Part 2 of our chat with Mark Fletcher and Marc Hedlund (read Part 1 or Part 3).
Choice quotes
Fletcher: “People thought Bloglines had a lot of employees, when I was really the only full-time person up until 3 months before the acquisition (I don’t recommend that, btw. Too stressful)...Another reason to not go it alone, I think, is that in the case of an acquisition, the company is more valuable to the acquirer if there are at least a few employees (to avoid the hit by a bus syndrome, etc).”
Hedlund: “I think there’s hardly ever a bad time to start a good company that really helps people…In ‘bad times’ you have lower rents/salaries, and in ‘good times’ you can’t spend the easy money fast enough to get the stuff you really need.”
Fried: “The biggest mistake I see people making is raising their expectations too high too early by raising money. Obscurity is a very good thing when you are getting started.”
Fletcher: “Money is oxygen for startups, you never want to run out of it.”
Full transcript below.
| Linderman | Is now a good or bad time to start a company? |
| Fletcher | Always and never |
| Hedlund | now is a great time to start a great company! |
it always is |
|
| Fletcher | Hmm. When you’re doing a startup, you’re so wrapped up in it, it can be difficult to put yourself in an outsider’s position. What may seemingly be common sense/known to you could be a surprise to others. |
| Hedlund | I think there are good and bad times to start bad companies |
I think there’s hardly ever a bad time to start a good company that really helps people |
|
| Fletcher | In the ‘good times’ you end up having more competition. In the ‘bad times’ it can be more difficult getting funding. |
MF: yes, but in "bad times" you have lower rents/salaries, and in "good times" you can’t spend the easy money fast enough to get the stuff you really need |
|
| Hedlund | I think it’s a wash |
| Fletcher | Marc: agreed. I think the message is, just go out and do it if you’ve got a good idea. |
| Hedlund | "The real fortunes in this country have been made by people who have been right about the business they invested in, and not right about the timing of the stock market." |
Warren Buffett |
|
| Fried | MH/MF, I agree. |
| Hedlund | same can be said about startups |
| Fried | And if you keep your costs down, you don’t need much to stay afloat |
the biggest mistake I see people making is raising their expectations too high too early by raising money |
|
Obscurity is a very good thing when you are getting started |
|
| Fletcher | Jason: that’s the great thing about web startups. They’re so damn cheap, and they’re only getting cheaper. |
| Fried | Keep the spotlight as far away as you can |
| Hedlund | totally |
| Fried | |
my take on that |
|
| Hedlund | I think some spotlight can help get you people willing to try, willing to help |
you just don’t need to do a big PR launch to get that |
|
| Fletcher | But it can also attract competition. I was always worried about that with Bloglines. |
| Fried | MF, yup. Everyone who asks us about money gets the same answer: Unless you are building a factory, don’t take money to start your business. |
Start your business on the side |
|
fund it with your passion and spare time |
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| Hedlund | Mark F is the master of that, I think :) |
| Fletcher | That’s MISTER Cheap Bastard to you. :) |
| Fried | Big PR is a CURSE when you just launch something |
you’ve got a lot of mistakes ahead of you. You don’t need people stumbling into those too early. |
|
| Fletcher | It came from working at 2 startups that ran out of money. Money is oxygen for startups, you never want to run out of it. |
| Fried | Big PR is good, just not at launch |
that’s another huge mistake web companies make these days |
|
they want to tell everyone and everybody about their new thing immediately |
|
you don’t want that kind of heat on you on day 1 |
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it’s not healthy |
|
| Hedlund | really? it seemed like basecamp had a pretty big launch |
was that different, or is it just the circles I run in? |
|
| Linderman | basecamp actually started pretty small. |
| Fletcher | I agree. Ideally, you don’t need much PR at all, ever. |
| Fried | Very small |
| Linderman | we dont have that luxury anymore tho w/ new launches. |
| Fletcher | But if you do need marketing, PR is the cheapest marketing you can do. |
| Hedlund | I agree with MF that pr is a fantastic way to get people interested at low cost—when you’re ready for it |
| Fried | This is open for everyone: Tell us something you don’t think most people know about your business. |
Got anything you think would surprise people? |
|
| Hedlund | it’s hard to say, I agree with Mark that it’s hard to get an outside perspective on your business |
I would say that most people think, when I say "personal finance startup," that we’re hiring financial planners |
|
and we’re not at all. We abolished the pie chart and never want one, and we don’t pretend to be financial experts at all |
|
| Fletcher | JF: Lots, I suppose, maybe. People thought Bloglines had a lot of employees, when I was really the only full-time person up until 3 months before the acquisition. |
(I don’t recommend that, btw. Too stressful) |
|
| Fried | MF—great secret nugget there. Thanks for sharing that one. |
| Hedlund | instead we’re hoping to draw out what everybody already knows and make it available as a social app |
yeah, that always surprised me about Bloglines. But then, Mark answered every support email I sent :) |
|
| Fletcher | Silly is what it was, I think. Too easy to burn out quickly. I sort of did the same thing with ONElist, but brought people in earlier with that. |
Does Mark have trust problems delegating to others? Tune into next week’s Oprah! |
|
| Hedlund | heh |
| Hedlund | MF: what kept you from bringing people in earlier? too much trouble? control? |
| Fletcher | MH: Figured I could just do it myself. Then you get so busy/freaked out that the effort to try to hire becomes such an additional burden. Kind of a snowball effect, in a way. |
| Hedlund | that must kill the people at big companies that were competing with you |
I seem to recall sending a job application into the Bloglines support email address in there |
|
I coulda helped! :) |
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| Fletcher | Another reason to not go it alone, I think, is that in the case of an acquisition, the company is more valuable to the acquirer if there are at least a few employees (to avoid the hit by a bus syndrome, etc). |
[Fireside Chats are group chats conducted using Campfire.]
Nathaniel
on 09 Nov 06Great read. I always enjoy the Fireside Chats. :)
John S. Rhodes
on 13 Nov 06Stay small, stay focused, stay nimble. Be conservative with money. Fight for profits. Sounds like a book…! ;-)
This discussion is closed.