WakeMate (YC S09) runs out of cash, co-founder allegedly spams users

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/06/28/wakemate-out-of-cash-co-founder-allegedly-spams-users-to-raise-money-for-similar-new-venture/

by antr • 14 years ago

87 22 14 years ago

thenextweb.com

canttestthis• 14 years ago

If the previous Eligible App HN submission is anything to go by, this will be ninja downvoted by HN mods.

ktizo2• 14 years ago

I like the fact that they are open sourcing the tech though, perhaps someone else can improve it so it doesn't go on fire.

zvikara• 14 years ago

The actual device is safe. Only the provided cheap Chinese usb charger can catch fire.

ktizo2• 14 years ago

The device was smouldering in the video. http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC

The cheap charger may have sparked it, but it was the lack of current limiters or heat cutoffs in the device that appears to be the actual problem. Electrical inputs should be treated much like form inputs on a web page. Never trust them to be what you designed for.

pspeter3• 14 years ago

Also the build quality needs to be improved. I used to use it and it was great but then the device became worthless

bwooce• 14 years ago

There is no allegedly about it, I was spammed with an offer for a new Wakemate. I forget the wording. Plus the follow up apology.

robinwauters2• 14 years ago

true but I like to stay on the safe side until Greg gets back to me.

antr• 14 years ago

Robin, it's time to update your employer on your HN profile ;)

rikf• 14 years ago

Baffling with all the publicity they have surely this character would have been better off with an open and honest kickstarter? Stating they realise they made mistakes in the past how they are going to correct them and what is different or better about the new product. I would have probably contributed because I think its a really interesting product.

FelixP2• 14 years ago

I'm reserving judgement until we hear both sides of the story.

Obviously, this could simply be blatant bad behavior, but as even Arun said in his post, he doesn't really know what's going on. I could easily envision a situation where the company has run out of capital and one of the founders decides to take things into their own hands to keep the idea going simply driven by passion.

Of course, if that was his motivation, his execution was remarkably poor.

a5seo2• 14 years ago

It's pretty clear cut-- if Milife is a new corporation, with new owners, then the only way they should have had the list is if they paid WakeMate for the list. Any other use is theft from WakeMate shareholders. I think the odds are very good there will be legal problems for Milife, possibly criminal.

Greg took Pincus's lie cheat and steal message too seriously.

droithomme3• 14 years ago

The shareholders are the VC investors. If they want to rip apart one of the few people around that managed to execute manufacturing a real hardware product and getting it shipped rather than stay on good terms and get in on his next idea, that's their decision. Foolish, but it's their life.

FelixP2• 14 years ago

I don't think there's much question as to the legality here.

Rather, I think the degree of maliciousness is a bit unclear at the moment, i.e. was this driven by a conscious attempt to screw over his investors and cofounders, his desire to realize his vision, or some combination thereof?

droithomme3• 14 years ago

They built a legitimate product that some people wanted and managed to get it manufactured and shipped. That's a lot farther that most go.

The product sales weren't able to get to enough volume to support the company and the needed lowering of costs that comes with volume manufacturing. That's not uncommon. Sometimes hardware devices do better with large corporate backing because they can afford to take a loss longer while they build up a market. For small operations, this is the perfect case for venture capital where outside money is needed because of high costs of doing real manufacturing.

I see no need to hate on them like the article does. It's sad the founders turned on each other at the end, that can't have helped things. If these guys pull out, have the right insights about what they have learned, and do another round at something else, their chances of success will be much higher than someone without their experience and ability to actually envision and execute a product that people wanted. Just not enough people this time.

WakeMate (YC S09) runs out of cash, co-founder allegedly spams users

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