
YC's Xobni: Lessons learned in the last 14 months - Sam_Odio
http://www.xobni.com/blog/2007/05/29/and-then-there-were-four/
======
staunch
Thanks to them for being so transparent. I'm definitely interested in seeing
what they create and I'm rooting for them. I feel like they're borderline on
about 6 of "18 mistakes" though, so I'm a bit skeptical. Upgraded office, slow
launch, hiring lots of people pre-launch, devs with a C#/Java background, QA
people, product managers, desktop software? Perhaps they'll handle it all
well, but those are some red flags to me.

~~~
hello_moto
Why are these "red flags"

Devs with C#/Java background a red flag? Why is that? Should they use Ruby or
Python for the desktop app that supports Outlook as a plugin instead of C#?

If they haven't launched and they got financial backing (huge), that means
they have a solid business model that's important

~~~
staunch
Perhaps they do need to use C#/Java for their desktop software but that
doesn't mean they need a "Software Engineer with a C#/Java background". Taken
in the context of them hiring Product Managers and QA people it seems like a
red flag to me.

~~~
hello_moto
Why not? If they can get someone who knows C#, more power for them. The faster
for the new guy to adapt with the code given he/she knew Java/C#. Java is a
language close to C#. I still don't understand your objection.

Product Managers and QA? Why not? Who will test the product? uh-huh, it's the
QA.

It's not like your ruby/php/python code can be tested just by a simple unit
test. It's not like your desktop app not need to be tested (UI wise).

~~~
staunch
There's a difference between hiring someone who is a C#/Java programmer and
someone who can program in C#/Java. That's my point.

As for Product Managers and QA people. They have a tendency to slow
development down to a level they can manage and test. I avoid them both like
the plague.

~~~
Tichy
Um, what's so bad about being a Java/C# programmer? Is the hubris of the
scripting crowd really that sky-high?

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staunch
Not sure. I didn't say anything was bad about being one. I don't speak for any
crowds either.

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mynameishere
Oh, for the love of beans, they're taking the words straight from the mouth of
St. Paul:

<http://www.paulgraham.com/pypar.html>

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lkozma
Nice story but all that matters is the product you make. So where is it?

~~~
brezina
Desktop software is difficult. Be patient bro, we're even more excited than
you are to release to the public.

~~~
mynameishere
"more excited than you"

I'm willing to guess this is true.

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abstractbill
I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes out of xobni. I've heard
nothing but good things about the team.

btw, the blog header doesn't render correctly on FF/ubuntu:
<http://abstractnonsense.com/xobni-bad-rendering.png>

~~~
gaborcselle
abstractbill - thanks for pointing that out! I think it was a browser font
size setting vs. div size problem.

Should be fixed now. Let me know if you're still seeing this.

~~~
abstractbill
No problem. Yup, it's fixed now.

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awt
Man. I wish I could build hype like these guys can.

~~~
neuro
Throw enough money at it, and you too can have it.

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webwright
Heck, I'd just love a description of what they are building. "take back the
inbox"? What does THAT mean? :-) Are they replacing Outlook?

Email is certainly a pain point... So I'm rooting for 'em.

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nickb
Too bad it's a desktop app (it's probably windows only as well which
automatically makes it useless to me)... Personally, I haven't used a desktop
email client since early 2001 (after losing my laptop and after failing to
restore my backup). I prefer to have email online since it's accessible from
everywhere and it's backed up (one would hope anyway).

But I think what they're building is cool and I hope some of their ideas end
up in online email clients.

~~~
gduffy
While we might have reasons to limit our immediate scope, please don't
constrain us that much :)

Rest assured, we are also users of other platforms and the web.

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crxnamja
Vaporware is web 3.0:P Those guys are great, we are rooting for them.

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Mistone
this is a great story straight from the founders. My key takeaway was its
going to take longer than you thought. And don't underestimate the legal/admin
costs and time. Not sure why they need 3,200 sq ft. of class A office space,
they obviously have a big vision that investors are jazzed about

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falsestprophet
wtf? People from Boston eat at Boston Market?

