Sincerity

Recently I find that my answers on Quora can be so long, that I might as well have written them as a blog post...

So I figured, why not just copy/paste them into my blog.

I answered the following question on Quora:

How can I have someone be sincere with me?

I have a hard time feeling that people are being genuine with me, given my well-renowned position and reputation. When I am surrounded by my closest consorts, I still I tend to have this feeling in the back of my mind that people are only acting the way they do to gain favor even though I know they care for me deeply, and it's eating me alive.

My Answer:

Tempted to start with "this is not the right questions. The right question is..."

But I won't. In Quora, you should either what a person asks, or not answer at all :)

So my answer to the question is "you can't". It's actually quite simple - YOU can't have someone be sincere with you. THEY need to be sincere with you, and you have little control over that. Except if you already know what they really think, in which case you don't really need to talk to them at all :)
But, trying to help you with what seems to be your struggle, I'm going to say this:

1) I think that your best way to tell if someone is sincere with you is by past experience. If they have always been sincere with you, then there's a good chance they'll be sincere this time around.

2) Number 1 brings out the question - so how can I tell if a new person is being sincere with me? Answer: you can't. Someone once told me that if con people were easy to spot, they'd be out of a job. I tend to keep this in the back of my mind.
I'm a lousy judge of character. I think most people are, especially the ones who think that they are good judges of character. This is, again, due to the fact that good liers are very experienced at misleading people. So the question I have in mind when a person I don't know tells me something is not "are they sincere", but more of "what's at stake here, if, god forbid, this person is not being honest".
I find this to be an excellent way to deal with people's sincerity question. It reduces the stress level resulting from this question that keeps popping up in your mind, and it actually creates a learning experience. If there's not too much at stake, you can assume that you don't know if the person is being sincere, and just wait to see whether they were or they weren't, and then learn from it a little.

3) Unless you are Barack Obama, The term "eating me alive" suggests that you may be taking this subject way too seriously. The guy at the store is giving you advice aimed at getting you to buy the product that gives him the best margin. Your dentist may be recommending expensive treatments that will help her redecorate her living room. Your boss may be giving you advice that is not only for your own good, but also for his own good. Your employees are doing good work not only because they love you, but also because they want your job one day.
It's OK. You have to learn to live with it. Respect everyone and suspect everyone, but don't be un-trusting. Don't be naive, but be a sucker sometimes, (knowingly, even). Getting screwed, when the price isn't too high, is a very valuable learning experience.
Make sure you are bothered by what's important

How to Ruin your Reputation by being Petty

I've been using an online backup service for many years now. I got introduced to the subject by Mozy, later to be acquired by EMC. They used to give everyone 2Gb of data free (they still do). When it finally became time to back up more than just 2Gb, I wanted to go on Mozy's paid program, but their software simply didn't work, and did not manage to back up more than 4Gb of my data. (they probably fixed it by now)

So I looked elsewhere, and found carbonite. They had unlimited backup for ~$4 a month. Same as Mozy, but actually working. Installed, turned it on, paid the annual subscription, and became a happy camper.

3 lovely years passed, where I even got the chance to restore once, and it was well worth the money spent (not to mention peace of mind).

My amount of data grew gradually, until one day not too long ago, it seemed like a good idea to get an additional hard drive. I went out and got a new hard drive, external this time (it was on special). I connected it to my computer and moved some data to it. Then I went in carbonite and found out that they won't back up data on the new drive because they don't work with USB drives. Say what? Why do you guys care what hardware I'm using? What am I supposed to do now, just not use the drive, or perhaps make sure all my important data is on the other drives? A bit of snooping around to find out that this weird policy doesn't exist in any other online service. Time to talk to Carbonite, my good old backup provider, and ask them if they can cut me some slack.

I wrote a letter to Carbonite's support, asking them to make an exception, because my new drive was just as important as my other drives. They said no. I wrote another letter saying "listen, guys, I really need to backup my data and I really like your service, but if you won't let me protect all of my data, then we cannot do business together. Please refund what's left of my annual subscription (more than half)".

This is the response I got back:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Customer Support

Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:58 AM

Subject: User incident report [Incident: 110125-001173]

To:

Response (Leena G.)01/26/2011 05:58 PM

Hello and thank you for contacting Carbonite Customer Support.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused to you. At present, Carbonite only backs up local internal hard drives. For more details, please click the link below.

External, Network and USB Drives: http://carbonite.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1386

Also, please ensure that if you delete/move a file from your computer, Carbonite will schedule the file to be deleted within thirty days. This gives you some time if you realize you deleted the wrong file. For more details, please click the link below.

