I can only share our experience: Friends and family were concerned about hurting our feelings and/or encourage us blindly. The tech community was almost evenly split between go forward and stop now. The users have been the ones to offer constructive comments about what they want and when they get it ... they tell their friends.

My technical co-founder is also remote. I'm not sure if I got really lucky or if it is our maturity but we have had a brilliant year of working together. (Cincinnati - Philly) I think it helps that I defer all of the technical to him and he the rest of the business to me so we each have our areas of expertise. However, there is a time in my future when one of us travels three days a week so that we can work at least in office proximity. We've utilized every piece of technology available to us and have had some monster long telephone calls into the night when there were flaws that we had to work through.

I suspect it is not the best way to work but with really good communication skills and trust in one another's expertise, it will work fine.

1. We incorporated 11 mos ago 2. Went live in Nov and have spent a total about $3300 so far (over half on SU impressions) 3. Not profitable - still playing around with trying to figure out a revenue model that will actually work! Not sure about a cutoff... Originally committed $10K in my head

Hi Mike,

As always, thanks for the offer again! My question is this: We have had a ton of great feedback suggesting that we redesign the creating new acct UI, which is in process. What we are really stuck with is where to add SOCIAL options. We offer FB connect on the create new acct screen (TW coming) but where to add 'like'/follow and invite your friends in the flow is not popping out at us. Any suggestions? http://www.uencounter.me

Thanks!

If it's not jumping out at you with any reasonable locations, consider that it doesn't belong in your "New Acct" workflow. Besides, if they are new to your service, you might not want to bombard their friends until you establish the relationship first.

You could offer new FB account users to "Like" you as a final (optional) step (maybe in the Welcome modal) and that might not be too pushy. But maybe you should remind them in a few weeks of active use to invite friends and "Like" you again (if they didn't already) at that time. They'll be more familiar with your brand and service and can share their appreciation more confidently.

PS: plus signs (+) are a valid email address character when before the at sign (@).

Mike, thanks for spending so much time on the site looking around. I agree that perhaps it was a problem to fit it in because it would be a problem to fit it in!! (Staring us in the face)I'll assume you'd like that test account deleted?(!) If you saw anything else that needs immediate attention - we're always open for that kind of feedback. Thanks!

Of course. I'm happy it helped. Yes, you can delete it. I don't recall anything standing out as painfully bad. Good luck with the site! :D

Just want to add that we received some really valuable feedback from Helen in Dec and it helped us take our site to the next level! Her comments were not only helpful but on target and extremely constructive! If you are getting feedback - take it to heart and if not - you should!

Sure, the question is still valid. How much have you spent, or are you willing to spend to get you to the point that an investor will be interested in talking to you? (assuming that the profits are not funding the growth that an investor will be interested in)

I just wanted to add (I know you didn't ask) but I agree that the white text in the bright yellow is hard to read. I think the suggestion to make that bigger and more prominent will be helpful!

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely am going to take a hard look at modifying the design on the main page, including making the main point more prominent, visible, and easy to read!

Nalidxic: I really like the simplicity and design of your site - it is really inviting! How have you advertised this?

Thanks. I did mean above and beyond living costs; expenses such as hosting, legal, advertising, etc. Next question - how much money AFTER launch will you be committing to your startup and what is the amount (in your mind) that you see yourself spending in order to make it happen?

As much as I can afford. Honestly, that's the best answer I've got for you. If I need money for something and don't have enough, I will earn it.

I will encourage you to think about your day-to-day needs over time; Do you need predictability in your life? Do you need a lot of structure? Do you need lots of guidance? Do you need personal distance from co-workers? Are you a risk taker? And if so - what level of risk are you willing to assume? Will you regret missing the opportunity if your friend is very successful?

I spent 10 years in the Bay Area and now live outside of Philly.... I prefer it here. But, I believe that your 'roots' are where you are surrounded by people that love and support you. I would ask you why you've always wanted to live and work in the Bay Area? What is the attraction? Does it make sense to your other life goals?

Ultimately, I would encourage you to chase your deepest dream while you are 25 - it becomes harder as you get older and create more responsibility.

I am much more risk tolerant than most, as I gave up a $100K job to join the startup I mentioned a few months ago. The difference between that startup and this one is that I know one of the cofounders well, and both are very intelligent and accomplished (my friend is ex-McKinsey, the other co-founder is ex-McKinsey, Google, and Microsoft with a Harvard MBA). I definitely prefer a more unstructured, figure-shit-out environment which is one of the main reasons I left Shell in the first place.

Probably the biggest reason I would join Google is for the brand name (and, I think I will enjoy the work and the people too). Having Google next to your bio gives you instant credibility (like the quick summary of the co-founders above). The cofounders already have that, but I don't. The question is is it important enough to hinge a big decision on?

And as for why I want to live in the Bay area, I spent the last 4 months in SF and loved it. The weather, the people, the whole vibe are awesome. Plus my brother is now working in LA so we'd be close, although my parents are in Richmond, VA so I'd be closer to them in Pittsburgh.

Looming question at large: Is a brand name like Google necessarily better than being the first biz-dev hire at a promising startup? The startup isn't "sexy" like an airbnb, but they're already profitable and are getting more incoming leads each week which is great to see.

I think you want to work at google to earn some credibility so that you can do what you really want. Why dont you skip one step and just directly do what you want - life is short.