On Startups etcetra....

There is almost a bubbly trend now a days to call a "mee-too-social-foo" as a startup. I decided to break this down into : What consitutes a startup? what is simply a web application and what is neither and just a me-too? I keep thinking about this a lot, since I am involved with a project thats somewhere in between.

Like everything else, "Things start with an idea or a question". Let's take the typical example Paul Graham takes, "How about a Web Based Spreadsheet?" Now, a web based 'spreadsheet' isn't really a cool idea.. No not because "google" is doing it.. It's simply because there is enough technology available in the open-source for anyone to make that.... Dojo-Flex you name it and anyone with a bit of spare time and willingess can do it. I know the bitch is in the details, but its a well-known technology.

What is really a web-service, but not a "startup?"

Web service is a new kind of service that utilizes existing technologies and delivers it in a different flavor, a very good example of web-service is del.icio.us The web services themselves have a merit if you happen to make one that is not existing... And this really does not have to be a great technological breakthrough, but just nice ways of packaging stuff, usually they have nothing much as far as 'Revenue Models' go. Google Adsense is not revenue model (its old eyeballs business, don't worry not going to work!!) Thus, yes "new creative web services can potentially be 'acquisition targets'. But beyond a point they loose their value, so better take the deal when the banker offers them! (Remember Deal or No Deal?).

What is a me-too-social-foo?
Me-too-social-foo Is just a display of 'php' 'mysql' 'rails' etc. skills. So if you happen to make one count on getting a job somewhere that requires those skills. But nothing beyond that.

What is a startup then?
Startup -> Starup in my opinion has to have following constituents -
-> A sound enabling technology (which can be packaged in multiple applications)
-> A revenue model (May be not on Day 1, but certainly within 5 quarters of going live.)
-> They may suck a lot of money, before making any money themselves.
Example : "joost" is a very good example of this. (actually it is just an offshoot of an underlying technology developed a few years ago!)

Things like flickr fall somewhere between 'Web-service' and 'startup'!!!

So if you are working on something, you ask yourselves this question and thus position yourselves accordingly...

Ok, so people may ask what is 'paahijen' then?
I think the short answer is "web service", can it potentially be a "startup"? The answer is may be!! Is it yet another me-too-social-foo!! Certainly NOT!! (We don't have anything remotely social out there!!)

So far so good.. What has got a decent chance of success?
The short answer is "No one really knows!" Making something available on the web is like making movies - You have no ideas which will become hit and there is no real metric for judging it.. If people like it, it becomes hit if they don't it won't!!

So why should I try then?
Of course no one making a movie starts with an intention of making a super-flop. And also in my opinion (s)he does an honest job (barring few, won't take their names here!). So if you think of a "story to tell? Go ahead make a movie (aka web-app or startup or me-too-social-foo)" You never know!!

democratization of startuping

In his famous book "the world is flat" Thomas Friedman speaks about democratization of information, finance and politics, which is really a very interesting observation. While enjoying a rather lazy Sunday afternoon, an interesting thought came to mind - "There is one more thing that is getting democratized and that is startuping".

What a startup needs? idea, funding, platform to quickly test out and deploy it to get a user feedback. Here is how this is getting democratized.


1. Thanks to opensource tools and frameworks like ruby on rails, its a matter of weeks to test out your idea and see it evolve in front of your eyes.

2. Thanks to the initiatives like Y-combinator by Paul Graham, there is a funding available to bright ideas for a period of time where you can make something meaningful and if one comes up with something really meaningful at the end of a period of three months, he can look for further funding or simply can get acquired for a decent bit of money and the best thing is you can apply to it from anywhere, we've applied even sitting in India. So funding is no longer a luxury for those who are within few miles of Sandhill Road.

3. Thanks to shared hosting plans for about 40 bucks a month (thats just 13 Starbucks Cafe Mocha, or 7 Sam Adams if you prefer it that way), you can keep it live for a considerable period of time and figure out how users' see it.

Thus anyone with an idea and willingness to put in few hours everyday can make a startup whether it succeeds or not is a different issue and thats the best part of it. The society filters out good ones from bad ones. Well not necessarily.. I don't find myspace quite good, still if the people like it and use it, there is a value it is delivering.


Happy startuping!!!