More Bootstrappy
I came across this article about yet another Web 2.0 startup. Of course, with a catchy title like “More bootstrappy this time,” you just can’t help but want to drink whatever they are drinking.
8coupons fits my criteria of “dull, boring but useful” that I suggested would have a decent chance at startup success. Perhaps I should be more clear about the “dull, boring” part – I think that when you have a product that is too exotic, then the sales process is more involved. Just think about selling a candy bar vs selling a wedding cake. Margins are also higher on the more exotic items. It is really a tradeoff of high margin/low volumes vs. low margin/high volumes. The bootstrappy nature of web startups would make me lean towards the dull and boring, lower margin-higher volumes.
The other thing that caught my eye was this:
“We don’t go out anymore,” Yuan said. “For the past two years, all we do is work.”
Considering that Yuan himself is also working full time as a programming in his day job, this conjures up the image of the last generation of immigrants, who worked long hours to make ends meet.
I wonder if I would be willing to leave my current level of comfort (and laziness) to work as hard as they are. You can’t help but admire their scrappy fight for a piece of the online pie.
Boots image used under Creative Commons license from:
http://flickr.com/photos/liftarn/1447521121/
