 12km outside of SF too. (Not to that level, but still)

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#35

Post by kwarner »

Former Gumroad employee here. Since we didn't write about this, here's a response from the other side-- we weren't blindsided by this. We knew there was a chance we wouldn't get our series B, yet we believed in the product. The numbers looked great (the best they had ever looked). And we wanted to see this work, whether or not it meant being part of it in a few months.

This isn't some photo sharing app; many creators earn their living from Gumroad. When the time came to make a decision whether to be acquired and have the product die, or to downsize and have the product live on, this choice involved a lot more than our 20 person team. It involved the thousands of creators that rely on Gumroad. With or without me, I still believe in Gumroad.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#36

Post by tzier »

kwarner wrote: post #35

Former Gumroad employee here. Since we didn't write about this, here's a response from the other side-- we weren't blindsided by this. We knew there was a chance we wouldn't get our series B, yet we believed in the product. The numbers looked great (the best they had ever looked). And we wanted to see this work, whether or not it meant being part of it in a few months. This isn't some photo sharing app; many creators…

It's refreshing to see employees who are this dedicated to the product. Kudos, Gumroad team.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#37

Post by sampotts »

voltagex_ wrote: post #33
mrjaeger wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That number is for all apartments ( http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/06/02/san-franciscos-... ). So this lumps in studios, 1 BRs, 2BRs etc. When you consider that it is (slightly) less crazy. However the median rent for a 1BR is still $3,530 ( http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/03/san_franciscos_medi... ). More anecdotally it is basically impossible to get a studio for less than $2k or a 1BR for less than $2…

That's ridiculous. You're talking about the kind of money I paid in mortgage repayments for a 2 bedroom house 12km outside of Canberra, Australia.

But comparing Canberra to SF isn't fair. Compare it to Sydney. It's $2k here easily a month for a 2 bed place to rent, depending on the suburb.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#38

Post by coderdude »

kwarner wrote: post #35

Former Gumroad employee here. Since we didn't write about this, here's a response from the other side-- we weren't blindsided by this. We knew there was a chance we wouldn't get our series B, yet we believed in the product. The numbers looked great (the best they had ever looked). And we wanted to see this work, whether or not it meant being part of it in a few months. This isn't some photo sharing app; many creators…

I've always admired Gumroad for its execution, professionalism, and design chops. Good luck to you all. Other companies will be fortunate to gain the Gumroad team.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#39

Post by sawthat »

pen2l wrote: post #19
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in SF, where the median rent is now $4,225/month, or $50,700/year. Realistically, you can't even expect to take home $50,700 on a gross income of $75k. http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2015/06/02/san-franciscos-...

I've been thinking about this lately. Why doesn't Google or Facebook just pack up one day and go to... say, Detroit? Buy a shitload of property there, and tell all their workers that in the course of the next 5 years they want to have presence in two places: this new place in Detroit, and the old place in the Valley. Whoever wants to stay in the valley can stay... and whoever wants to move to Detroit can come move to…

Well, Google and Facebook are both extremely profitable, so the wages they are paying their employees aren't hurting them at all.

Re: Layoffs Hit Gumroad as the E-Commerce Startup Restructures

#40

Post by aaronbrethorst »

sampotts wrote: post #37
voltagex_ wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's ridiculous. You're talking about the kind of money I paid in mortgage repayments for a 2 bedroom house 12km outside of Canberra, Australia.

But comparing Canberra to SF isn't fair. Compare it to Sydney. It's $2k here easily a month for a 2 bed place to rent, depending on the suburb.

I pay about USD$2,400 a month for a 650 square foot 1 bedroom in downtown'ish Seattle. I envy your AUS$2,000 2 bedroom :)
Post reply on HN