Retention of Deleted Files: http://carbonite.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1402

Additionally, we request you to please review our refund policy at: http://carbonite.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1496

As stated during our purchasing process, when selecting 'Confirm' you agreed to Carbonite's Terms of Use and acknowledged that you were aware of Carbonite's Refund Policy. We also give users the opportunity to run our free trial to try before they buy.

If you are having difficulty using Carbonite, please let us know what the issue is and we will be happy to assist you.

Please let us know if you need additional assistance.

Sincerely,

Leena G.

Carbonite Customer Support

www.carbonite.com

Back it up. Get it back.

For those of you not familiar with American English, let me translate:

Dear Customer,

Go F yourself.

Had you read our full TOS when you signed up with our service, you would have realized that you're making a mistake because if you decide to buy a USB drive, we would not back it up for you. Further more, we were nice enough to tell you upfront that if you're stupid enough to sign up to our service even after we told you all this, that you won't see a dime back. This is why it's called ann(u)al subscription.

True, you signed up with us 3 years ago, when USB external drives weren't as popular, and yes, you've been extending our service every year since, but hey - there was a checkbox there saying that you agree to everything, so take responsibility for your actions.

Just between you and us, you have about $30 left on your subscription. You've been our customer for 3 years now, so what's $30 among friends? Imagine you took us on a night out, or find some other way to live with the loss.

Bottom line: Carbonite could have allowed me to cancel my service, and could have refunded my 20 or 30 bucks, because who in their right mind would not allow a person to own a USB drive nowadays? They could have saved me the time of writing this post, and save themselves the embarrassment of getting a bad review from an old faithful customer.

Mental note: never ever refuse a refund to a customer who is not happy with the product and is giving it back.

P.S. I am on CrashPlan's trial now. They are 10% through backing up my data. If it completes before my 30 day trial is over, I will switch over to them. I'm losing $30, but my data is too important to be left for chance.

The @DimDim exit plan for you freeloaders

Warning: this is a bitchy post.

SalesForce.com acquired DimDim (online collaboration software) for $31M. First of all, congrats for that. We always love to hear when someone in this business gets rewarded for good work they've done. If you work for DimDim, now would be the time to stop reading, because that's pretty much the last good word you will hear from me during this post.

I was introduced to DimDim a couple of years ago, when I was invited to an online presentation that used their tool. The person who invited me was naturally a founder of a startup (it's what we do). I was happy and a bit surprised to see that someone offered a free option to run quick presentations, limited by features and number of participants, but good enough for most bootstrap joints to use when they needed to show-off their stuff. I installed it on my machine, of course, and gave it a shot too.
Since then I didn't actually use it much, since I didn't find it good enough for my own needs, but I have told many people and startups about it. In our lean & mean startup world, every penny counts, so instead of spending $50/month on other services, DimDim really did seem like a good, free, sane option for the occasional broke presenter.
Not sure how many free users DimDim had, but I believe that the "freeloaders" took their role in making the DimDim platform a very popular online sharing tool. Don't you?

Enter the ungrateful part of this evening. I read @TechCrunch as much as the next guy, but I got introduced to the fact that salesforce.com acquired DimDim through the following email I got from DimDim:

Dear Customer:

Dimdim has been acquired by salesforce.com. Your free Dimdim account will remain active until March 15, 2011. After that date, you will no longer be able to access your free Dimdim account.

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for additional information.

We appreciate your understanding, and we thank you!


The Dimdim Team
Pursuant to the Dimdim Terms of Use (the “Agreement”) governing the use of Dimdim Inc.’s (“Dimdim”) Site and Services (as defined under the Agreement) by you (“You”), Dimdim is hereby exercising its right to terminate Your Dimdim Account and the Agreement in its entirety. Dimdim will continue to provide Services to you until March 15, 2011. Following March 15, 2011, neither You nor Dimdim shall have any further rights or obligations of any kind under the Agreement, including the right to access the Site, or receive or use any Services. Dimdim thanks you for your business, and wishes you success in the future.

Dimdim, 900 Chelmsford St. Lowell, MA 01851
This email was intended for: | Remove

(Report Abuse) - Only if you feel this email was repeatedly sent to you without your permission.

Now let me tell you my take, or what I actually read between the lines:

Dear FreeLoader and Ex-Customer,

We just got acquired for $31M. We're rich. Richer than you will ever be. If anyone tells you that "freemium" models can't bring happiness, just send them a picture of us, fishing.
We did it all by ourselves, and we are extremely happy to tell all of you so-called "customers", who made us so wildly popular by using our free service, that you can go F yourself. We do not think you had any contribution to making us popular, and we don't think you are even remotely related to the fact that we are now filthy rich. As such, while the negotiation with salesforce.com was going on, we didn't think it was appropriate to demand, as part of our severance packages and all that, that our free service remains free, at least until people forget that the salesforce.com online sharing tool was once DimDim. In fact, you should be grateful that we're letting you keep the service for another two months. We award you with a valuable lesson - there is no free lunch in this world. We really wish we could see your face as you read this announcement, but we're a bit drunk from the champagne and generally have better things to do.

