Agreed. I'm really struggling to see how people here can be so negative. The whole idea of Milk was to try lots of things and see which stuck.
People are saying "you need to stick things out to build a business" -- but Milk is sticking to their original strategy, and is in the process of searching for a truly big business.
People are calling Kevin Rose and his team a bunch of hipsters, but I'd rather that than the nerdy meta-hipsters who are everywhere online these days.
I really like the Milk model. It's another twist on the incubator/accelerator concept, alongside stuff like YC or the Samwers' Rocket Internet. A startup that looks like an investment firm -- instead of risking it all on one product, they're looking for a portfolio of products, to better increase the chances of finding that one breakout hit. And like VCs, they're not interested in small successes.
Sure, you can point out their model is unproven and might not work. But there's no need to hate them for trying something new.
he whole idea of Milk was to try lots of things and see which stuck.
Maybe it's because most HN'ers don't have that kind of luxury of scope with their own startup endeavors, which understandably causes a level of resentment?
Sure, as a founder you can pivot, but that's not the same as launching discrete apps/businesses, being able to test them out and then shut them down if they are not popular.
I think we can. I had the idea recently of starting a small web/mobile consulting shop, and using that to build a stable income stream and also a strong team (technical, product, business guys). Once that's established, you slowly move towards trying novel ideas. It's a common model in the games industry.
People are saying "you need to stick things out to build a business" -- but Milk is sticking to their original strategy, and is in the process of searching for a truly big business. People are calling Kevin Rose and his team a bunch of hipsters, but I'd rather that than the nerdy meta-hipsters who are everywhere online these days.
I really like the Milk model. It's another twist on the incubator/accelerator concept, alongside stuff like YC or the Samwers' Rocket Internet. A startup that looks like an investment firm -- instead of risking it all on one product, they're looking for a portfolio of products, to better increase the chances of finding that one breakout hit. And like VCs, they're not interested in small successes.
Sure, you can point out their model is unproven and might not work. But there's no need to hate them for trying something new.