

7 Months Into My 2nd Stint as a Startup CEO  - zen53
http://blog.socialmedian.com/2008/08/7_months_into_my_2nd_stint_as.html

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socialmedian
@augustus -- I encourage you to "dig" a little deeper. socialmedian = social
news meets the social graph. Very different from Digg, although our roots are
from their foundation. What we're trying to do here is personalized news at
the topical level -- more about "me" informed by "we" vs. just a popularity
contest. Poke around and would love your feedback.

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lacker
You are currently forcing people to create an account to see anything besides
the Digg-like front page. I recommend you let people explore around before
forcing them to sign in. If you really do have something that's different than
Digg, you have to let potential users see it.

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socialmedian
Yes, we agree. We are working to get rid of all the registration requirements.
It was just a holdover from our alpha.

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briancooley
Wow. $40K/month burn? 11 developers? That's a tight budget?

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socialmedian
with 12 people $40k/month total burn is like paying each person around
$30k/year annual salary when you factor in other expenses like equipment,
telecom, travel, etc. So yeah, that's pretty tight.

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briancooley
It's not the $40K that's surprising, it's the 11 developers. I'd have guessed
3-4 (and consequently a lot lower burn).

Burning over a quarter of a million in 7 months on a web app sounds like a lot
these days, but I'm not out there doing it, so what do I know.

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augustus
I love his execution advice and I have bookmarked it.

The only problem is the site is no different than digg.

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lacker
There certainly are a lot of digg clones nowadays. I wonder if it will be like
search where everyone thinks it's a crowded market for a solved problem and
then someone with an actually intelligent algorithm comes along and mops up.

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davidw
I think it's more than an algorithm problem: initially with a site like that,
it's all about _getting more people_ , because without them, the site is worth
nothing. Then, all of a sudden, _poof_ , you succeed, but you get a bunch of
flaming morons, and the quality goes down the tubes. Maybe you're in a
position to make some money, but I wouldn't consider something like reddit or
digg an unqualified 'success' in terms of making the world a better place.

