the gap between haves and have nots

http://spotlightonpoverty.org/news.aspx?id=b81ae2be-9132-4c7b-87e6-ca65eaec1735

This is why we are here

I'm sure you've all realized that transactions for us average joes on the interwebs now is a broken process.

In case you haven't, read this article.

http://consumerist.com/5007790/its-now-completely-impossible-to-sell-a-laptop-on-ebay

"eBay seems now to be essentially broken. What used to be a 'virtual yard-sale' where one could hunt for - and potentially find - a good deal on a broad variety of eclectic items has now turned (in my opinion at least) into a hybrid mass of scammers and shady garage-retailers, clumped together with a straggling, dying breed of people who used to be excited about eBay, but who are now wishing it would return to what it used to be."


This is one of the pain points I'm trying to fix -

Try creating an auction on KaZuum, and constraining views of your auction to people within your social network. (Only 2nd and 3rd degree friends are allowed to bid, for example)

Sure it cuts back on the # of people that can see your auction - it's the eventual trade off of cost.
But we can do other interesting things as well - later constrain Bidders by user account age (nobody who created an account in the past month?) or even by geography. Or by trustworthiness metrics (like they know at least 3 of my friends).

We know the internet might be messed up a bit from what we originally hoped it to be, but we're trying to clear them out here.

KaZuum - Like Pipe Cleaners for your Internet Tubes.

PG on Benevolence

http://www.omnisio.com/startupschool08/paul-graham-at-startup-school-08

This is definitely up our alley.

I'm glad to say I also reached these conclusions with KaZuum.
Commitment, easy to run (THANK YOU RUBY ON RAILS!) , and a fanatical commitment to our values.

DHH on Pricing

http://www.omnisio.com/startupschool08/david-heinemeier-hansson-at-startup-school-08

Stanford Startup School presentation on pricing given by DHH (with typical DHH humor)

he brings up some interesting points - but this is hardly a class on pricing theory, but a good primer for those who haven't had performed pricing attempts on innovative and virtual products.

Brings to mind that you don't have to make HUGE ideas but Niche something decently well.

I think the key point that he glosses over is SUSTAINABLE CUSTOMERS. They go after the large accounts and fixes their problems. Landing the big fish for them is key, and it's quite difficult.

37Signals is a great company - they have a great product that solves some strong customer pains, obviously if you're writing a Facebook app that helps you turn vampires into zombies and zombies into vampires...you might not be able to pull this off.

Gives a good reminder too that you don't need to make a BILLION dollars in your company (if it's small like 37 Signals). This of course is in line with the RoR philosophy - small # of developers, frequent iteration, and lower rewards vs huge architectures and large numbers of coders, who then need the homeruns to pay the bills.

Totally agree with his take on the startup lifestyle - if you don't take outside money, you can call your own shots, you can have your own life. There's nothing wrong with a lifestyle business (small) but profitable.