jranck

It depends, does the risk of offending potential users outweigh the gain? Or do you think you'll get more users with a more radical marketing approach? If you guys like it that much I would A/B test it and see what works.

How does that work? I thought most investors who get access to an IPO are usually obliged to hold on to their shares for at least 30 days. I'm guessing there are ways around this but only at your own risk as it will probably be the last IPO you're invited into.

You best bet would be the job description for the job you're applying for. You could also check out glassdoor.com to see what previous interviewers have encountered.

You could downvote the submissions but I think the main benefit of HN is in the discussion and commentary. I personally read the comments before I click on a story because I like to have a frame of reference when choosing to read an article. I don't think a post should be ranked on its upvotes but on its number of comments and range of discussion.

I should also add that just because a submission is bad doesn't mean the discussion under it isn't worthwhile.

I think what is happening is there's a threshold for successful applications. Every application and website has a vetting period where momentum and marketing can advance to certain levels where a reputation is attained. This is where Instapaper is right now. Marco wouldn't have the audience he has now if it wasn't a free service to begin with. Now that the service has a reputation and a successful following you are allowed to charge a premium.

I applaud the fact that a developer can charge for his time and effort into building a good product. While I love hearing about these success stories, lets not forget the fact that all applications are different. There is an inherit and perceived value for everything and it's all dependent on the audience. The ROI per user is different for everyone, what works for you may not work for someone else. Marco's audience is made up of mostly tech savvy individuals where the implied value is greater than the cost of the service. This isn't the exception to the rule but it isn't the typical audience that a lot of startups are trying to capture. Every audience and product is different and take inspiration with a grain of salt. With that being said nice work Marco.

Some staples for me are:

Techcrunch

Mashable

Lifehacker

Signal vs. Noise (37 signals)

Smashing Magazine's Network

A VC (Fred Wilson)

Reddit

Drudge Report

NY Times

ESPN or, shameless plug, my site fanreader.com

Good question, does anyone know if they're using public funds as a loan instrument or are they taking equity in these companies?

I have to disagree here both Oregon and Oregon State are underrated universities. I'm a bit biased towards Oregon State as I graduated from there but their Engineering and Science colleges do a fantastic job.

This is very informative, kudos to you guys for sharing. How did you guys set your goals as far as how much to raise and the amount of equity you were willing to give up? What did having the extra investment mean for you guys starting out?

What works for you may or may not work for someone else. I don't think I'm alone when I say that more quality resources on a subject is never a bad thing.

This looks great. I'd love to find out more about your API and what type of web scraping techniques you're using. It looks like this is going to be available publicly to developers? What type of usage do you guys allow?