
Dropbox Startup Lessons Learned - paulsb
http://www.slideshare.net/gueste94e4c/dropbox-startup-lessons-learned-3836587
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gamble
Before becoming a Dropbox user I was aware there were other cloud-storage
services available, but it was the good word-of-mouth that prompted me to try
Dropbox. They're a great example of how to win in a crowded market through
sheer awesomeness.

Good timing probably also played a role, though. I went with Dropbox because
sync'ing files between my desktop, laptop, and iPhone had become a huge
hassle. They wouldn't be worth it to me as a USB key replacement, but as a way
to manage today's proliferation of devices Dropbox is golden.

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luminary
I'm wondering if anyone uses/has used Syncplicity? IMO, it's better than
Dropbox.

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revorad
Syncplicity is so hard to _say_. When it comes to recommending stuff, a simple
name like Dropbox helps.

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michael_dorfman
A great presentation.

I found it interesting that they only came upon the virality of the product
after the fact, and that their initial thoughts for marketing tended toward
AdWords. In hindsight, the double-sided incentive for sharing DropBox with a
friend seems obvious-- but that doesn't make it obvious at the beginning...

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magic5227
This is a bit old, wasnt this posted here before?

BTW, they need a new Adwords consultant. Box.net doesnt spend anything near
that much per conversion and we probably advertised on the same keywords they
tested.

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johnswamps
It's 3 months old. Here's the original discussion:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1290303>

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acgourley
This is the reality all technical founders I've met want to be true: If you
build a good enough product, competition or not, existing market or not,
people will come to you.

I also know plenty of people who are cynical about that reality. So, what's
going on? Is it just a matter of _how_ good the product is? It can't just be
great, it needs to be amazing?

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watmough
Fantastic presentation. I'll probably end up reading it a few times, and I got
one benefit already: I just took page 12 of the presentation, and actually
applied it to a web-site I'm building. Not live yet, just a landing site.

<http://viewpst.com/>

Of course, one of DropBox' biggest advantage is the name! It's clear, concise
and accurate.

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michaelfairley
Can we please stop calling things that aren't products "minimum viable
products"? (Re: Slide 11)

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MikeCapone
You know what I'd like to see them do? Have a "growing storage" like gmail, as
an incentive to sign up right now (so your dropbox storage starts growing
right away), and as a conversation piece to improve the viral nature (one more
hook to tell people: "so it syncs all your files, and the amount of storage
you have is always growing like Gmail).

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endlessvoid94
I can't seem to think of a good 2-sided incentive way of driving traffic to an
entertainment website.

"If you get 5 people to click on your link to our site, we'll give you a
tshirt."????would something like that work? stickers are 50 cents apiece, or
less.

thoughts?

edit: its a free site, nothing to buy (thathigh.com)