P.S. Aren't you glad our lawyers made sure we can terminate your account at will ? Oh, don't bother to get up, here's the relevant paragraph from our TOS, which you never bothered to read when you signed up to our free service.

Jokes aside for a minute, I would have done it differently. I don't believe in "exit strategies" per se, and I believe that you should always think about how to make a successful and sustainable product that people need, and hence will want to pay for. An exit is something that happens when another company realizes that you've done such a fantastic job, that they want you and your product as part of their offering. DimDim was big on the "freemium" model, and it's a big part of what made them successful. Dropping the free, and leaving the "mium" before the body of their acquired organization is cold leaves a bad taste in my mouth. DimDim is officially worth $31M - are you telling me that the "free" part has no part in this ? How much money is salesforce.com saving by cancelling the free service? Time will tell if this was the right business decision, but I, for one, think that this was the wrong moral decision.

"So long and thanks for that big fish that just ate us".

Impressions from TechAviv (or, "Just Do It")

When I was young, I had a foul mouth. Then I grew out of it and became a foul-mouth blog writer. Apologies for all the profanity in advance.

Yesterday was my first time ever in a TechAviv event. I've been a registered founder for about two years now. I always wanted to go to one of those gatherings, but somehow, while I've RSVPed many times, I never managed make it. There's always some important fire-fighting going on. Last night involved too many important people from the industry that I claim my company (zx900) is part of. It also had Mike Eisenberg on stage spelling out his Humus Manifesto, and to me that would have been like watching the movie based on a book that I liked. Going there got priority (and my wife OKed).
I have to admit, I’ve never had much chance to hang out in the Israeli startup/angel/VC scene, and so what I heard there caught me off-guard. The place kind of turned into a battle field with the founders on one side and the VCs in the other (and @Roi Carthy in the middle).
I decided to write a few things and offer a my perspective. I’ll most likely give reference to it in a comment on TechAviv’s board, and I’d be happy to hear your thoughts.

1. VCs invest in ventures that they think can make THEM (the VCs) a significant return on their investment. Statistics shows that only 1-2 out of every 10 startups makes it (i.e. doesn’t close shop). If they didn’t invest in your venture, there’s at least an 80% chance they were right. Probably more. No offense - it’s just statistics. Give them a break. You don't spend your savings on investments you don't believe in, right?

2. VC money is private. It’s not your tax dollars (shekels, whatever). They don’t owe you anything. They’re not the chief scientist. Just back the f*ck off. I was so lost in that discussion on Wednesday, along with some folks on stage (seemed like). I found myself sympathizing with the VC partners, which is funny, because I actually think most founders should stay away from VC money for as long as they can.

3. People have been burnt by taking an investment from the chief scientist. Remember that. Mike Eisenberg is not making things up. Don’t be caught off guard a year into the process. Having to close shop in a year from now because you've raised money in the wrong place wouldn't be more pleasant than not getting funded at all right this minute. Make sure you know what you're getting into.

4. Even more people got burnt by taking VC money. Go read the TheFunded (but don’t believe everything you read). Getting an investment from a VC would put you in a spin - make sure you’re ready for that spin, as it will not be what you had planned on when you first thought of starting your venture. Be prepared, you’re not winning the lottery here, you’re acquiring partners who have a different agenda than your own. The fact that you both want a successful exit does not mean you see things eye-to-eye.
A VC pays a million dollar for 25% in your company, let’s say. You paid nothing, and you own a larger share. Do you think both of you translate the word “success” the same way?
Again, know what you’re getting into. VC is definitely a great way to go, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all.

5. If you’re a founder, this is important, so listen up.
In today’s world, you don’t have to have seed money to get started with many ventures ($10K is not seed money, guys).
There is an alternative. You WILL need to put YOUR money where your mouth is, you’ll need to work like a mule for many months, but if your idea is as good as your pitch says that it is, refusing to do these two things means that you’re full of of it. Look yourself in the mirror. Are you willing to risk something here, or do you just want to roll the risk over to some rich guy who you think will sustain less damage if things go south?
If you’ve already done all that, and still can’t get funded, perhaps you’re one of the 80%? Think outside of the box. Maybe that box is your whole venture.... You’re an entrepreneur, you’ll think of some other great idea if you put your mind to it. Don’t get caught up in your own idea. Think, launch, and if it doesn’t work out, think again, and launch something else. Repeat till you retire. Doctor's orders for sick people who need to constantly create new things.

