Kevin Rose: 10 tips for entrepreneurs to succeed - GoFuckYourself.com

DamianJ · 10-01-2010, 01:38 PM

Great ideas:

1.) Go build it. If you really believe in something, you should just build it. If you love it, it won?t feel like work. It?s okay to drop out of college if you have an awesome idea.

2.) Build & release. List out your features for six months, sort them by importance, and go build three to five of them. Stop thinking you understand your users. Learn from what they?re actually doing on your site, not what you think they?ll do. It?s okay to kill features, but prove to your users that you have something better.

3.) Hire your boss. Senior positions: only hire people you?d personally work for. Make sure they can help build your vision. Junior positions: hire hustlers, people that will run circles around you.

4.) Don?t raise money. Beg borrow and steal for as long as possible. If someone gives you cash, ask yourself, ?how will they add value to my company??. If you don?t need the money, don?t take it. The more you go without taking funding, the more valuable your startup becomes. Don?t let investors take board seats.

5.) Go cheap. Use Amazon for storage and data. Work from home for as long as possible. Shared cell phone plans. Shared apartments. Get some contractors for smaller projects instead of hiring people full time.

6.) Connect with your audience. Start a podcast, even if you have a small audience. It has to start somewhere, right? Throw a launch party. Invite press and influencers to the party.

7.) Hack the press. Invite only system at the beginning. It will get people excited about your product and also make them curious. Talk to junior bloggers: if they get the scoop on a cool, new site, they could blow up and you could blow up. Attend parties you can?t afford. Network with influencers and bring a demo.

8.) Advisors. What technical problems are you going to have? Ask Joe Stump for advice. If there are people you trust out there, give them 1% of your company for them to be on call for any issues you might need advice for. Solid advisors can help you raise cash.

9.) Leverage your user base to spread the word. Think Farmville and Facebook notifications: ?so and so, and 2 others have blah blah blah?. Who are those two others? Wefollow.com asks you to define yourself with three hashtags. If your friends see it, they will want to be a part of that community since you?re using it.

10.) Analyze your traffic. Tons of analytics. Make sure that you act on your feedback.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/weblife/ke...o-succeed/1930

CYF · 10-01-2010, 01:40 PM

there's some good advice in there, thanks

erooup · 10-01-2010, 01:40 PM

11.) Water is wet.

12.) Earth is round.

Domain Broker · 10-01-2010, 02:55 PM

About half of that stuff he did when he founded digg.

GTS Mark · 10-01-2010, 03:05 PM

He should be fixing his own website not giving out advice right now haha. ;-)

Ethersync · 10-01-2010, 03:11 PM

11.) Better to sell too early than try to too late.

//A huge mistake he made with Digg.

borked · 10-01-2010, 03:12 PM

They are tips on how to succeed - not stay successful ;)

OK, I'm going to parties I can't afford and if it blows up in my face, DamianJ is the first one I'm suing.

DaddyHalbucks · 10-01-2010, 03:58 PM

Lineup financing BEFORE you need it.

DamianJ · 10-01-2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ethersync

11.) Better to sell too early than try to too late.

//A huge mistake he made with Digg.

He tried to sell, the board wouldn't let him. that's very public knowledge.

DamianJ · 10-01-2010, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borked

They are tips on how to succeed - not stay successful ;)

OK, I'm going to parties I can't afford and if it blows up in my face, DamianJ is the first one I'm suing.

Just send me a letter accusing me of telling you to go to parties you can't afford and demanding 2k in damages.

;)

V_RocKs · 10-01-2010, 04:06 PM

I build new shit on a weekly basis... The majority of my money, one year from the next, comes from completely different sources then years previous.

HerPimp · 10-01-2010, 04:15 PM

Thanks for sharing.

Advisors sounds interesting, I could use a few...

Yo Adrian · 10-01-2010, 04:23 PM

That reads like the opposite of most brick 'n mortar startup guides, I like it.

DatingGold · 10-01-2010, 04:25 PM

oops wrong thread

iSpyCams · 10-01-2010, 04:27 PM

Kevin is kinda fucked right now. visiting Digg is depressing lately, especially for someone like me whose fingers automatically type "Digg" whenever they're bored.

Even so, some of this seems like good advice, allthough soon, Kevin Rose might be an example of what NOT to do.

Ethersync · 10-01-2010, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamianJ

He tried to sell, the board wouldn't let him. that's very public knowledge.

Maybe so, but he did an interview recently where he said he fucked up by not selling when a big offer was on the table.

