our short break is over and now on to the Beta. We are expanding the team, bringing in designers, and starting to push full steam ahead again. 2008 should be a great year, and we may even be able to expand our meager office and get a new futon cover.
At the start of the quarter, the team made a goal to launch an alpha version of the site before winter break. Little did we know that our goal would be complicated by the creation of a new atom, a team of high schoolers addicted to World of Warcraft, and a hernia. The road to alpha can best be described through pictures.
9PM, Friday, December 7: Blackout at Stanford, most likely from a late night experiment at the Linear Accelerator. Stan decides to take a nap and a visitor navigates the halls of Old Union with LEDs strapped to a beanie.
Without the ability to program, I decide to visit some team members and finish up some paperwork. David reads through his contract, while Laura offers up a flashlight and provides sound legal advice.
3AM, December 9, 2007: Code starts to get hazy and concentration starts to diminish. Wifi goes down and a new P2P network is created by a group of neighboring teenagers playing WOW: “DOTAONTHISONELOLZ” (DOTA stands for defense of the ancients, for those of you WOW newbs). Stan starts to get loopy. Chris inserts a small comment into his code, “I hate you Stan.”
3PM, December 9, 2007: Alpha is demoed to a group of awesome friends from Cal who have graciously volunteered to give us feedback and input.
People cheer (maybe because of the food).
December 10, 2007: Matt returns with a lengthy beard after recovery from a hernia. The team is now back at full strength.
Alpha invites are now on the way and we look forward to everyone’s feedback!
I’ll leave the more detailed announcement to Steven’s elusive blog post, but I just wanted to let the world know that Alpha is officially out!
When I was an analyst at Goldman Sachs, a lot of my VP’s and MD’s had catch phrases they would use to keep us motivated through difficult times.
“You are living the dream.”
“Great work, guy.”
“U da man.”
“Let’s rage.”
These messages didn’t have as much of an effect on me when I was sleeping on a drool-stained couch in our “quiet room” at 5AM (a power nap before an 8AM conference call). But one phrase has stuck with me through my ride at HelloMovies — “Stay laser-focused.” Smart people will always have brilliant ideas, and the temptation to work on all of them is incredibly strong. I’ve had my share of execution stumbles, but I am laser-focused now. Start basic, launch quickly with something basic, and iterate. Let’s rage.
How’s the rest of the team doing with this philosophy, you ask? Let’s consult one of my developers’ roommates, the always cool Mr. Aaron Elias Berhanu:
“It seems that every time I come in here, Josh is looking at a black screen with lots of little writing, and Stan is looking at 300. And Chris…Chris is sitting there in the corner rambling or playing Guitar Hero or something.”
….
=(
