
Color Will Shut Down on December 31st - talhof8
http://www.color.com
======
DanielBMarkham
This might be a good time to point out that they could have built the same app
for a tiny fraction of the amount spent. If they had done that, they'd still
be moving down the road looking for traction.

~~~
rhizome
This might also be a good time to reflect on the opportunity costs squandered
by Color. Surely other companies _did_ build the same app for a tiny fraction,
who are either struggling or dead by now.

~~~
badclient
This might be a good time to reflect on the flawed ides that simply because a
prior company failed with a similar idea or product, that you too are destined
to fail.

~~~
terhechte
This might be a good time to reflect on the individuals who bootstrap a
product without any outside investment in a seemingly dead or toxic market and
still succeed.

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francesca
In 1.5 years, $41 M gone. This company was full of so much drama. It's a shame
that really good investors had to deal with a lot of grime.

~~~
botolo
Where did all that money go? How many employee did the company have?

~~~
jonknee
Who said the money was all used up? Last I heard they had a lot of it in the
bank ($25M or so) and since they sold off assets to Apple it's likely they
were able to return a pretty decent chunk (in the neighborhood of 70%).

[http://www.fastcompany.com/3002341/color-failed-what-
happens...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3002341/color-failed-what-happens-
its-41-million)

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peterhi
The missed a trick here they should have said that they were closing down on
21 December 2012. Then no one would be sure....

~~~
josh2600
The Mayans would be sure.

But really, who didn't see this coming after the first launch went sour? I
read the indictment yesterday and there's some pretty hairy stuff in there,
but one has to wonder.

I think most people will think twice before climbing into bed with Bill Nguyen
again.

~~~
at-fates-hands
I didn't see the article about the indictment - but here it is if anybody else
wants to read it.

[http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Ex-...](http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Ex-
Color-Employee-Files-An-Explosive-Lawsuit-That-4051266.php)

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leke
So, I guess it's back to Black & White then.

~~~
indiecore
darn, I was really enjoying this too.

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thekevan
My first though: "They're still open?"

~~~
hack_edu
They opened?

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neilalbrock
...aaaand the world continued not caring.

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earllee
I remember reading about Color from the get-go and being astounded by the
inordinate amount of money invested in this idea. Not surprised to see how it
turned out.

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jfb
What was the idea, again?

~~~
bvdbijl
Something like live mobile streaming? <http://color.com/about> :

    
    
        At Color, we believe in the opportunity that the new mobile era presents and are excited about developing products that transform the way people share the stories of their lives.
    
        We work collaboratively, iterate often, and enjoy problem solving. Color is a company of entrepreneurs and innovators, highly skilled in their respective specialties, constantly striving to learn and grow.
    
        We’ve cultivated a very relaxed and informal culture and enjoy our extra curricular activities, which include but are not limited to: ping pong tournaments, ball pit acrobatics and impromptu poker nights.
    

I really have no idea

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jfb
It seems like someone with a modicum of jargon, zero ethics, and balls of
brass would be able to suck a nearly unlimited amount of cash out of the herd
mentality that rules VC. Perhaps there's a startup idea in there.

~~~
jarek
> Perhaps there's a startup idea in there.

Bill Nguyen, Inc. for the last two-odd years...

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emehrkay
Was the original idea for you to take a picture at an event and see other
people at the event taking the same pictures? What is is now? And is anyone
implementing the original idea? I think it is pretty cool, not 30/40 million
cool

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keesj
The original idea was to build an implicit or 'implied' network with a social
graph based on your behavior rather than social graph you manually select
yourself (like on Facebook, Twitter, Path, etc). I think that was a pretty big
idea, and it's a shame they couldn't get it to work.

( The photo app was just an MVP if I understand correctly. )

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diN0bot
Wow! That sounds awesome. I really want this. Should have downloaded color :-/

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robryan
By downloading the app you would have go no closer to seeing what they
intended because there was never really a critical mass of people using it
anywhere to make it work.

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ergest
What did Color do again?

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lbotos
Does anyone else know of open source (or not) tech that would easily allow
live streaming like color did? I'm sure it needs some kind of beefy backend,
no? Use case: Local sporting events with smartphone holding spectators
capturing different "views".

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marquis
Given that they had the cash, Akamai's iPhone streaming service or they rolled
their own. It's fairly well documented, search for HTTP Live Streaming. The
kicker is building it out to manage thousands of connections without dropping
quality, and getting low-delay if you want a genuine 'live' experience.
There's also OpenTok.

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InfinityX0
Why didn't Color read PG's essay on startup ideas?

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klapinat0r
Because it was published on November 2012?

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neonshot
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