Re:Ask HN: Which startups are you most envious of?
by BrandonMTurner on Wednesday September 07, 2011 @05:52PM
(#2971651)
Square
1) They solved a really hard problem. Basically they opened channels for merchants that used to only be able to take cash to credit cards. I have already used this twice on the consumer end. Once at a concert to buy a tshirt, once a cupcake food truck downtown.
2) They did an exceptional job of design in both hardware and software.
3) They had a real vision on their own, 'Apple Style' where they saw the problem and had a vision to a real solution. They didn't have to make a MVP and keep iterating (not that doing that is a bad idea) but have a vision that turns out to be true is always very impressive to me.
4) They executed in a exceptional time period. They had everything in place from from engineer to design and operation in the amount of time other startups take to make a webapp that is much less as sensitive (read: involves larges of amounts of money in a traditionally slow industry).
Re:Ask HN: Which startups are you most envious of?
by mindcrime on Wednesday September 07, 2011 @02:32PM
(#2970768)
Of companies that are still in "startup mode" it's hard to say. Of recent (or semi-recent) startups that have achieved success, or some degree of success:
1. Tesla Motors - because they build sweet products and have a CEO who I admire.
2. Facebook - because they've made their founders a metric buttload of money, and have impacted millions (if not billions) of people around the world.
3. Scaled Composites - Because they're on the forefront of doing something amazing... making space-travel dramatically more practical and accessible.
Re:Ask HN: Which startups are you most envious of?
by mindcrime on Thursday September 08, 2011 @10:25AM
(#2974004)
I'm envious of any space startup that actually has working hardware. Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Armadillo, and Blue Origin are all super exciting.
Can't argue with that! I named Scaled Composites mostly because I'm more familiar with what they've done than I am with the others. But that's not to take anything away from the other space startups, for sure.
Re:Ask HN: Which startups are you most envious of?
by Cyph0n on Thursday September 08, 2011 @10:05AM
(#2973942)
Square, before anything else. I literally had a startup-gasm after the website was fully loaded.
After that, I'd say SpaceX, for making private-owned space travel a reality, and then Dropbox, for revolutionizing (in a way) the way we synchronize our files between devices.
The last two will (hopefully) be a basis for my future startup(s).
1) They solved a really hard problem. Basically they opened channels for merchants that used to only be able to take cash to credit cards. I have already used this twice on the consumer end. Once at a concert to buy a tshirt, once a cupcake food truck downtown.
2) They did an exceptional job of design in both hardware and software.
3) They had a real vision on their own, 'Apple Style' where they saw the problem and had a vision to a real solution. They didn't have to make a MVP and keep iterating (not that doing that is a bad idea) but have a vision that turns out to be true is always very impressive to me.
4) They executed in a exceptional time period. They had everything in place from from engineer to design and operation in the amount of time other startups take to make a webapp that is much less as sensitive (read: involves larges of amounts of money in a traditionally slow industry).
1. Tesla Motors - because they build sweet products and have a CEO who I admire.
2. Facebook - because they've made their founders a metric buttload of money, and have impacted millions (if not billions) of people around the world.
3. Scaled Composites - Because they're on the forefront of doing something amazing... making space-travel dramatically more practical and accessible.
Can't argue with that! I named Scaled Composites mostly because I'm more familiar with what they've done than I am with the others. But that's not to take anything away from the other space startups, for sure.
After that, I'd say SpaceX, for making private-owned space travel a reality, and then Dropbox, for revolutionizing (in a way) the way we synchronize our files between devices.
The last two will (hopefully) be a basis for my future startup(s).
So is that SpaceboX - synchronize files between spaceships and Earth?
2. Kiva.org - very effective and very practical
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