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Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#31

Post by rms »

stcredzero wrote: post #20
mixmax wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think people will pay for it though. Streaming high quailty content requires both good source material and a lot of infrastructure - none of which are cheap.

Note that I said that the functionality was "Tivo-Like." No streaming is necessary! You have content organized in "channels." You start out with very small resolution and short streaming "previews." But once you subscribe to a "channel" the application starts downloading longer Bittorrent "episodes" from torrents that are posted to an RSS feed. So there is an initial period when people only have access to "previews,"…

Like Miro for porn

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#33

Post by Frocer »

rcs wrote: post #17
nuggien wrote: post #9

stop lying to yourselves. You're in it to make money, so if you have an idea that think will change porn, why not jump in head first?

Who said we were lying to ourselves? Of course we'd like to make money, we hate our jobs and the soul crushing banality of the 8-6 workday, but, enjoy eating. We have no real moral object to porn or the porn industry. We have a proof of concept, we just can't continue to do our jobs, work on FOSS, and work on this indefinitely. We need funding to realize our dreams, hence the title. :D.

Why not work part-time on it, then once you get a bit of traction, then look for investment?

I mean... if you work 8-6, what do you do from 6-12? Just a thought...

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#34

Post by kaens »

mixmax wrote: post #7

A fried of mine is into the alternative sexscene (SM stuff...) and runs a club and a blog. Through him I hear a bit about the scene and meet some of the people. One thing I have noticed is that there is plenty of money in porn, and most of it is in specialities. The reason for this is that there is an abundance of mainstream porn available for free pretty much wherever you look, but if you're into something weird it…

This is exactly what you should do. I've got quite a few friends in the swinger crowds, and if you're going to find a good, mature, financially responsible investor for a really good adult-oriented idea, your best bet is in the upscale swinger community.

I'll confirm that they're a mostly very open and very nice crowd, and there's a higher proportion of wealthy and intelligent people among them who would love to invest in a good adult-oriented startup - especially if it's a fresh idea.

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#35

Post by greyman »

Maybe I am going to burn a few karma points now, but my advice would be - don't do it at all. If you put a leg into porn industry, it will leave a stigma that you will not be able to get rid of for the rest of your life..it will forever be attached to your resume.

>> Mixing money and sex has always been a recipe for disaster.

Well said. ;-) You can obviously make money with sex, but you will pay the price after all. No loss, no gain.

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#36

Post by danielh »

shimon wrote: post #11

On one hand, this should be similar to finding investors in any industry: Look at work that you admire. Figure out who built and funded it. Figure out how to get into their social circle -- start where you can, and work your way to the right people by earning respect. And make sure you live in the right town (Van Nuys?) so you can be around the critical mass of people. On the other hand, porn is special. The heroes o…

They don't have blogs, but there are a couple of big adult webmaster forums where they hang out.

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#37

Post by truebosko »

Frocer wrote: post #33
rcs wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who said we were lying to ourselves? Of course we'd like to make money, we hate our jobs and the soul crushing banality of the 8-6 workday, but, enjoy eating. We have no real moral object to porn or the porn industry. We have a proof of concept, we just can't continue to do our jobs, work on FOSS, and work on this indefinitely. We need funding to realize our dreams, hence the title. :D.

Why not work part-time on it, then once you get a bit of traction, then look for investment? I mean... if you work 8-6, what do you do from 6-12? Just a thought...

Spend time with friends, loved ones, other hobbies? Life can't be all about your work, even if you do truly enjoy it.

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#39

Post by stcredzero »

rcs wrote: post #28
stcredzero wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note that I said that the functionality was "Tivo-Like." No streaming is necessary! You have content organized in "channels." You start out with very small resolution and short streaming "previews." But once you subscribe to a "channel" the application starts downloading longer Bittorrent "episodes" from torrents that are posted to an RSS feed. So there is an initial period when people only have access to "previews,"…

stcredzero: Are you a coder? A designer? It's obvious that you've thought about before! Would you have any free time in the next month?

Yes, I am a coder. And yes, I've been thinking about issues surrounding the delivery of content since before YouTube. And I am considering quitting my job and living off savings to do personal projects.

Re: Funding an "Adult Oriented" start-up?

#40

Post by villageidiot »

greyman wrote: post #35

Maybe I am going to burn a few karma points now, but my advice would be - don't do it at all. If you put a leg into porn industry, it will leave a stigma that you will not be able to get rid of for the rest of your life..it will forever be attached to your resume. >> Mixing money and sex has always been a recipe for disaster. Well said. ;-) You can obviously make money with sex, but you will pay the price after all.…

I don't know if I would go so far. But I agree that a certain amount of caution should be applied here because of the obvious career risks to a move like this. However, one strategy someone could take would be to conduct their porn experiment simultaneously with a legitimate venture so that there are no experience gaps to account for later - just one example.
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