I'm not commenting on the article its self, but I liked this snippet:
"I’m the 1% of tech users. I know 99 other people out of 100 (close friends and relatives) that I could never get them to use the Oink app, Foursquare, or buy from Fab.com.
People need to build for the 99%."
Absolutely. There are so many opportunities solving problems outside the world of software with software. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to see and understand those opportunities when you only live in one domain (for most of us here that is software).
I mean I got the point of what the author is referencing and agree with some of his points about the Valley being an echo chamber. However it can not be considered a Silicon Valley darling unless one wants to admit that success (I think that Groupon is, but I will accept that many don't think so) is somehow only associated with the area. I guess that is why I felt the need to point out that Groupon is not based in SF.
Edit: clarifying success reference to be clear that I mean I think that Groupon is a success and not that I think that success must be associated with SF
I guess you're right. I didn't think of it that way. But you know there was this subtext of the post that was a criticism of how SV works as far as sane investments go and I think if you apply Groupon to that it makes sense. Groupon is the kind of company that is unsustainable yet has been allowed to grow so large through investment even though any sane person knows they're hemmoraging money. He definitely should have picked a company based in SV but I still get his point.
I feel like this guy has a point that I might agree with (something about the valley echo chamber, or the idea that a lot of startups tackle a seemingly-small set of problems), but it's poorly-focused and under-developed, so it falls kind of flat.
Sorry about that! A lot of my posts come off the cuff and I usually have about 30-45 minutes to sit down and gather my ideas between meetings. I appreciate your read though!
Ho-ly shit! I a, doing the exact same thing as the author. The similarities are eerie! I run "another web design shop" while at the same time building a web product on the side. A startup within a startup, the mother of all mom n' pop startup shops just like he says.
I feel for the author. There are plenty of us out here in the sticks (well, I'm just a stone's throw away from Chicago but others are in the sticks) slaving away, reading HN and TechCrunch and wondering, "does yet another me-too social network really need a trillion dollar funding round?" and "it's pretty obvious that Groupon is a bubble so how could anyone have let them get this far?".
In some ways we think the 1% are a bunch of undeserving assholes who are screwing things up for the rest of us. We see Valleywood as a huge bubble and, just like Hollywood, it often looks shallow, vain, and like nothing more than novelty from the outside.
In other ways we envy the 1% and sometimes even idolize them while dreaming of the day we get featured on TechCrunch or when PG personally invites us to become part of YC's next round.
We simultaneously love the big guys and hate them. Startups are more than hard. They're downright impossible! There are those of us who try despite this and I'd say those who go down that road are either delusional, crazy, or really god damn smart (like Einstein multiplied by Edison to the power of Newton smart). The market is already overcrowded by hordes of idiots who think "HTML for Dummies" books contain all the technical knowledge they need to build and run a web startup and more naive idiots who have a decent tech background (like me!), know they'll need far more to execute, but figure they're smart enough to learn what they need as they go.
In the end, really making it is like winning the lottery. You know you won't but you have to try to know for sure. The best we can do is just try to eek out a nice middle class living for ourselves and hope to god our business doesn't sink against the odds. I never came across an article that really hit the nail on the head like this one. Thank you for writing it Matt!
In some ways we think the 1% are a bunch of undeserving assholes who are screwing things up for the rest of us. We see Valleywood as a huge bubble and, just like Hollywood, it often looks shallow, vain, and like nothing more than novelty from the outside.
They are, and it is. The bubble will pop, and those of us who managed to build sustainable businesses without the benefit of setting huge piles of other people's money on fire will be very well positioned to take advantage of the carnage.
Patience is rarely a virtue in the startup world. But in this case, it is. Keep building.
I often think that way too but I worry that if the bubble pops it could actually make things harder for those of us who have sustainable businesses. Not everyone can afford to bootstrap and sometimes you have to take a loan. Now, I haven't and I have no plans to but what if one day in the future people like us get to a point where it actually makes sense to have some investors on board (responsibly, of course) but by that time the bubble bursts and we're left with nothing even if we are a good investment? Maybe I'm wrong and it's that envy in me that wants to get to that point.
Being based in Australia, I've often felt as though I'm at a massive disadvantage by not being in the centre of a startup hotspot. It feels as though being so far away from "all the action" means I'm less likely to succeed with the things I build, but despite this I've never been deterred from continuing down the track I'm heading on.
I don't know if banding together as a coalition would be much help (happy to be proven wrong), but I do think the author makes a valid point that we—as the other 99% of startups—need do a better job of focusing on being a successful business (especially on a local scale) first before we worry about moving to SF/NYC, TechCrunch headlines, and massive exits.
This article is silly. Of course there are massively overhyped startups in Silicon Valley that don't deserve their funding or attention. I won't comment whether Groupon is one, but certainly startups like Cuil come to mind.
