- Startups - Kevin Rose of Milk - TWiST #218

TL;DR

Kevin Rose, serial entrepreneur and angel investor, talks about his experiences with starting companies like Dig and Oink, and offers advice for young entrepreneurs.

Transcript

today's episode of this weekend startups is brought to you by Survey Monkey go to try. surveymonkey.com twist and sign up for a free trial and MailChimp manage lists with up to 2,000 subscribers and send 12,000 emails per month for free with MailChimp hey everybody it's Jason calicis this is this week in startups today a guest who needs no introduc... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤪 Kevin Rose believes in trusting your gut and going after your ideas, rather than seeking validation from others.
• 😀 Building and scaling web apps has become easier due to advances in technology and services like AWS and Heroku.
• 😀 The app of the week and best of 2011 honors for Oink demonstrate its early success, but further growth and user retention are still key challenges.
• 🫱 Building a successful company requires a willingness to go to war and make sacrifices, while also recognizing the risks and uncertainties involved.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Kevin Rose get his start in the tech industry?

Rose began his career working at tech TV as a tech assistant, eventually becoming a host and gaining fame through his appearances on shows like The Screen Savers.

Q: Why did the sale of Dig not go through?

The negotiations fell apart due to disagreements over the valuation of the company and potential issues with scaling the service.

Q: What inspired Kevin Rose to create the app Oink?

Rose wanted a way to share and rate specific items and experiences, rather than just places or general content. He felt that there was a gap in the market for this type of structured data.

Q: What are the advantages and challenges of building mobile apps?

Mobile apps allow for more specific and tailored experiences, but the process of building and iterating on mobile apps can take longer and be more technically complex than web apps.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Kevin Rose reflects on his start in the tech industry and his successes with companies like Dig, Revision3, and Milk.

• He discusses the challenges of scaling Dig and the missed opportunity to sell the company.

• Rose explains the inspiration behind his new app Oink, which allows users to rank and rate specific items at different locations.

• He shares his thoughts on the differences between web apps and mobile apps, and the advantages and challenges of building an app.