rsobers's comments

Apparently the reports are incorrect and the FCC will issue a statement shortly refuting the claims by the NYT:

https://twitter.com/fmanjoo/status/459154485793656832

The problem I have with customer development interviews is that people often suck at verbalizing what they really need.

I much prefer Amy Hoy's "safari" approach where you silently observe and record what people do and say in their natural environment (vs. the "zoo" that is a customer development interview).

Why don't you grandfather in your current free users and shut off the plan? That seems totally fair.

At present, it seems like bait and switch. You say it yourself in the post:

"One of the most prominent details we emphasized to everyone we spoke to in the early days of Trak.io was that we would offer a super generous Free plan."

So you got people to try and test your product based on this attractive premise, and now the ones who are perhaps too early stage to switch to a paid plan are stuck. With an analytics app, switching costs are pretty high.

Of course you have the ability to iterate, increase prices, etc.--and you should--I just think it should be done with a little more tact.

> The term 'freeloader' was used because they're taking stuff for free with no expectation to pay anything in the future.

You set this expectation yourself by offering a free plan, no?

Wow, this is the absolute wrong way to ditch a free plan. Holy shit!

The post comes off really condescending towards the beta users that helped get the product off the ground.

Sure, the business lessons are valid and helpful (despite being a complete regurgitation of advice espoused by people like Rob Walling and Patrick McKenzie), but IMO they don't belong in the same post that tells a cohort of your very first users:

"Yeah, we needed you in the beginning to test our idea and product, but now you're a burden. Get lost."

Grandfather your free plan beta customers in. It's the right thing to do. The free plan, IIRC, had a really low ceiling in the amount of data that could be collected--like 150 people or something silly.

Lessons for SaaS founders: 1.) Don't have a free plan. 2.) Don't set an expectation that there will be a free plan to get more early testers. 3.) Don't ever refer to any of your customers (free or not) like they're a number in a spreadsheet.

(Is it just me, or is the trak.io blog theme eerily similar to Signal v. Noise?)

Firstly, firing you for making this statement is crazy.

But one problem with giving employees a cut of the profit from their ideas is that everyone becomes incentivized to try to come up with home run ideas vs. doing necessary but non-revenue generating projects and tasks. [1]

The pizza party and cardboard wheel is kinda ridiculous--like something from The Office--but that's the (sad) norm at a ton of places. Most of us are extremely luck to be at the other end of the spectrum in tech/startups.

[1]: Great article on this topic by Joel Spolsky: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090101/how-hard-could-it-be-th...

Very cool service, thanks for sharing.

I've been doing a lot of research on enterprise search products lately and one of the biggest issues is security. Unleashing search on corporate systems where permissions aren't managed really well is a big risk.

Tesla has a showroom at Short Hills mall in NJ. You can go in, check it out, test drive the car, and then order online. While it's really telling about NJ's government, I don't think it'll impact Tesla or its customers.

Also, I love how the article title reads "New Jersey Votes", as if the citizens got a vote in the matter.

For the people playing devil's advocate: why should a college lecture be any different than a TED talk or conference presentation?

Cool, now make HubSpot faster! I swear by the software, but damn it's far and away the slowest app I use everyday.

It's only worth it because someone was willing to pay it. The last chump to hold the stock before the company unravels eats the loss. Early founders and VCs have cashed out long before that. It's an unfortunate game, selling dreams instead of substance.

Totally agree. Being a parent with a sick child is one of the most emotionally draining and heartbreaking things in the world. The last thing you need is your CEO using you as an example for why your colleagues have to endure benefit cuts in the face of record profits. Pretty disgusting. I would never work for an Armstrong-led company.

"Find someone who’s a great product person and who really knows user experience and understands user value..."

I think the author is missing the point. Even the best products can falter if the company doesn't know how to get distribution. Unless you're an extreme outlier, you'll need both great product and great marketing. And that's really hard to get in one person.

I have the utmost respect for Avdi, but I think he's being way too pedantic here. It's just a word.

Literally no one ever who has written "passion" in a programming job description has demanded an uncontrollable, foaming-at-the-mouth desire to to work on their project lest ye be fired at once.

I think this is the most important point. She's packaging the concept of programming in a way that kids are likely to embrace (a la Sesame Street).

Whether the book is effective at teaching Ruby to kids remains to be seen, but I'm pulling for her.

This is exactly how I view it. Well said!

I view growth hacking as online marketing done by people who don't need permission or help to get things done.

Traditional online marketers are paralyzed by their lack of technical and design skills. The best they can do is brainstorm ideas and spend money on ads.

Eh, I think too many parents are selfish, especially in America (not saying Sivers is--clearly he's not).

How often do you see parents dragging their screaming kids around, giving their 2-year old an iPad to shut them up at the coffee shop, buying a 50" flat screen TV while the college fund is at $0 and the bank accounts are overdrawn.

In the spirit of Sivers' post, I think if parents stopped, maybe once a month, and asked themselves "What am I doing to set my children up to have happy lives?" we'd all be better off.

I hear you and appreciate the brevity, but I think it makes the post sound (to me) a little like: "Hey, I just ask myself a simple question about what I want, follow my heart, and off I go!"