Can Google Hear Me?

http://www.cangooglehearme.com/

by adamd • 19 years ago

8 5 19 years ago

jwecker• 19 years ago

Well I guess if he can generate that much buzz over the simple act of handing a business proposal to Google- without even mentioning anything about what that proposal is- then he has some talent. Google could hire him and put him in marketing.

Alex39172• 19 years ago

If the success of your startup depends on getting a partnership with one company, you're probably doomed. Successful products are ones that create value for users, and value comes from startups. Creating a product where half the value comes from the startup and half comes from an established company usually leads to a product that's only 50% valuable.

If you don't believe me, ask Sam Altman at Loopt whether he'd still do a startup that depended on partnering with cellphone companies if he had to do it over again.

The only thing worse than pinning your chances on a big company creating the value for your product is pinning your chances on a big company providing distribution. Channels are for meeting demand, not creating it.

pg• 19 years ago

I'm sure anyone who has to deal with cell carriers would say it was a pain in the ass. But that pain also kills off a lot of competitors. Much of Loopt's success is traceable to the fact that they were one of the few groups, if not the only one, who were both great hackers and willing to endure endless meetings with cell carriers.

Alex39172• 19 years ago

It's sure one hell of a sustainable competitive advantage if you have the cojones to pull it off. That being said, I'd rather spend my time thinking about how I'm going to get my users laid rather than how to appeal to the self interest of a non-rational corporate entity.

update: That is, I work for a big company and you come to me and tell me that you're going to make my company a hundred million dollars. I say, gee, that's great, if this works out then I'll get my name on the wall and maybe a small bonus. And if it doesn't then I'll get fired, I won't be able to pay the mortgage and my wife will divorce me. So whatever your question, the answer is no. To make it work without a huge reputation and network and existing relationships you need to rely on a lot of luck.

My general outlook on this is that if you read Horatio Alger, the general formula is luck, pluck, and virtue. Which is great, but what's even better is if you can minimize luck and make your bread-and-butter off just pluck and virtue. Then whatever luck comes your way is just icing on the cake.

joshwa• 19 years ago

red paper clip as marketing strategy... I guess the internets like the little-guy-long-shot story...

http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/

Can Google Hear Me?

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