Rover - A Different Boarding Option For Dogs

We (and I mean the collective "we" as in dog-owners) all know the feeling when you have to go away on vacation without the pup. Forget about just missing the dog in general - that's a given. What I'm referring to is what do you actually do with the dog? For my fiance and I, there have always been only two options:

1. Leave the dog with friends or family; or
2. Put him in an overnight kennel 

Well, our recent vacations have gone something like this...

Vacation 1: Put dog in overnight kennel

Pros: 

• Pup gets to run around all day with other dogs
• Pup is in the hands of well trained professionals (at least I assume so)
• No worries about calling in every day to "check-in"

Cons: 

• Costs you (depending on where you live) upwards of $100+ per night of boarding

While we loved the thought of our dog running around and playing all day, it's sometimes tough to justify the price tag. Because of that, our next vacation we decided to leave him with family.

Vacation 2: Leave the dog with family

Pros: 

• Free 
• (I think that's really the only pro...)

Cons: 

• Free is a relative term, because if your pup leaves a nice "accent" on your parents' rug, then it's not really a "free" stay
• Guilt (making other people dogsit for you while you're on a beach somewhere just sounds cruel)

There was really no win-win solution here. Either you fork over money and just have peace of mind that everything is getting taken care of, or you take the cheaper route and hope that your dog doesn't drop a nice steamy one on that new white leather couch your parents bought.

Well dog owners are in luck - there is a new solution (and by new I mean it's been around for a while but I had no idea who they were until they just received $12mm in Series C funding) - enter Rover, an airbnb-esque company that has created a third option for us!

With Rover, you get the best of both worlds - pup gets to play around all day with other dogs, and it won't burn a hole through your wallet. Win-Win-Win (Michael Scott reference for those who are keeping up). 

I clicked around the site this morning and it looks pretty legit - easy interface, nice looking people who love dogs, and really reasonable rates ($25/night in NYC!) 

We will definitely be using them next time we go on vacation, but in the meantime, maybe I'll pick up a copy of Dissing Your Dog to help with the training.

I Think I'm Finally Ready To Talk About The WhatsApp Deal

For those that have been living under a rock the last week, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19Bn.

So obviously this happens the same day I write a post about how Facebook's "Paper" wasn't really doing it for me - just when I thought they were failing, they go and do something like this...and TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES.

Undoubtedly you've read a bunch of opinions already, but here are my three favorite parts of the deal:

1. Cofounder Jan Koum, originally from Ukraine (shout-out to former Soviet block), is now worth an estimated $6.8Bn - no biggie. But seriously, what a great success story.
   • Side note - I wonder how the offer was given. I picture them both sitting at a table across from one another, Zuck smoking a cigar and Jan just sweating. Zuck writes down $19Bn on a piece of paper and ever so gently slides it across. Jan can't control his emotions and jumps with joy. Zuck laughs at him and goes "haha silly boy, only $4Bn is in cash." (maybe it actually didn't happen like that, who knows really)
2. Sequoia, the sole institutional investor in WhatsApp, absolutely CLEANED UP (and I mean CLEAAAAAAANED UP)
   • Nobody knows for sure yet (well, I guess Sequoia does...and maybe a few others), but it has been reported that Sequoia invested a total of ~$60mm into WhatsApp over the course of multiple funding rounds. Depending on what kind of percentage they own (my personal guess is around 25%-30% of the company), Sequoia's share of the deal would be around $5Bn - not a bad little payday I guess if you're into that kind of thing. Well played Sequoia, well played.
3. Lots of people are balking at the price tag - On a per user basis (~$40/user), that's actually not terrible...Let's look at some other deals and how users were valued:
   • When Facebook went public, they were valuing themselves at ~$125/user
   • When Facebook bought Instagram, they paid ~$28/user
   • Yahoo paid ~$830 for each user of Geocities
   • Ebay paid ~$240 for each user of Skype
   • Google paid ~$50 for each user of YouTube

All in all not a terrible price to pay in my opinion, it's just a high number because they have a lot of users...

I'm interested in what happens in the aftermath of this deal:

• How will Facebook treat this new acquisition and how does it plan to monetize WhatsApp users?
• What will happen with other messaging apps now? Are they officially on the block? (I'm talking to you Blackberry, Snapchat, Kik)
• Does this open the floodgates for some other big social deals in the near future?

At the end of the day, Facebook came to play - they showed up to the Catalina Wine Mixer, and they just crushed it (drops mic).

Paper(less)...For Now

I was a huge fan of Facebook's new app "Paper", I really was. I downloaded it day one, and even spread the word about the sexy layout. Here's the problem though - the honeymoon phase is over, and Paper and I have fallen into somewhat of a rut. Three times a day I open the app, flip through the news (a-la Tinder style), look at what's happening on Facebook, and then close the app. Yes, I get that's the point, but I'm going to be honest with you - I'm bored with it. I do it because I've gotten used to it.

