[auston]

I believe this is accurate - I spoke w/ Mike in Miami recently and this is how he described it to me:

You (and your friend) have this awesome idea & have a pretty good idea of how you're going to do it - but you don't have UI experts, you don't have scaling experts, you don't have marketing experts, etc etc - Sproutbox gives you some ramen money & a kick ass team - to take your business to profitability.

Doesn't sound bad to me! My only real q is - How much equity are we giving up for that?!

[dbul]

Ah, ok. I told a business exec I knew I was doing a startup and he recommended a company in the Pittsburgh area which would "grow your idea" for 51% (i.e. control of the company). When some suits are in control, it would seem that it is no longer any fun and more like working for someone else.

I like SproutBox's site, and the couple of sites produced already (found via their Twitter).

[rms]

Hey, I'm pretty sure I know what company you are talking about and I have never heard good things about them. For a long time they did not have a single success, now they do have one company that's done pretty well, but it's still a rather miserable rate. I would only consider dealing with them as a convertible debt round, which they do sometimes offer.

Send me an email, there are HN meetups in Pittsburgh very occasionally, usually at the Church Brew Works, and I can let you know about upcoming meets.

[dbul]

What do you do at these meetups?

[rms]

Talk to each other. Food and beer are optional.

[dbul]

I'd prefer to code and maybe chat during breaks. That being said, I usually hang out at one of the many coffee shops in the city. Often Jitters in the afternoon and take your pick in the evening or night (though usually Shadyside or Squirrel Hill, occassionally the South Side).

[trotzke]

That actually seems worse than working for someone. At least it's their idea that gets screwed up when you work for someone. Watching someone screw up your idea, now that really sucks. BTDT.

Oh..and Thanks. Lot more to come soon.