Comments on: On background

By: dunsany

dunsany — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

FWIW, I wholeheartedly agree that not only is the Salon piece a huge distortion but also that reporters in general love to jump to sexy conclusions (that sell content) and then skew the facts as they see fit. I’ve seen it happen far too many times to count. And just a personal note to stand tall. Going the way of the amateur means your going to be recipient a lot of slings and arrows. As long as you realize what you want to accomplish, you win… regardless of fame or fortune.

By: Frank Ruscica

Frank Ruscica — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

So you’ve got to be going the CLLCS route…

See my site to learn what it will take to be a pure-play disruptor…

In particular, see the comic premise…

Don’t know if Amazon will go for it, but, then again, Amazon probably does sell a lot of copies of Jenna Jameson’s bio…

By: Richard MacManus

Richard MacManus — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Keep up the great work guys. You’re making to come alive!

By: Richard MacManus

Richard MacManus — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

um, that was supposed to read: you’re making it come alive!

By: Benny Styles

Benny Styles — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“If the beginning is when you sit down with friends and decide to start a company, Amazon wasn’t there at the beginning”

That’s disingenuous. The founders are ex-Amazon employees so they were using money they made at Amazon from the very start.

“Along the way, friends at Amazon heard me out on some of my ideas, but all was very casual at this point”

Casual? What does that mean? They were wearing jeans instead of a suit?

Going forward Amazon may not define what you are doing but they will certainly own a part of it, won’t they?

By: Josh Petersen

Josh Petersen — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Benny – I used money I made at Amazon.com to buy the car I drove to go to work at Microsoft. Does that turn Microsoft into an Amazon front? Nope. It means people have jobs, and sometimes they change companies or start new projects.

I was working at Microsoft just prior to starting 43 Things, so using your logic, the claim ought to be that I used Microsoft money to start 43 Things.

You can’t win an argument with conspiracy theorists, because the “truth” is all part of the conspiracy! We’re trying to share some details here that weren’t covered for you in the press accounts you might have read. If you are convinced by what you read in the media and aren’t interested in our account of how this came together – so be it.

By: Aaron Post

Aaron Post — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Benny, just wanted you to know that I used Kinkos money to pay for college, guess that means that my degree is a front for kinkos?

Please give me a break…Robot Co-op, your work speaks for itself. You’ve inspired myself to do the same, build a product and a company based on what you love to do. Kudos to you guys.

By: Daniel Spils

Daniel Spils — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Benny –

I sheetrocked and wired my basement as the first office for The Robot Co-op. I wrote the checks for materials and borrowed my neighbor’s plumbing skills to get things rolling. I won’t expand any further on this funding bravado or I’ll end up telling stories like, “when I was a kid we were so poor that we funded startups by selling our own fillings”.

Seriously, I’ve had many jobs in the past and spent the two years prior to starting The Robot Co-op touring as the keyboardist for Maktub and opening a nightclub. Probably like you, I’ve been making a living by working for the past 20 years.

Amazon has invested in The Robot Co-op and we think this is a great thing. But we’re still doing what we did in my basement: making it up and making it happen … all on our own.

By: Chris C

Chris C — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Alright… so Amazon is investing in your company. To me, it’s seems obvious they’re doing it for the information(what else would they do it for?)

Yeah, they do it because they are a company who makes money and such information will help them make more of it. It’s a win – win situation for both of you.

You guys are amateurs, that’s fine. But is Amazon.com?

When Amazon or you don’t release information which heightens the mystery, do you think the people who are drawing conclusions are wrong for making them?

Your idea/work is great but when people think you’ve taken advantage of their trust you’re going to get backlash.

I guess, to summarize my thoughts, I wish you had publicized something as huge as “we have an investor” and not planned to put it off for a month either from being busy or anything else.

By the way, thanks for letting us post this type of stuff out in the open in a very honest fashion, kudos.

By: Kris

Kris — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s your chance to be really clear. HOW MUCH has Amazon invested? Are they minority investors? Do they own 100%? Who really owns 43things?