SG Mastermind 1: Build from scratch or use existing software?

I really think we should build the community first using one of the many tools out there before we start investing time into building something custom. Perhaps we can even use something like basecamp/campfire or talkerapp (I'm willing to pay for the initial costs personally).

The community is the important part but I think something as simple as a Google Group would be enough to prove that it's a community that will be worth being part of. Just my 2c.

I'm for django/pinax .. built from scratch, though there is a lot of functionality we can already use from pinax. Sign me up if you go this route.

As a general principle, I think the software platform should be off-the-shelf if possible - to contain costs and management resources. That said, the platform needs to do everything the group requires without too much tweaking.Maybe we could take the open-source remnants of Google Wave and build a customization from there?

Use existing tools and as (if) the idea gains traction then consider building tools meeting it's specific needs. There's momentum here, capitalize on it by getting people engaged as opposed to spending a month or two building out a site. You may not have the momentum a month from now!

How about stack exchange? There exists one for onStartups that's pretty good. I'm not suggesting using their community but there's probably a ton we could learn by looking at their questions and answers.

I completely agree with graceyang that the community is the important part. While it would be nice to have a custom tool, that adds months to the startup process full of debating how the tool should be made and what it should do.

The mere fact that you ask this question is usually an indicator that you should go with existing solutions. If you had a compelling reason in mind not to use off-the-shelf solutions, you'd not bother asking, and if you don't have a compelling reason in mind, why bother? This is obviously not always true, but is rather a general rule, but it's a good one to keep in mind.

First off, I LOVE the idea. I think serial entrepreneurs like myself NEED this and it will grow into a thriving community of benevolent contributors (and hopefully less flaming)

while I think it would be great to see it built from scratch putting it all in the hands of one person seems to be asking too much, then comes the question of who does the upkeep, who fixes the outages etc.

I think Open Source is probably the best way see this project through

Why not just start a git repository on github (private) and start a group on a site like fridge to discuss what's going on/have the beginnings of the community while we all work on it together.

Anyone who forks the project and submits accepted code gets some sort of badge in their profile along with credit for helping and being a "founding member" so to speak.

Open a WePay group for the SG so donations can be accepted for server costs, hardware etc.

I think ultimately this can be a passionate community of people who do lots of good, who knows what can grow out of an idea like this. Let's take the time to do it right and make sure all who come can receive sound advice from seasoned professionals in a manner which is better for all parties

Zach

I say focus on the structure of the "program", then take specific votes on the details. Do you want levels of members to roughly correspond with Y-Combinator's classes/timeline? The statuses could be: Applied (need social validation to get it), Level 1 (approximately 1 month into Y-Com), Level 2 (mo 2), Level 3, Alumni.

I definitely say use off the shelf software wherever possible. I also think there needs to be some kind of "voting off the island" type situation. Maybe of a given group that starts, only x-percentage can finish. Part of Y-combinator's appeal is that it selects positively for good companies. If it is completely open, you will loose some of this.

I agree that you will need some kind of identification walls in order to make people comfortable working within it, and to make it special. My company, signnow, has a product notarynow that I would gladly donate our service to solidly identify people, if you like.

I reckon make use of existing software first. Manual curation should be ok initially, if necessary. Automate and build as needed in the future.

The main reason to purpose build is to have total control and address scaling issues that pop up with many out of the box solutions. But you may not need total control or have issues with scaling if you don't build a strong community.

I agree open source is probably the best solution at this stage.

Convore?

I don't know of any existing systems that offer everything you're looking for. Maybe we can start with something that meets most needs, and build on it? e.g., start with Reddit's code base.

Building from scratch would be less desirable, and risky -- in terms of potentially killing the project before it even launches -- but it would also get you exactly the package you want.

I think off the shelf is probably fine for the most part. Mailing lists, IRC, blogging are all available. Live with the limits they impose (embrace constraints!).

As for contracts and online signing, my current gig is with a startup here in Vancouver (BC) that's doing just that for small companies that might be useful if some people/groups did want to do NDA's or contracting/employment agreements, etc. (Not linking as I don't want to be too promotional ;)

I don't want in here to sound like an echo chamber, but building from scratch is not a good idea when there are so many open-source/free tools available that fill all the current needs. As the community feels itself out the need for specific features will arise and then it's time to look at extending and developing the existing deployment.

For a start up it would be good to build up from existing software like everyone before me has said and tweak around it to your liking.

No brainer. Open source CMS. They are extensible and rich plugin markets. Current leaders are wordpress, joomla, Dotnet nuke, Umbraco and drupal, but there are many others. Word press has around 13,000 plugins for everything from ecommerce to social networks but all most all them have that.

One consideration is that dotnetnuke and umbraco target the enterprise so can be somewhat heavy weight. More modern CMSs are lighter weight. Orchard.net, for example is a .net mvc3 application whose core is very small and even the basic features are design as external modules.

It is most important to begin developing the community. Many communities have been formed using existing tools. Use them until the need for something new/different becomes apparent.

At this point, I'd agree with the 'off the shelf' solution that most are supporting here. Either starting with something like Reddit's code base, as suggested, or even the Google groups option could be a good start initially.

If the need/desire to roll your own becomes an issue, Kickstarter could be a good way to look at funding this, seeing as there are already 400+ people wanting to see this happen, who I'm sure would all happily pitch in.

I'd be happy to evolve http://ongoingfeedback.com, it currently already does private mastermind groups.

I agree with the current majority. Use off the shelf software to get started.

My company uses an install of Wordpress with the GTD theme (P2 Theme is also an option) for communication - it is basically a twitter/yammer clone. We have 20 people and it has been an awesome tool. Of course you can easily add forums (bbpress) and a ton of other functionality with 10k+ plugins available.

This could be built/ready in 1-2 days.

http://p2theme.com/

This is great Justin, thanks for getting it together.

I vote for Open Source. I think everyone is champing at the bit to join and share with each other, so getting it off the ground fast is best.

Also, as others have already said, this seems to be a predominantly altruistic group, so funding a better solution later won't be an issue.

I would recommend Wordpress/Buddypress to start. It's simple to setup, has a ton of plugins, and isn't hard to extend. If not BuddyPress, use something else existing. Building your own software from scratch would be a terrible use of your time given the goals you have for the Startup Guild.

What do you think of http://www.ning.com/ ?

Start with BuddyPress or something else off the shelf you can customize later. You can leverage experience from the group on whatever solution you pick and the excitement you've started. I think it is imperative to move quickly.

Def start with existing software.

Even a simple forum (Google group) could work. All the way up to stack exchange site (Q&A). Possibly http://braintrust.io