Bill Nguyen: The Boy In The Bubble

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/160/bill-nguyen-startups

by d_r • 15 years ago

170 91 15 years ago

There's no big secret why Bill Nguyen can raise money. Once you have sold one company for $850 mil, you aren't going to have trouble raising money in the future.

akkartik• 15 years ago

I think it also makes acquisitions more likely.

tatsuke95• 15 years ago

Which is one of the problems with the Valley. These incubators operate on the same premise. Take Techstars, where they openly said, "It's about the people, not the idea." We're literally throwing money at people to think of ideas, and it stems from our obsession with "stars". Is it that hard to wait for a tangible product?

There is so much money sloshing around, and people are so scared to miss a deal that they're willing to take all the risk up front. It's crazy, and doesn't work like that in any other industry I can think off..

kiba• 15 years ago

That how YC works, I think.

drumdance• 15 years ago

It's a long way from $20-150k to $41 million.

And many other industries work this way. Biotech and oil & gas come to mind. In fact, the tax laws around carried interest were enacted to encourage oil & gas exploration.

neurotech1• 15 years ago

I honestly believe YC is different. It's not just about "People" or their ideas, but in their execution.

Throwing money blindly and seeing what sticks doesn't seem to be the YC modus operandi. It is interesting to see the number of YC alumni who join other YC startups, or do a second start-up, with similar teams and a new idea.

I would hope to measure up to the YC standard, and get myself and my ideas accepted, when the timing is right.

Deutscher• 15 years ago

I don't really know how venture funding works, so pardon my stupid question: Why did he need/want to raise $41m from outside when he sold his company for $850m a few years ago?

gallerytungsten• 15 years ago

A) He probably didn't own very much of it at that point.

B) Using other people's money is always a lesser risk.

C) Raising big money = big PR ("social proof").

twelvechairs• 15 years ago

This is his business - the raising of money, not the production of high-quality long-term products...

dwynings• 15 years ago

The simplest answer: because he could.

earbitscom• 15 years ago

I asked this of an old boss of mine who cashed out perfectly fine and then raised money for his next business. It's not just about money - having people like Sequoia Capital on your team is more valuable than the money.

protez2• 15 years ago

Not just raising money, but attracting smart people and getting takeover offers from APPL, AMZN, GOOG, MSFT, etc., apparently. The bubble in this market already convinced the investors that trading start-ups can work without users. The other delusional money is waiting to take their shares at x5 price anyway.

aristidb• 15 years ago

Is it just the way I read it, or does Bill Nguyen come across really badly, there? Wow.

esk• 15 years ago

> "I mean, I literally don't think there's anything to be learned from other people's stuff." That is exactly what happened with Color, which Nguyen never even bothered to test. "I'm not here to practice. I'm here to play," says Nguyen[...]

I don't think there's any other way to read that.

artursapek• 15 years ago

My reaction was the same. This pull-quote makes me think of a little kid:

"There is no one in the world who I won't outlast. There's no way. There's no way. There's no way."

zheng• 15 years ago

I'm naive when it comes to anything related to VC's and funding, but I'm pretty sure if I had a ton of money to invest, it wouldn't be anywhere near someone like that. Even after reading the article, I don't think I fully understand why he can secure funding so easily.

stevenp• 15 years ago

That pull quote blew me away. This guy comes across as totally arrogant, plain and simple. Even Steve Jobs, who Nguyen apparently worships, got inspiration from other people's products. If nothing else, this article is a great warning against ever working for this guy.

lenn0x• 15 years ago

This is my exact sentiment. I stopped reading after midway. It's great this man has so much passion, but I am pretty shocked how he can just continue to throw paint at a wall hoping he picks the right color that people will love. Maybe he should slow down a little and think through what he wants to do and what problem he is out to solve.

alastairpat• 15 years ago

I was appalled when he claimed to have pitched 'OneBox' without having a clue about what it was.

This description sort of reminded me of the way Sean Parker was portrayed in 'The Social Network'. Arrogant, irritating and fairly useless.

statictype5• 15 years ago

It's been two years since we entered the 'post-PC' world. If you had to choose which one to give up - your ipad apps or the web, which would you choose?

That's what I thought.

suivix• 15 years ago

If you had to give up your mobile plan or your home broadband, what would you pick?

xxbondsxx• 15 years ago

A better question is if you would sign up for data online on your phone or voice-only :P

statictype5• 15 years ago

Good question. On one hand, my mobile plan is expensive. On the other hand, its damn useful.

But I fail to see how this relates to what I said.

