
From Rejection to Acquisition in One Year: One Startup's Story - chanux
http://blogs.sun.com/sun4startups/entry/from_rejection_to_acquisition_in
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fondue
It seems like the proper advice here is, "Network with your friends."

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raffi
Agreed, one of the things I learned is that leads can come from anywhere.

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megamark16
Plus, if you're building something that is actually solving a problem for
people that you know you might find that you get it right in fewer iterations
than if you're only getting feedback from outside users. Being more familiar
with the problem domain and the people most affected by it can certainly go a
long way towards building something people can get excited about.

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aberman
"Mudge submitted an early version of AtD to Y Combinator Demo Day, Spring '09
and was promptly rejected."

I imagine that YC rejects EVERYBODY that applies to YC DEMO DAY.

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Confusion
I'm not sure whether this is supposed to be a jokingly phrased insight or
criticism or just a plain joke, but I don't get it. Would someone care to
explain?

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ihartley
Demo Day is where all the startups in a round demo what they've been working
on. Thus, applying then would be a bit late for that round and a bit early for
the next.

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tom_rath
Nice story, but it sounds more like a pet project which landed him a job
rather than a company which was acquired.

He states _"With Automattic, I am still an entrepreneur"_ , but he's really
not: He's an employee and his objective (to have a job again before he was 29)
indicates that's his lifestyle preference.

Entrepreneurship isn't about finding a 'job' at another company, it's about
making that company.

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raffi
I thought it was making something from nothing and having an impact. Something
to do with vision and all that other nonsense?

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tom_rath
Nope. You can make tons of cool stuff and have an impact with loads of
'vision' as an employee, but you're not an entrepreneur if you're taking a
paycheque and instructions from someone else.

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raffi
Well, reading through your previous comments, you seem like a very
knowledgeable guy who shares a lot here. I appreciate that. The insights and
discussion from those who have made it and accomplished something great are
why I come here.

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dstorrs
This is a great story and I'm happy for Mudge, but I wish the story had been a
bit more detailed. It pretty much boiled down to "he had this idea, some
friends liked it so he didn't quit, he got acquired". When I saw the title, I
was hoping for details on what made it all come together.