Paper was (is?) great for 2 things:

• Getting curated news
• Going on Facebook

Here's the problem though:

• I dislike getting my news from Paper
• I dislike going on Facebook from Paper

In the process of trying to simplify my life and save me time, I feel like Paper has instead made it more challenging. I find myself still getting my news through my previous sources of social outlets, and still going on Facebook to do some light stalking (just kidding...) - Paper has literally become a redundancy for me.

Today I read an article about how Paper has fallen out of Apple's top 100 free apps - can't say I'm surprised at all. After the initial surge of hype when it launched, it feels as though not many people are still talking about it.

/End of Debbie Downer rant

Now I'm not ready to give up just yet. After all, this is Facebook's baby, and things I've doubted in the past have grown on me (see: Timeline, Newsfeed, etc.) I just hope they get it together sooner rather than later.

The Legend of Flappy Bird

I told myself I wasn't going to do it. I told myself I wasn't going to give in. After all, I'd just spent 5 days trying to beat level 200 of candy crush (nbd*), and wasn't that enough of a waste of time?

Well...as expected, I downloaded it. I downloaded Flappy Bird.

The point of this blog isn't to brag about how my high score of 97 was achieved within the first 2 days of downloading the app (and probably within only 30 minutes of actual play time), or to brag about how I have the highest score out of all my close friends (next closest is at 72).

Just kidding, it was**

But thats not all I wanted to write about - What surprised me the most were the events of this past week (namely the app being taken down from the app store).

Time to put on the ol' detective hat and get to the bottom of this...Here's what we know:

• The app was making ~$50k in US dollars...A DAY - do the math, and that comes out to roughly (carry the 2) $18 million a year
• Nguyen Ha Dong (Vietnamese creator of this game) was going to pull the app from the app store because he "couldn't take it anymore" (whatever that means)
  • Actually, we got some more clarity - he said that he didn't intend for the game to be this addictive (again, whatever that means)
• He ended up pulling the app, and a day after it disappeared, iphones with the app were selling for TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on ebay

Sherlock: Wait. That's it? That's all we know? My dear Watson, what do you think about this situation?

Watson: I think that this man is an absurd human being, sir

I'd have to agree with the professionals on this one. Literally no logical explanation here. Only thing that I can think of is if he was just trying to develop buzz for his next app??

Seems like a pretty poor financial decision on his end (wasn't the original point to make money on it?)

Anywho - what do you guys think? Is this guy Nguyen blowing smoke up our skirts? Or is he honestly just a good guy who saw that Flappy Bird was ruining marriages and didn't want that to continue?

*but kind of a big deal

**After writing this section, I learned that some kid got a high score of 412. My brag is pretty useless now, but for the record I refuse to believe that he didn't throw in some sort of cheat code.

P.S. I have Flappy Bird on my phone, and if you want to pay me 10k its yours (all pictures of my dog will be included in said phone)

The Top 9 Do's and Don'ts of Tech Meetups

Title says it all.

I've compiled the best suggestions from folks in various parts of the startup ecosystem. While I know that we all have various motives and reasons for attending the events, these are some good lessons for everyone, regardless of agenda.

DO:

• Wear appropriate clothing. First impressions are everything - on a scale of sweatpants/ sweatshirt to Gordon Gekko, literally wear anything in between (but not including).
• Bring plenty of business cards. You're there to network, chief. Business cards are great because it allows people to write notes on the back (such as "contact him about an intro to xyz company", or "weirdo with the creepy mustache and pink pants") Also, this.
• Try going to events alone. It will force you to get outside of your comfort zone and meet random people. I can't tell you how many times I would go up to a group of 2 or 3 to join in on a conversation, and they were all from the same company and just standing around talking to one another - you can do that back at your office or apartment.
• Offer up a skill to help out other attendees. Everybody has a skill. Hacking skills, designing skills, financial modeling skills, nunchuck skills? Offer up your time to help others, and I can guarantee* you that it will come back around. If anything, you can always call in a favor later.
• Try to have a takeaway from each conversation that you have. Whether you're going to download somebody's new app and give them feedback, or help them with an introduction to your friend's company - if you constantly have "to-do's" from each meeting you will feel much more active in the community and won't feel like you wasted time at the event.  

*Management of this blog takes no responsibility if this does not actually happen.

DON'T:

• Come to the event without an agenda. What did you come to the event for - looking for a job? looking to expand your network? looking to meet a sugar mama/daddy? Make sure you know what you're there to do and keep that in the back of your head as you meet people.
• Stand in the corner drinking by yourself. Also don't sit on the couches drinking by yourself.
• Forget to leave an impression on people. You'll be meeting a lot of people throughout the event. Make sure that others don't leave a conversation with you thinking that you're just another John Smith.
• Leave without stopping by the sponsor booths. These companies typically pay good money to be featured at the event - give them a few minutes of your time. If anything, they lead to good conversation icebreakers with other people at the event. 

Well, there you have it folks. I have led you to water - now guzzle up. Or just sit in the corner drinking Bud Light, whatever works.

@MaximSpiegel | MaximSpiegel@gmail.com