I can still browse the web on my mobile device/tablet. The web is very much not in danger of being replaced by native "post-pc" device apps.

sjs2• 15 years ago

What? Who ever said anything about post-PC devices not accessing the web? Way to knock down that straw man.

statictype5• 15 years ago

Says the Boy in the Bubble right in the article:

IBM didn't survive the PC, none of the PC guys survived the web, and I don't think any of the web guys will survive the post-PC world

So he didn't say post-PC devices won't access the web (and actually, neither did I) but that web apps today will not survive. That was the point of my question.

robryan• 15 years ago

I think a better one would be, if you could only choose one device primarily for consumption (and stuff like commenting/ basic writing/ taking notes). Would it be the ipad/ iphone or a laptop?

statictype5• 15 years ago

I'm not commenting on the usefulness of tablets (they certainly have their place). Just the idea in the article that these devices are going to make web apps obsolete.

DilipJ3• 15 years ago

fascinating article. It looks like Color raised a lot of money, then launched and found out why customers didn't want it, and now they are trying to pivot. Basically the opposite of what YC and 37signals recommends.

protez2• 15 years ago

It's a costly path only few can afford to take, funded by the other few who believe that big bangs can happen overnight.

csallen• 15 years ago

For the record, YC doesn't push any particular ideology as hard as 37signals does. And if you were to ask PG, I think he'd say that different things work for different companies and founders. Running out of money before capitalizing on a profitable business model is the most common way that startups die. So launching quickly, raising money, and pivoting are all good things.

DilipJ3• 15 years ago

oh I see. For some reason I thought Jason Fried and pg were completely on the same wavelength when it comes to startup methodology

arram• 15 years ago

>' "When you're binary, you just pick a side; whether it's right or wrong doesn't really matter. You're all in. So you find out all the good and bad things about it instantly. When you find that it's not right, you just move on," he says.'

I'm reading the Isaacson book, and he reminds me of Steve Jobs. Everything is black and white, everyone is either a genius or a shithead.

protomyth• 15 years ago

"The premise was to create a mobile social network of people you didn't know, rather than ones you already did. Nguyen believed Color would be the Facebook killer."

I have a theory that conflicts with his thinking. If an app connects people it will trump an app that requires people to physically connect themselves. My test for this is "does this app work for users coming from a rural setting?". Facebook works amazingly well because it connects people. Color works horribly. Your app can be profitable and cool not working in a rural area, but it won't be a Facebook.

rms2• 15 years ago

One of the great secrets of the Valley is that investors love hypomanic CEOs.

gwern3• 15 years ago

hypomanic?

rms2• 15 years ago

Yeah, true clinical mania looks a lot like psychosis.

antimora• 15 years ago

After so many times encountering Color, I still don't understand what this is.

roythunder2• 15 years ago

I used to work with Bill at Seven, and this article captures his personality pretty well.

His biggest strength is he's an unbelievable salesman. He can talk pixie dust and make you want to sign on to his vision.

I believe the ability to sell your vision is the most important skill for an entrepreneur (which is too bad for me, cause I'm a coder and I suck at this skill).

r00fus• 15 years ago

He should stay in sales then. Without a meaningful vision, all the sales in the world is just bullshit talking.

roythunder2• 15 years ago

Depends on your perspective. He sold OneBox for $850 million, so I'm sure he's happy he didn't stay in sales.

away• 15 years ago

Did you like working for him?

MJR• 15 years ago

First his product was the Facebook killer then he decides that he doesn't want to kill it, he wants to build on top of it. "It's the everything." ... "So we're about to make it more functional, more valuable for people than ever."

You can't flip-flop more than that. I can't wait until Facebook incorporates their new ideas into the product and puts them out of business - assuming that this new business actually exists in the first place.

Timothee• 15 years ago

What struck me is that he pimped out Color as a Facebook killer without, according to this article, having really used Facebook before.

Then of course to turn around and say that Facebook is the answer to all things is pushing the irony very far…

wavephorm3• 15 years ago

It was an interesting read. But by the end I have no idea what Nguyen is really good at other than selling a startup. He's a wheeler and a dealer, but I sure don't have the impression that he knows how to build something as truly disruptive as he says he can.

felipemnoa2• 15 years ago

So he is missing a Wozniak, I guess.

wavephorm3• 15 years ago

But there was nothing in the article that gives me the feeling he is anything like Steve Jobs. He's just phenomenal at the flip, and that says a lot about what the Silicon Valley VC's that invested in Color are after.

wyclif3• 15 years ago

No, he's missing a Wozniak and a Jobs.

mathattack2• 15 years ago

This is still a valuable skill. Not the only one but a valuable one. Who wants to tie their money or career to someone who can't get you paid on the other side?

wavephorm3• 15 years ago

Absolutely true. However the article leans toward framing him as a visionary capable of superhuman feats:

  "IBM didn't survive the PC, none of the PC guys survived
  the web, and I don't think any of the web guys will 
  survive the post-PC world,"

Bill Nguyen is implying that Color.com will do what IBM, Microsoft, and Facebook can't, and survive the post-pc world. And there is no evidence he is capable of this since he flipped every company he started.

dgurney• 15 years ago

The new Color app, judging by its website, actually looks really cool. Nguyen has taken something that already exists -- social broadcasting from your phone's video camera -- and made it seem space-age (turn a photo into real life.. the "transporter" comparison). Same technology, but now I can see why he's a master salesman.