6. And this is just to try and show that I’m not talking out of my *ss.

zx900 participated in launching a few different ventures this year (radiorec.fm, sprophet, jobsfor10, SearchGmailBySize to name a few). We cover the "actual work" part - we build the product. I’d tell you how much money was spent in building each, but I’m afraid I might lose your attention while you’d be rolling on the floor laughing. Statistics shows that none of these ventures will be successful, but we’ll keep going till we find one or two. We like it. We like entrepreneurs who put their heart where their mouth is. We partner with them, and we hack their product out the door. The discussion on Wednesday defined us as “hackers”. I disagree with the definition - I think that we simply prioritize correctly, but we’re here, and we'll do it for anyone with his/her head in the right place. Give us a call (no more sales pitch, I swear. Stay with me).
THERE IS a different way to do things. Any web venture, any mobile venture, any SaaS venture, any social venture, and 80% of any software venture can be launched in a bootstrap. It’s going to almost kill you both financially and personally to go there without raising money first, that’s true. But if you believe in your idea as much as you claim that you do, then go do it. You’ll launch, you’ll put that balloon up in the air, see what happens, get some traction, get wiser. And then you can decide if you even want to raise money, and if so how much, and who from. A wise copywriter once said “Just do it” (no idea how it relates to shoes)
Scott Tobin said on stage “we have $750M. Come see us”. I believe him. He’ll want to see you. But you need to bring something to show them, and PowerPoint is Microsoft’s product, not yours.

Get to work !

The nice story about hacking the new iPhone OS (or: hackers are nice people)

A short history lesson

Skip to the iphone story if you're short on time

I unlocked my iPhone again today, after the iPhone DevTeam came out with another wonderful way to "jailbreak" and unlock it. When I read the story about how they cracked the iPhone this time, I actually found it hilarious, to the point where I decided to blog about it, trying to keep it in layman's terms. Maybe my friends can laugh with me without understanding the fine technical details.

When I was young I wanted to be a hacker. Hacking into my bank's computer system and pumping my balance up sounded so much easier than actually having to work for money. So I read about what "hacking" is what hackers are, and surprisingly, one of the first sentences I read in a few different sources was "hacking is good, not evil". I got a lengthy explanation on the difference between hackers and crackers and how the very basic quality of a hacker is that whatever they do, they do it to improve things and not to harm anything or anyone. I believe this is true, especially in the case of the iPhone hackers, who are not looking for fame (they're anonymous) or fortune (they refuse to take donations).

Enter the iPhone DevTeam. A bunch of folks, people don't know who they are, who decided one day that Apple is being unfair by making everyone take "their way or the highway". So they "jailbroke" the iphone, and made it into a better device - one that is open and can work exactly how its owner wants it to, without having to go through Apple's approval. Then they also unlocked it and made it usable on any GSM network, and not just AT&T. By that I'm pretty sure they didn't only help the people, they also helped Apple. I bought my first iPhone only because I knew I can use it anywhere in the world. The hackers helped Apple increase sales and footprint.

For some mysterious reason Apple has been after those hackers since day 1. They are constantly patching the holes that the hackers use to make the iPhone a more usable device. There's a cat and mouse game between the hackers and apple that has been going on for years now. And the last story of how the hacked the iPhone AGAIN after OS 4.2.1 was released by apple is quite funny.


The story
It started off with Apple closing all known holes, making it quite hard for the hackers to allow people to use their phone outside of the intended network (AT&T in the states). Seems like the hackers got a look into the newly released operating system, and said "kudos, apple, this is going to take a while". So they thought "how can we still help all these poor people who happen to have bought a phone recently and are locked in the unlockable OS?". You see the problem is, Apple wouldn't let you downgrade your phone. Once you have the version 4.1 installed, you cannot go back to version 4.0 or 3.2. You can only go up the version number scale. This means that while there is no known hack for version 4.1, you are pretty much stuck in the locked state.

Well, I guess suddenly someone remembered that the iPad (not iPhone) actually has operating systems starting with the number 6. Not only that, but the iPad actually has a known hack. So what they did was, instead of creating a hack for version 4.2.1, they created a hack that takes bits and pieces from version 06.15 (the ipad version), including the version number itself, merges into any iphone version, creating a mongrel that looks like it has the number 06.15, but is actually an iphone OS that can be unlocked. While installing this on the iPhone, the iPhone does not reject the new operating system, because it checks and sees that 06.15 is greater than 4, or 4.2. Problem solved, and Apple can (again) kick themselves in the head while thousands of iPhone users got control of their device again.

Surely the next iphone version will explicitly make sure that it is not taking the iPad OS in the back door...

Tom won again, and Jerry is looking for new ways to catch him.