However, there are also amazing, world-changing technology companies that DO come out of the Valley with semi-regularity, which are NOT coming out of other places. Google, Facebook, Paypal, YouTube, LinkedIn, Yelp, Dropbox... this list continues. These are companies that may initially serve the 1%, but also grow to serve the 99%, because they are useful, simple, powerful ideas.
This is not to say that innovation doesn't come from other places as well -- it clearly does. However, the Valley produces a vastly disproportionate amount of innovation in Internet technology considering its size, and justly deserves a disproportionate amount of attention. A Wordpress theming company is not going to change the world; I guarantee at least 1 company started in the Valley this year will. Yes, there are a lot of overhyped startups, but there are also a lot of appropriately hyped ones.
You're right there are a lot of great startups coming out of the valley. My article is from the view of an outsider looking in and the challenges I (we) face when we're not getting interviewed by Kevin Rose.
Also, I'm not saying all startups out of the valley are for the 1%, but a majority in the Techcrunch media are.
The most apparent thing from this was the author and I are not in the same business at all. I work for startups, technology and all that. But without a doubt all the big stuff happens in a small part of the world. Unique and important major technology innovations. Not just more social media apps. Social media apps are the applications the Internet was built for. They are more akin to HTML websites circa 1996.
It is a poker game for investors, they just hope for the best when they invest in a young startup. That 1% is the lucky lotto winners that get funded. You should work to build a sustainable business not to win the lottery. Take in consideration that sometimes getting funded can ruin your company, you have to be careful of what you wish. Perhaps you only need a seed round that can be borrowed from a bank or an uncle ;)
23 comments
[ 6.0 ms ] story [ 67.4 ms ] thread"I’m the 1% of tech users. I know 99 other people out of 100 (close friends and relatives) that I could never get them to use the Oink app, Foursquare, or buy from Fab.com.
People need to build for the 99%."
Absolutely. There are so many opportunities solving problems outside the world of software with software. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to see and understand those opportunities when you only live in one domain (for most of us here that is software).
Edit: clarifying success reference to be clear that I mean I think that Groupon is a success and not that I think that success must be associated with SF
I feel for the author. There are plenty of us out here in the sticks (well, I'm just a stone's throw away from Chicago but others are in the sticks) slaving away, reading HN and TechCrunch and wondering, "does yet another me-too social network really need a trillion dollar funding round?" and "it's pretty obvious that Groupon is a bubble so how could anyone have let them get this far?".
In some ways we think the 1% are a bunch of undeserving assholes who are screwing things up for the rest of us. We see Valleywood as a huge bubble and, just like Hollywood, it often looks shallow, vain, and like nothing more than novelty from the outside.
In other ways we envy the 1% and sometimes even idolize them while dreaming of the day we get featured on TechCrunch or when PG personally invites us to become part of YC's next round.
We simultaneously love the big guys and hate them. Startups are more than hard. They're downright impossible! There are those of us who try despite this and I'd say those who go down that road are either delusional, crazy, or really god damn smart (like Einstein multiplied by Edison to the power of Newton smart). The market is already overcrowded by hordes of idiots who think "HTML for Dummies" books contain all the technical knowledge they need to build and run a web startup and more naive idiots who have a decent tech background (like me!), know they'll need far more to execute, but figure they're smart enough to learn what they need as they go.
In the end, really making it is like winning the lottery. You know you won't but you have to try to know for sure. The best we can do is just try to eek out a nice middle class living for ourselves and hope to god our business doesn't sink against the odds. I never came across an article that really hit the nail on the head like this one. Thank you for writing it Matt!
They are, and it is. The bubble will pop, and those of us who managed to build sustainable businesses without the benefit of setting huge piles of other people's money on fire will be very well positioned to take advantage of the carnage.
Patience is rarely a virtue in the startup world. But in this case, it is. Keep building.
I don't know if banding together as a coalition would be much help (happy to be proven wrong), but I do think the author makes a valid point that we—as the other 99% of startups—need do a better job of focusing on being a successful business (especially on a local scale) first before we worry about moving to SF/NYC, TechCrunch headlines, and massive exits.
However, there are also amazing, world-changing technology companies that DO come out of the Valley with semi-regularity, which are NOT coming out of other places. Google, Facebook, Paypal, YouTube, LinkedIn, Yelp, Dropbox... this list continues. These are companies that may initially serve the 1%, but also grow to serve the 99%, because they are useful, simple, powerful ideas.
This is not to say that innovation doesn't come from other places as well -- it clearly does. However, the Valley produces a vastly disproportionate amount of innovation in Internet technology considering its size, and justly deserves a disproportionate amount of attention. A Wordpress theming company is not going to change the world; I guarantee at least 1 company started in the Valley this year will. Yes, there are a lot of overhyped startups, but there are also a lot of appropriately hyped ones.
You're right there are a lot of great startups coming out of the valley. My article is from the view of an outsider looking in and the challenges I (we) face when we're not getting interviewed by Kevin Rose.
Also, I'm not saying all startups out of the valley are for the 1%, but a majority in the Techcrunch media are.
At any rate, thanks for reading and commenting!