

Startups: Hold on for one more day - trotzke
http://www.slideshare.net/trotzke/startups-in-the-downturn-ignite-bloomington

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lallysingh
In case it's not already playing in your head:

Wilson Phillips: Hold On

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDwcDYth6gg>

(tee hee)

~~~
nostrademons
Better video:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2L9IKVe9LA&feature=relat...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2L9IKVe9LA&feature=related)

And you ever notice how hard the camera tries to avoid taking neck-down shots
of Carnie Wilson? Marketing counts, apparently, and being slim counts a lot
for marketing. This despite her being IMHO the best singer in the group.

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trotzke
My presentation from Ignite Bloomington. Thought some struggling startups
might enjoy.

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dbul
What does SproutBox actually do -- fund ideas and use SproutBox employees to
help build them? I ask because a friend applied for a position there last year
and another friend (who lives in Btown) had some relation. So it seems like it
is kind of a big deal coming out of a "small town." (JCM)

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auston
I believe this is accurate - I spoke w/ Mike in Miami recently and this is how
he described it to me:

You (and your friend) have this awesome idea & have a pretty good idea of how
you're going to do it - but you don't have UI experts, you don't have scaling
experts, you don't have marketing experts, etc etc - Sproutbox gives you some
ramen money & a kick ass team - to take your business to profitability.

Doesn't sound bad to me! My only real q is - How much equity are we giving up
for that?!

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dbul
Ah, ok. I told a business exec I knew I was doing a startup and he recommended
a company in the Pittsburgh area which would "grow your idea" for 51% (i.e.
control of the company). When some suits are in control, it would seem that it
is no longer any fun and more like working for someone else.

I like SproutBox's site, and the couple of sites produced already (found via
their Twitter).

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rms
Hey, I'm pretty sure I know what company you are talking about and I have
never heard good things about them. For a long time they did not have a single
success, now they do have one company that's done pretty well, but it's still
a rather miserable rate. I would only consider dealing with them as a
convertible debt round, which they do sometimes offer.

Send me an email, there are HN meetups in Pittsburgh very occasionally,
usually at the Church Brew Works, and I can let you know about upcoming meets.

~~~
dbul
What do you do at these meetups?

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rms
Talk to each other. Food and beer are optional.

~~~
dbul
I'd prefer to code and maybe chat during breaks. That being said, I usually
hang out at one of the many coffee shops in the city. Often Jitters in the
afternoon and take your pick in the evening or night (though usually Shadyside
or Squirrel Hill, occassionally the South Side).