10-01-2010, 01:38 PM	#1
DamianJ Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: A magical land Posts: 15,808	Kevin Rose: 10 tips for entrepreneurs to succeed Great ideas: 1.) Go build it. If you really believe in something, you should just build it. If you love it, it won?t feel like work. It?s okay to drop out of college if you have an awesome idea. 2.) Build & release. List out your features for six months, sort them by importance, and go build three to five of them. Stop thinking you understand your users. Learn from what they?re actually doing on your site, not what you think they?ll do. It?s okay to kill features, but prove to your users that you have something better. 3.) Hire your boss. Senior positions: only hire people you?d personally work for. Make sure they can help build your vision. Junior positions: hire hustlers, people that will run circles around you. 4.) Don?t raise money. Beg borrow and steal for as long as possible. If someone gives you cash, ask yourself, ?how will they add value to my company??. If you don?t need the money, don?t take it. The more you go without taking funding, the more valuable your startup becomes. Don?t let investors take board seats. 5.) Go cheap. Use Amazon for storage and data. Work from home for as long as possible. Shared cell phone plans. Shared apartments. Get some contractors for smaller projects instead of hiring people full time. 6.) Connect with your audience. Start a podcast, even if you have a small audience. It has to start somewhere, right? Throw a launch party. Invite press and influencers to the party. 7.) Hack the press. Invite only system at the beginning. It will get people excited about your product and also make them curious. Talk to junior bloggers: if they get the scoop on a cool, new site, they could blow up and you could blow up. Attend parties you can?t afford. Network with influencers and bring a demo. 8.) Advisors. What technical problems are you going to have? Ask Joe Stump for advice. If there are people you trust out there, give them 1% of your company for them to be on call for any issues you might need advice for. Solid advisors can help you raise cash. 9.) Leverage your user base to spread the word. Think Farmville and Facebook notifications: ?so and so, and 2 others have blah blah blah?. Who are those two others? Wefollow.com asks you to define yourself with three hashtags. If your friends see it, they will want to be a part of that community since you?re using it. 10.) Analyze your traffic. Tons of analytics. Make sure that you act on your feedback. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/weblife/ke...o-succeed/1930

10-01-2010, 01:40 PM	#2
CYF Coupon Guru Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 10,973	there's some good advice in there, thanks __________________ Webmaster Coupons Coupons and discounts for hosting, domains, SSL Certs, and more! AmeriNOC Coupons \| Certified Hosting Coupons \| Hosting Coupons \| Domain Name Coupons

10-01-2010, 03:11 PM	#6
Ethersync Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, Saint-Tropez, Bermuda, Moscow Posts: 5,289	11.) Better to sell too early than try to too late. //A huge mistake he made with Digg. __________________ The best ePassporte replacement I have found: OKPAY

10-01-2010, 03:12 PM	#7
borked Totally Borked Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,284	They are tips on how to succeed - not stay successful ;) OK, I'm going to parties I can't afford and if it blows up in my face, DamianJ is the first one I'm suing. __________________ For coding work - hit me up on andy // borkedcoder // com (consider figuring out the email as test #1) All models are wrong, but some are useful. George E.P. Box. p202

10-01-2010, 03:58 PM	#8
DaddyHalbucks A freakin' legend! Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada USA Posts: 18,975	Lineup financing BEFORE you need it. __________________ Boner Money

10-01-2010, 01:40 PM	#3
erooup Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 512	11.) Water is wet. 12.) Earth is round.

10-01-2010, 02:55 PM	#4
Domain Broker So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,427	About half of that stuff he did when he founded digg.

10-01-2010, 03:05 PM	#5
GTS Mark Vrume Mark Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 20,912	He should be fixing his own website not giving out advice right now haha. ;-)

10-01-2010, 04:06 PM	#11
V_RocKs Damn Right I Kiss Ass! Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Cowtown, USA Posts: 32,405	I build new shit on a weekly basis... The majority of my money, one year from the next, comes from completely different sources then years previous.

10-01-2010, 04:15 PM	#12
HerPimp Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 1,197	Thanks for sharing. Advisors sounds interesting, I could use a few... __________________

10-01-2010, 04:23 PM	#13
Yo Adrian Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 6,326	That reads like the opposite of most brick 'n mortar startup guides, I like it. __________________ Adult SEO Partners - Full service Adult SEO Agency serving some of the biggest names in the industry.

10-01-2010, 04:25 PM	#14
DatingGold $6 PER EMAIL JOiN Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: California Posts: 13,185	oops wrong thread __________________ 9 Years of SOLID payouts and conversions! ADULT DATING - $100 PPS LIVE CAMS - $214 PPS WWW.DATINGGOLD.COM ICQ: 27442303

10-01-2010, 04:27 PM	#15
iSpyCams Amateur Gynecologist Industry Role: Join Date: May 2009 Location: Medellin Posts: 4,436	Kevin is kinda fucked right now. visiting Digg is depressing lately, especially for someone like me whose fingers automatically type "Digg" whenever they're bored. Even so, some of this seems like good advice, allthough soon, Kevin Rose might be an example of what NOT to do.