First I've heard of etacts. Aside form their actual product, I'm more interested in them as a Ycombinator company, because I can't imagine what the growth/exit strategy for this type of company is. It seems to me that YC is looking for smart people that can crunch a bunch of data. In that sense, they are competing directly with hedge funds for talent.
So if you're smart, know some stats, and crunch a bunch of data for a few years, I'll bet you can then turn your collective brain power and IP and any problem you choose.
I can't imagine what the growth/exit strategy for this type of company is
Here's a related puzzle for you. In 1975 a company appears whose product is a Basic interpreter for a cheap microcomputer used by hobbyists. What is their exit strategy?
Okay, It's my naivete even mentioning the word exit. I'm sure nobody's at YC is interested in an exit anyhow. I was just trying to get a sense for whether this product had legs or whether the team and area of technology were the driving factor. However, now that I've heard the term: PCMS, I see the value. I didn't make the connection with CMS.
Now, if Etacts would just actually import my gmail...
I think this company has a HUGE growth potential. I know quite a few business men and women (especially in sales) who would pay a good amount monthly to have this as a tool at their disposal. If you need a concrete example, I'd highly recommend reading Keith Ferrazi's "Never Eat Alone", where he discusses how he manually enters all his contacts and reminders after each and every conversation to remind him to follow up and "ping" people. (Actually I'd say everyone should read that book in general)
Personal CRM is a hugely untapped market imo. CRM solutions exist in a thousand ways from salesforce and competitors, but they really don't deal with the "personal" aspect of relationships very well.
So in terms of growth I think they're fine. In terms of exits, I can't really speculate, but I think there's at least two really obvious ones (acquired by Google and integrated into Gmail / Google Apps / etc...., or acquired by salesforce or a related competitor)
I really agree with this. One of the main reason my interest was first piqued about Etacts was because of its potential to keep track of personal relationships. Obviously there's a lot of room for tools that really support the maintenance of social groups.
I'd love to have a souped up version of this that let me enter in that I met a certain friend for dinner this night or caught a movie with another on that night and helped me really stay on top of all that.
Comments
First I've heard of etacts. Aside form their actual product, I'm more interested in them as a Ycombinator company, because I can't imagine what the growth/exit strategy for this type of company is. It seems to me that YC is looking for smart people that can crunch a bunch of data. In that sense, they are competing directly with hedge funds for talent.
So if you're smart, know some stats, and crunch a bunch of data for a few years, I'll bet you can then turn your collective brain power and IP and any problem you choose.
I can't imagine what the growth/exit strategy for this type of company is
Here's a related puzzle for you. In 1975 a company appears whose product is a Basic interpreter for a cheap microcomputer used by hobbyists. What is their exit strategy?
A BASIC interpreter? I wish people would work on real problems, and not toys.
Are you saying their strategy is puzzling or not? If not, then is it similar to MSFT? If it is puzzling, are you agreeing with the rest of my comment?
I'm not sure if you are pretending not to understand.
The point being made above is clearly that it is not possible to have an exit strategy at that point because the world & the product will change.
Okay, It's my naivete even mentioning the word exit. I'm sure nobody's at YC is interested in an exit anyhow. I was just trying to get a sense for whether this product had legs or whether the team and area of technology were the driving factor. However, now that I've heard the term: PCMS, I see the value. I didn't make the connection with CMS.
Now, if Etacts would just actually import my gmail...
I think this company has a HUGE growth potential. I know quite a few business men and women (especially in sales) who would pay a good amount monthly to have this as a tool at their disposal. If you need a concrete example, I'd highly recommend reading Keith Ferrazi's "Never Eat Alone", where he discusses how he manually enters all his contacts and reminders after each and every conversation to remind him to follow up and "ping" people. (Actually I'd say everyone should read that book in general)
Personal CRM is a hugely untapped market imo. CRM solutions exist in a thousand ways from salesforce and competitors, but they really don't deal with the "personal" aspect of relationships very well.
So in terms of growth I think they're fine. In terms of exits, I can't really speculate, but I think there's at least two really obvious ones (acquired by Google and integrated into Gmail / Google Apps / etc...., or acquired by salesforce or a related competitor)
I really agree with this. One of the main reason my interest was first piqued about Etacts was because of its potential to keep track of personal relationships. Obviously there's a lot of room for tools that really support the maintenance of social groups.
I'd love to have a souped up version of this that let me enter in that I met a certain friend for dinner this night or caught a movie with another on that night and helped me really stay on top of all that.