JulianMiller520• 15 years ago

i couldn't agree less. I think the thing looks exactly like what it is. A hurried, "let's ship something before my reputation is entirely ruined" product from someone who sold a vision without so much as the scaffolding in place. The original product was a mess and facebook could easily eat the lunch of "color" as it stands now. Hoping for better for whatever is next from this team.

vimalg2• 15 years ago

After reading, I feel motivated to re-read my copy of 'Influence' by Robert Cialdini. Bill Nguyen was really really good at one thing.

Here is a guy who thrives on persuading people. I think the average founder could always use a little more of the same skillset.

arihant2• 15 years ago

There's a lot of criticism about raising money, having a high profile team and starting a company without actually having a product. This may turn out to be short sighted. I think Cisco started the same way.

For all his negative qualities pointed out, at least this man is thinking something freaking different than a freaking share button with a varied alias. Color didn't go hit, but its far better than 90% of photo sharing apps out there. It at least does something different.

What these guys are selling is a photo app, what these guys are doing is that they are toying around with possibilities in sensing, VR and localization on mobile. Could very well be huge.

alexwolfe• 15 years ago

Facebook started with $17,000 investment from a friend and was a dorm room project, not a company. When trying to beat someone it is probably a good idea to see how they got to where they are at. Steady growth over time works. Dumping a shit ton of money into something and saying its going to the the "X" killer doesn't.

The laughing stock is not Bill Nguyen, its the VC's that gave him the money. If you walk in a room and say Color and they laugh, they should really be embarrassed. How many of these same people wanted to get in on this deal before it launched? The really funny thing is that there will be someone else that comes in with a great deck and grand illusions of how they will be the next Facebook, the VC's will pump this person with money too.

skrebbel• 15 years ago

Why is it that political journalists are critical, trying to turn every stone, and business/financial journalists treat their subjects with softer gloves than a teen mag does Rihanna?

If there's one person in the Valley who you can ask difficult questions, it's Bill Nguyen. Instead, the author asks him about whether his wife likes the house on Maui.

ricefield• 15 years ago

Politicians live in the public eye, in a way different from celebrities (be they pop stars or CEOs). They are, in a sense, obligated to grant interviews and be open to the hard questions, because a politician is selling him or her SELF.

A pop artists sells music, a company sells a product or a service. I'm not predicating my use of facebook based on whether or not Mark Zuckerberg did pot in college or got blowjobs from his secretaries.

So when you interview someone who isn't selling themselves, you don't have the freedom to ask those kinds of questions. Unless maybe you don't that person to ever grant you or your magazine an interview ever again.

ahoyhere2• 15 years ago

This explanation doesn't really get to the heart of it.

Fast Company has always been breathless and brainless. They always present "business" in such a way to make it seem like all you need to be a rich, successful, famous, sexy entrepreneur is "a great idea" and maybe some fun personality traits.

They aren't in the business of reporting, they're in the business of titillating, teasing, and making their reader think "that could be me!" - exactly, in other words, the stuff I've dubbed entreporn:

http://cubic-m.blogspot.com/2011/09/entreporn-dictionary-def...

"I've got a pizza here with extra sausage." "Ohhhh, we lost our purses, however can we pay?" -- I DELIVER PIZZAS… IT COULD BE ME!

brown9-2• 15 years ago

Journalists fear that being too critical will cost them the access to be able to write profiles like this. For a magazine mostly about doing puff pieces, that would be a killer.

Political journalists encounter the same thing, but their success is less dependent on this availability - and people are buying their content for that criticism, not puff pieces.

Also there is the question of talent - don't you think a more diligent reporter would rather be working for a publication/in a subject area with more prestige?

brador• 15 years ago

This is essentially why everyone enjoyed reading that Techcrunch guys articles. He asked the difficult questions everyone wanted answered and wasn't afraid to take some flak, unfortunately, it got him booted too.

I haven't visited the site since.

ambertch• 15 years ago

You know something interesting? I went around linking friends to this article due to Bill possessing a lot of the traits typically lionized in entrepreneurs.

My psych major friend reads it and goes "yup that's a checklist for psychopathic behavior. Don't believe me?" then he links me the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

VERY interesting if you read the wiki on psychopathy and re-read the Bill Nguyen article.

I'll also be careful to state I'm not trying to say anything here - behavior is highly contextual after all. Take for example a professional fighter who can be a really nice guy, loving family man and friend yet flip a switch when the bell rings. You just can't say whether this man is violent or not - his behavior is contextual.

scottallison• 15 years ago

This article summarises what makes the valley both awesome and absurd. I got mixed emotions reading it. It manages to be both appalling and inspirational.

And Bill Nguyen makes the manic Zuck portrayal in The Social Network appear shy and retiring by comparison. I'd love to meet him.

Bill Nguyen: The Boy In The Bubble

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