
More about Xobni financing - Sam_Odio
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/04/30/story16.html
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falsestprophet
I am somewhat suspicious that Xobni has no value to offer. Their evasive
website recalls Mr. Graham's (or some other entrepreneurial evangelist's)
insistence that if a company cannot tell you what they do in a sentence, they
should go home. I agree that business targeted towards the masses (note that
Xobni seems to only support Microsoft products at present) must have an easily
understood purpose. What purpose does Xobin they serve?

In the entire length of their website, they do not explain what they do. They
certainly don't in a single sentence. Perhaps, the magnitude and source of
their investment suggests they are on to something. But, what explanation they
have reeks of charlatanism in platitudinous corporate doublespeak: "in-depth
analysis" that "takes email productivity to a new level." Please. This of
course raises the questions what do they analyze? And how do they improve
productivity? Either they have something to hide or nothing to offer.

Recall that Mr. Graham insists that there are no ideas worth protecting with
secrecy; either Xobin disagrees (actually I do as well) or they have no good
ideas at all.

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whacked_new
Intriguing comment by pg about New England investors lacking confidence.
Anyone venture a guess to why, and how this will change (or not) in the next
18 months?

Culture is obviously important. If NE is conservative, there are other
proclaimed tech "hotspots" that are ultra conservative when it comes to web
business.

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aston
The recent trend seems to be that SFP kids live and work in Cambridge for the
summer, then move out to the valley right after the program's done.

If Cambridge/Boston investors aren't helping folks take their ideas to the
next level, why do the program on the east coast at all? Mountain View's got
nice weather year-round.

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create_account
That's exactly what I thought, too.

If Graham really feels that way about the East Coast investors (and especially
if he says so publically), he might as well make California the permanent YC
home.

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kmt
That might mean that PG (and the other YC folks) would have to move as well.
AFAICT, YC wants to be close to the founders for physical meetings. It might
not be easy for YC folks to move (they have their lives, etc.).

Also, Boston is a niche: it is home to some bright tech people. YC is close to
them, while the valley is away, so YC is the obvious choice for Boston
students. That gives YC a competitive advantage at least in the area and makes
it distinct. Moving to the valley would make YC more generic and less of a
brand.

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jey
_That might mean that PG (and the other YC folks) would have to move as well.
AFAICT, YC wants to be close to the founders for physical meetings. It might
not be easy for YC folks to move (they have their lives, etc.)._

Willingness to move to the YC location is a precondition of being accepted
into YC. I have to move from Mountain View CA to Cambridge MA for SFP... even
though WFPs are held here, where I already live. But I'm not complaining at
all; living in Boston for a while sounds great.

~~~
kmt
By "YC folks" I meant the YC partners: pg, rtm, tlb & x. Founders should be
able to move easier: presumably they are younger, with less "baggage" and with
more appetite for adventure.

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mxh
FYI, 'x' is Jessica Livingston, according to the YC site. TLB presumably lives
in the Bay Area; his Anybots company is here, anyway, and hosts the WC YC
offices.

Which raises an interesting question as to how the YC partners handle the
EC/WC split between the SFP and WFP. Do different partners play bigger roles
in different programs? Does PG rack up the airmiles/spend 3mo of the year away
from home?

Is cloning involved?

