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New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

#32

Post by zyfo »

taphangum wrote: post #8
rms wrote: post #6

Best startup hiring post I have seen on HN in years.

Don't know why this got downvoted. It is. Edit: It has obviously been upvoted now. Now i'm getting down voted? lol. HN, i don't get you sometimes.

No, you're getting your upvotes too. Don't worry.

Re: New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

#33

Post by rst »

gus_massa wrote: post #30
StavrosK wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would he apply? He has 1.2m revenue per year, his valuation must be much higher than that, the 30k YC will give him in return for 10%-30% (or whatever it is) is a pittance.

From: http://ycombinator.com/apply.html "We usually invest $11,000 + $3000n, [...] in return for between 2% and 10% of the company. The average is 7%."

You're forgetting the likely Yuri Milner $150k convertible note, which changes the math somewhat. (If not, we have a "typical case" $14k investment --- n is the number of founders --- for at best 2% post, giving a post valuation of 50*$14k = $700k, which is a very raw deal under the circumstances.)

As to whether this is worth it --- depends on the expenses (which presumably include at least salaries, promotion, and rent). If they aren't spending as much money as they're taking in (no names, but I do know of iPhone devs in this position), it's hard to see the point of giving up equity to get more.

Re: New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

#36

Post by spaghetti »

gyardley wrote: post #25

Are you making money from iTunes affiliate fees and simply passing a cut of it on to your users, or are you charging application developers for placement? Right now the biggest cost-per-install networks are doing 50x to 100x your revenue and growing quickly, and they're hiring every experienced salesperson they can possibly find. That's your true competition for app developers' advertising dollars, not the little stu…

What are the largest cost-per-install networks right now? I'm just curious.

Re: New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

#38

Post by kumph »

gyardley wrote: post #25

Are you making money from iTunes affiliate fees and simply passing a cut of it on to your users, or are you charging application developers for placement? Right now the biggest cost-per-install networks are doing 50x to 100x your revenue and growing quickly, and they're hiring every experienced salesperson they can possibly find. That's your true competition for app developers' advertising dollars, not the little stu…

Those CPI networks are actually our biggest partners. We're AB testing a couple right now. And it's a good thing there's more than one. Then, to win your business, they do nice things like give you access to their API or call you in for a meeting with the CEO.

I see you used to be at Flurry. It was your former CEO, Simon, who asked me to come in.

Re: New Startup Now Pulling In Over $100k in Monthly Revenues

#39

Post by philipDS »

rst wrote: post #33
gus_massa wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From: http://ycombinator.com/apply.html "We usually invest $11,000 + $3000n, [...] in return for between 2% and 10% of the company. The average is 7%."

You're forgetting the likely Yuri Milner $150k convertible note, which changes the math somewhat. (If not, we have a "typical case" $14k investment --- n is the number of founders --- for at best 2% post, giving a post valuation of 50*$14k = $700k, which is a very raw deal under the circumstances.) As to whether this is worth it --- depends on the expenses (which presumably include at least salaries, promotion, and r…

Then again, I think you could consider applying to YC. Even though your revenue > expenses. Don't think of YC as an incubator or a funding machine (or whatever you'd like to call it). They offer a lot more. I think it's more like a ticket to a community of entrepeneurs and investors, based in Silicon Valley.

And yes, the $150k is a nice addition, but would you pick this convertible debt over the weekly dinners, office hours, alumni help you might get and most of all connections with possible investors? I wouldn't :)

Now I think about it: the YC FAQ also mentions this money-related question.

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