I launched JustHackIt.com last night. I'm really enjoying managing the site but didn't expect the huge amount of traffic and don't quite know how to manage a community site like this.
He launched the site last night and has tons of traffic -- that's the opposite of fail. Fail is "I launched JustHackIt.com six years ago. I'm really enjoying managing the site but didn't expect to have no hits ever and I'm tired of it."
Managing a community is harder than people imagine. I think a lot of people dream about making sites like this, but they quickly find the complexity isn't technical, but social, and they find it daunting and bail.
It hope he has a liquidity event, validating the accelerating pace of business development and shortening of the product life-cycle of today. And when I say "today", I mean of one actual day.
Seriously, it would be awesome if he made out with some cash from this idea. What he's offering is: a cool name, a cool idea (a validated-to-some-extent idea), an implementation, a (nascent) network effect, and publicity in the relevant community.
Of course it seems ridiculous because it is only a day's worth. But that's no real argument against it; it may be an argument against the sale price being very high, but it's no argument against it being worth something.
There is however one very limiting argument against it - the ease of duplication:
If you believed this was a great opportunity, how much would it cost you to catch up? Almost nothing, and you might prefer to start fresh anyway. If it had been going for 3 months, and had 3 months worth of brand recognition, network effect and improvement of implementation, that would be worth something. I don't know how much, but it would take 3 months (approx) to duplicate. And if you didn't buy it, you might never catch up - so not just a few month's worth, but some proportion of a life-time's worth.
A competitor has already entered this space, validating it!
Though the similarity of likely gives rise to a case of passing off, or statutory misleading and deceptive conduct (not an infringement of a registered trademark as I doubt one has been registered - he should have protected his IP...)
Thanks 13ren. I just closed the auction because it seemed like everyone was getting the wrong impression from it. Too bad I didn't read your comment first.
I definitely can't manage the site by myself (mainly because it's just a bad week--driving to FL in a few hours), and wanted to turn it over to someone who could before all the PR died down. But after the heckling I've gotten(totally deserved), I decided to seek co-founders instead.
So if anyone is interested, shoot me an email. breck7@gmail.com
also, I think your site dovetails with theirs somehow (pre/post formation?), and their background strategy (of building a community - the founders commented on it here) might be relevant to yours.
A week's delay is suboptimal, but won't kill it. It can grow on its own in the meantime.
Why don't you outsource it to some smart people who know how to manage a community for couple of months and after a month or two, you can have him as a partner. With this you will have to choose a right guy who is interested in improving the site. Don't care about competition, techcrunch would not cover them and they might not be able to get the traction you have now. So just hold on to it, its not everyday you get a chance to be the centre of attention ( for good or bad). Utilize it in your favor.
Heh, now that's an innovative way to drive even more traffic to the site. 13ren, I know you are feeling overwhelmed right now, but the right thing to do is to see this as an even greater traffic source, and revel in the traffic. Don't be afraid or feel like you are unpopular, instead, RIDE THE WAVE. The internet has a very short memory, it's like an ADD kid on crack.
These are your 15 minutes, and this is the second wave. Now figure out how to make a 3rd wave, and you will get the number of users your site needs to break through and enter the upwards curve.
Regardless of the reasons/ethics for selling, it is still good entrepreneurship if you can turn around your efforts for profit in one day. Much of entrepreneurism is about grabbing opportunity.
34 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 72.6 ms ] thread1. Launch site.
2. Make TechCrunch
3. PROFIT!!!!
Sheer genius. And to think, all these years we were wondering.
Even accounting for your time, expertise, and effort at market rates, $500 would still make you "profit".
FAIL!!
How lame.
Community requires cultivation.
It hope he has a liquidity event, validating the accelerating pace of business development and shortening of the product life-cycle of today. And when I say "today", I mean of one actual day.
Seriously, it would be awesome if he made out with some cash from this idea. What he's offering is: a cool name, a cool idea (a validated-to-some-extent idea), an implementation, a (nascent) network effect, and publicity in the relevant community.
Of course it seems ridiculous because it is only a day's worth. But that's no real argument against it; it may be an argument against the sale price being very high, but it's no argument against it being worth something.
There is however one very limiting argument against it - the ease of duplication:
If you believed this was a great opportunity, how much would it cost you to catch up? Almost nothing, and you might prefer to start fresh anyway. If it had been going for 3 months, and had 3 months worth of brand recognition, network effect and improvement of implementation, that would be worth something. I don't know how much, but it would take 3 months (approx) to duplicate. And if you didn't buy it, you might never catch up - so not just a few month's worth, but some proportion of a life-time's worth.
Though the similarity of likely gives rise to a case of passing off, or statutory misleading and deceptive conduct (not an infringement of a registered trademark as I doubt one has been registered - he should have protected his IP...)
I definitely can't manage the site by myself (mainly because it's just a bad week--driving to FL in a few hours), and wanted to turn it over to someone who could before all the PR died down. But after the heckling I've gotten(totally deserved), I decided to seek co-founders instead.
So if anyone is interested, shoot me an email. breck7@gmail.com
also, I think your site dovetails with theirs somehow (pre/post formation?), and their background strategy (of building a community - the founders commented on it here) might be relevant to yours.
A week's delay is suboptimal, but won't kill it. It can grow on its own in the meantime.
These are your 15 minutes, and this is the second wave. Now figure out how to make a 3rd wave, and you will get the number of users your site needs to break through and enter the upwards curve.