Geek Mythology: What Tech Startups Say vs. What They Actually Do


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RECORDSETTER
Rhetoric: “Our mission is to raise the bar of human achievement.”
Product/service: User-generated world records such as the most hats worn while riding a bicycle, fastest “poking” of 10 Facebook friends, and longest Skype call.

 

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SNAPCHAT
Rhetoric: “Change the way people communicate for the better.”
Product/service: App that sends photos that disappear after a few seconds (useful for sexting).

 

 

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EVEREST
Rhetoric: “How can we turn everyone into a da Vinci?”
Product/service: Calendar app with social-sharing functions.

 

 

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DROPCAM
Rhetoric: “Creating cutting-edge technologies that are revolutionizing the way people view the world.”
Product/service: Nanny-cams that stream on a smartphone.

 

 

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POGOSEAT
Rhetoric: “Changing the world, one upgrade at a time!”
Product/service: App that lets you get better seats at a sporting event.

 

 

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PATH
Rhetoric: “The beginning of history is defined by mankind’s first attempt to record life.”
Product/service: Social network for mobile devices; also sells fancy emoji, such as a red panda drinking coffee.

 

 

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ZAARLY
Rhetoric: “Changing how the economy works.”
Product/service: App that helps you find local goods and services such as Bundt cake, terrarium-making kits, and dance lessons.

 

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SQUARE
Rhetoric: “We want to build products that make people feel like they have superpowers.”
Product/service: Enables mobile payments.

 

 

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EXEC
Rhetoric: Lets “anyone go and do whatever they’re good at.”
Product/service: App that lets you book house cleaners via smartphone (basically Uber for maids).

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Please consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

—Monika Bauerlein, CEO, and Brian Hiatt, Online Membership Director

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ON MOTHER JONES' FINANCES

We need to start being more upfront about how hard it is keeping a newsroom like Mother Jones afloat these days.

Because it is, and because we're fresh off finishing a fiscal year, on June 30, that came up a bit short of where we needed to be. And this next one simply has to be a year of growth—particularly for donations from online readers to help counter the brutal economics of journalism right now.

Straight up: We need this pitch, what you're reading right now, to start earning significantly more donations than normal. We need people who care enough about Mother Jones’ journalism to be reading a blurb like this to decide to pitch in and support it if you can right now.

Urgent, for sure. But it's not all doom and gloom!

Because over the challenging last year, and thanks to feedback from readers, we've started to see a better way to go about asking you to support our work: Level-headedly communicating the urgency of hitting our fundraising goals, being transparent about our finances, challenges, and opportunities, and explaining how being funded primarily by donations big and small, from ordinary (and extraordinary!) people like you, is the thing that lets us do the type of journalism you look to Mother Jones for—that is so very much needed right now.

And it's really been resonating with folks! Thankfully. Because corporations, powerful people with deep pockets, and market forces will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. Only people like you will.

There's more about our finances in "News Never Pays," or "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," and we'll have details about the year ahead for you soon. But we already know this: The fundraising for our next deadline, $350,000 by the time September 30 rolls around, has to start now, and it has to be stronger than normal so that we don't fall behind and risk coming up short again.

Please consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

—Monika Bauerlein, CEO, and Brian Hiatt, Online Membership Director

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