

Founder Stories - pogos
http://www.trevorblackwell.com/founderstories.html

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fallentimes
This is why we have our "press story", our "VC story" and our "friends &
family story". The facts don't really change (unless we feel like having some
fun) - just the parts we focus on.

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tjic
I've started two business (SmartFlix.com and HeavyInk.com).

SmartFlix was started sort of as an epiphany, and mostly as an accident - I
wanted to watch some metalworking videos, and thought I'd recoup the cost of
them by renting them out.

HeavyInk was started in a much more calculated way - we made a list of about
20 things that we could sell in a way that matched our core competencies
(ecommerce, datamining, small item fulfillment, knowledge of USPS regulations,
etc.), and picked one item off the list. It turned out to be one that was
interesting to us (comics), but it was still a bit of a mercenary procedure.

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SapphireSun
I dunno, in the case of my idea, I thought of something that I wanted, and
then through a long series of epiphanies spread over a year or two (maybe
three?), I realized I could actually do it.

However, I think that there definitely is a kernel of truth in these founder
stories even in their distilled version. While the epiphany is momentary and
only signifies the start of the quest, it is a key inspirational moment that
makes you feel you can do it. Maybe it's not as dramatic as, for a cute
example, Neo taking the red pill, but it does have some of the same
significance in that it can radically change your life path.

While the marketspeak of some of these stories is just blowing their own horn
while saying something obvious, once you have your initial idea, at least to
me, it seems almost brain dead. You can always distill the specifics of your
idea down to something truly simple. There's a saying in mathematics that
everything in math is obvious, except that no one thought of it until now.
It's the same principle at work.

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mixmax
Don't underestimate PR, marketing and storytelling - it's an incredibly
important part of doing a startup.

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13ren
I love founder stories, and I hadn't noticed they setup the background with a
"quest which is romantically appealing to the target market". Do they? It's a
great way to appeal to that market. I mean, if your purpose is to inspire, why
not make the setup of the inspiration itself inspiring? It's like a comedian
telling a series of jokes, which also setup the main joke.

But the "epiphany" in the article is not an answer but a question... It's a
problem, a need, an opportunity - the call to adventure that _begins_ a quest.
Key is the compelling sense that if I could provide _this_ thing, in _this_
context, it would be _fantastic_! It's compelling to the target market as it
was to the founder.

It's not just an abstract idea ("hey, tasty food!") but (1) customer need, (2)
in a specific context, (3) unmet by competitors. What the article calls the
"true big idea" is the answer to the question - the "epiphany" is the
question.

I'd love to hear some more one-paragraph founder stories, if you have some...?

 _EDIT_ who needs founder stories when you can have jumping robots?
<http://anybots.com/videos.html#dexter_jumps_title>

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davidw
> If the idea [of good tasting sports food/bar things] was an epiphany for
> him, I'm just glad I never ate at his bakery.

I can completely empathize with choking down powerbars. My mountain bike team
was sponsored by them one year. Towards the end of the year, I got ill just
looking at the things, and to this day have not consumed another one. I do
have to admit that they may, however, be useful as emergency patches to blown
out tires.

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gaius
Powerbar Ride is really nice, if you don't like regular Powerbars give them a
go. Mule bars are also good.

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davidw
In Italy, the thing a lot of riders do is to take along a few packets of jam,
like they give you in restaurants, with the little peel-off tops. That works
pretty well and is a lot cheaper than expensive sports bars.

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djm
Thats a good idea - I must try it. I have just come back home a week ago after
spending July and August riding my bike around France. Whilst there I was
relying on taking those little muesli bars (useful for when you are on the
bike for a whole day as when cycle touring) and sugar cubes for moments of
exhaustion.

I got the sugar cubes idea after watching the French cyclists using them, but
they are not that pleasant to eat.

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albertcardona
Focused, clean text, sectioned just right, full dedicated page, no
distractions. Worth reading every word. A piece of art.

[Like a web page from 1995 but using all modern tools to make it pretty]

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neilc
"Modern tools" like some trivial CSS and a fixed-width <table>, you mean?

