

I raised enough to last me for years. You should too. Now. If you can. - alexwg
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/3/calacanis_i_ve_get_plenty_of_money_you_should_get_some_too

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JayNeely
Or you could just be profitable in multiple currencies. Anyone who's building
a _web_ startup should realize they have a global business. It's a small
amount of effort to provide a Canadian, Australian, and U.K. localized version
if you're an English speaker.

Even if you're not concerned about the economy, there's no reason to not take
advantage of foreign markets. StudiVZ, a straight-up clone of Facebook in
Germany, was acquired for $100 million. How much more would Facebook be
worth(really worth) if they had made an effort to go international sooner?
Friendster is actually still alive, saved by foreign markets(they're huge in
Asia).

If you're interested, I've written more about going global here:
[http://socialstrategist.com/2007/08/20/go-global-or-lose-
one...](http://socialstrategist.com/2007/08/20/go-global-or-lose-one-hundred-
million-dollars)

~~~
tim2
Gaining global adoption is NOT about just translating some stuff. That's
probably a very distant third in what matters for global adoption.

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ojbyrne
I'm sure the people who he raised money from are really thrilled by that
picture and it's association with their money.

~~~
tim2
They aren't public servants or politicians, who cares about image.

~~~
ojbyrne
Managing investors is important, and that means you have to think about their
perception. Though I was probably a little unfair, part of Calacanis's job is
to make things look glamorous and exciting.

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mynameishere
Truly profound advice.

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strey
I'm skeptical about the standard take on financial freedom. I think that a
normal programmer can save enough in 5 years to live overseas off the interest
with a comfortable standard of living. So, financial freedom isn't some high
and lofty goal for the driven and privileged, but something we all can have
fairly easily and dependably.

Things like startups should only be done because they are exciting and fun.
Not out of some desperate drive for money.

~~~
pmjordan
While that may be true, there are two problems with this:

* Most of us don't want to move to most places which have such a low cost of living. Living in a beach hut for the rest of my life is just not very attractive to me. I guess it depends on your definition of "comfortable" but I'd have to say that I wouldn't want to live in any of the developing countries I've visited. Besides, luxury goods will be imports anyway, and still have western prices.

* Will those places that currently have such a low cost of living stay like that for another 60 years? I really doubt it.

