donofrip

Doesn't this already exist? I don't like to base my comments off things I see in movies, but I seem to remember the characters in the movie Eurotrip getting discounted flights to Europe because they were acting as couriers.

I look at this and can't help but think how important it is to entrepreneurs. "Why" is fundamental, the building blocks for your implementation/execution, the "how".

The fundamental question for a venture is: Why are we doing what we are doing? Expressed market demand. We can make money providing the supply for that demand.

Interestingly, "why" is also where all "how" questions eventually lead when you dig deep enough. How are we going to provide a solution? Through a mobile application. Why a mobile app?

If you are not asking a why question, you haven't thought enough about a particular topic. And if you think long enough, all your "why" questions should eventually lead back to the fundamental answer, "because there is demand for this".

I don't completely think that this is an execution issue. Do we really think there is a large market out there for "flattr-ing" blogs and other sites?

I don't know how many people would pay for/donate to something they're getting for free.

Something about not buying a cow when you're getting milk for free comes to mind...

One might argue there is a market for a product that could deliver a solution to this problem... A company could provide a drop-in solution to sites that requires little overhead to manage. Is there anything out there like this now?

I'm partial to the idea of an open chat room with users providing insight (a wiki-sort of solution). We use this in internal chat channels at my bank. It is helpful because you can pose a question (ex. how can I do X in excel) to a "room" full of experts in the particular subject (ex. an excel specific chat).

Love to hear other ideas.

Interesting. Could it be that they are looking to raise equity to make it easier to acquire competition?

Makes sense to me that they need to diversify their model to compete with some of the new ventures in the market. It might make more sense of Yelp to acquire the platform and the product knowledge than build it in-house. If they have equity in the market, it might be easier to acquire these companies with stock than through a private cash acquisition.

Not sure if that's true, but I'm throwing it out there for debate.

I think the idea of suing for only a dollar is to show that it isn't about the money. I can relate to the frustration experienced when you can't get in touch with a human being through a website--especially when its a non-web based company.

I doubt FB would setup a call center--imagine the call volume! That said, maybe an online chat with a support person? Or an open chat forum to ask questions to other users with a few FB specialist who are also available?

Maybe they already have this... I have no idea.

I agree--a personalized website is the value add. The issue I see is what is the breakeven on something like that? It will obviously cost something to put up your own site (not just money, but time). If I'm trying to sell stuff in a jam, do I think I'm going to get more page views on my own site than on CL? Is it going to be worth the extra time? Am I getting a better price for my stuff?

Also, it will be a bit of a pain if I need to update it each time something is sold.

Things I would consider adding: 1) ability to pay for the item directly on the site (you could partner with paypal on this, or offer the merchant service directly for a cost to the website user)

2) waiting list for people interested in the objects.

General issue I see with this: can you get people to pay for this when they have a free option? If you're going to offer it free, can you generate enough page views on individual sites to validate ad revenue?

Sorry... just my opinion.

The farther out you go on the lines, the cheaper it will be. Be careful though. Not everywhere in Queens and Brooklyn is safe.

Living farther out isn't that bad if you manage to find a spot near an express line. I'm sure you're friend in NYC will know the tricks.

Good Luck!

Just quick off the cuff thoughts:

1) I'm not sure this is a scalable idea. 2) Isn't this what Craigslist does?

I think keeping your expenses down is important. Even if you are independently wealthy, running a tight personal budget will help you think more frugally about your business expenses.

I live in NYC, and you will be surprised at how expensive it is. Take a look at some of the surrounding areas. Around Hoboken (as Hoboken itself has gotten expensive), parts of Queens and parts of Brooklyn are all relatively cheap. You can find parts of Harlem that aren't too bad, and if you're willing to go very north on the island, there are actual houses that are pretty cheap once you get above Harlem. I would definitely suggest living together if you don't think that social issues will be a problem (which would be a bad sign for your startup regardless). I think getting yourself a little farther away from Manhattan might also help keep some of the social distractions from popping up--it can be tough to code late into the night when you see/hear people out and about having a good time.

That's just my opinion and how I would approach the subject... I'm sure people will have different suggestions.