LFGSS: Turning a hobby into a technology startup

bold, brave, brilliant.

dibs bond.

With some luck I'll be joining you in about a year.

Whereas social networks try and orientate everything around your address book and contacts, I propose to orientate everything around your interests (and screw your address book).

This is simply because I strongly believe that when you bring people that share interests together then amazing things happen. It's more than the sum of parts.

I have thought this for a long time. I hate the idea of "have to get as many friends as possible" and in the end all people share is that they had breakfast, went to the park, went to the loo etc.

It's really pointless. I am on facebook but it is the biggest, most pointless waste of time. LFGSS has so much more of a point to it, the web needs to move in the direction of reviving communities, who share interests.

I feel like there has been this step backwards in the internet sometimes, it is moving into this commercial, characterless space, much like the little market stalls turning into super malls with your starbucks, vintage salmon-specialist shops est. 2005 and crap like that. Let's reinvent the internet! hURRAH!

Poke.

^ Like

Best of Luck David, anything just shout!

P.s: I'll be taking everyone's job, of the ones quitting jobs that is.

It's really pointless. I am on facebook but it is the biggest, most pointless waste of time. LFGSS has so much more of a point to it, the web needs to move in the direction of reviving communities, who share interests

Agree with this.

Good luck with the funding, hopefully it will work out :)

Good luck David, life's too short not to do this.

Just to clarify, I assume everyone offering to buy a bond actually means a share?

Bond/Share?
There's always the* cooperative* business model David, which gives much more buy-in from the community. Happy to talk to you about how we've (CTUK) has managed to grow as a cooperative. We're still struggling with finding forum software to support us.
The latest vbullitin version didn't work for us, perhaps we could use your services?

lol wuts going on?

please go on dragons den

Bond/Share?

A bond is a form of debt that entitles the holder to both interest payments and repayment of the principal sum at a given date.

A share is a form of equity, that entitles the holder to an ownership stake in the company with voting rights and entitlement to dividend, but no guarantee of return.

If LFGSS sought funding from its community, it should do so in the form of shares, in my opinion.

Velocio, I read your o.p. and actually felt scared for a moment. It's such a big step but you clearly feel strongly about it and for that reason it will work.

I've met some good/strange/funny people through this forum and been on some lovely rides which I wouldn't have met/done in 'real' life.

Can contribute food to the cause. Beans gets way boring after a while.

Good luck with this David, you deserve for it to work....looks how things have moved on since 2007 and how influential LFGSS has been. Brave move.....go for it!

down for shares/bonds/wahtevs - good luck VB

More power to you DK.

I hope you achieve all that you set out to achieve. The community that you have created here owes you a lot.

Good luck David, wish you all the best on your new adventure!

all the best on the step David. ^^+1

VB

This is a bold brave and brilliant move and one that you probably should have taken a while ago.

Now you can at last gain from all the work you have done and intellectual property you have created.

Brought this thread back to mind:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread12690.html#post373764

Fantastic, good luck!

As an alternative to shares/ bonds etc have you considered getting microloans from Kiva?

Not sure if you'd qualify or not, but might be worth considering.

Best of luck! Fair play for getting past the fear and just making a go of it!

More power to you DK.

I hope you achieve all that you set out to achieve. The community that you have created here owes you a lot.

^This.

Also, I know it sounds naff, but would you consider doing a night at a pub where you put together some kind of presentation that explains to the confused idiots out there what all this will mean?

Best of luck with it! Onward and Upwards!

That's a good idea...^
You could use wiganwill as you comprehension barometer david.
Set him a few simple questions after your presentation.
Should help with marketing your concept to other non-techies

^This.

Also, I know it sounds naff, but would you consider doing a night at a pub where you put together some kind of presentation that explains to the confused idiots out there what all this will mean?

Best of luck with it! Onward and Upwards!

Yes! Love the idea, and when it makes sense I think in fact that we should do that. I'll introduce you to the team, and the plan, and basically we can hang out and you get to criticise us early to help keep us on the right path.

As for bonds... we are looking for investors, but serious ones capable of funding a couple of years for a decent team. The scope is beyond that of a cycling forum, so this isn't about turning LFGSS into a shared ownership thing, it's about building a company that solves the problems that online communities have... that's coming from an LFGSS perspective, and delivering right back to LFGSS, but in all honesty we're thinking very big... ALL online communities.

What I'm trying to say is: If anyone imagines that a bond/share could purchased, it's more that the shares in the company represent a share of a company hosting thousands of communities. So you'd be buying into golf forums, fishing forums, knitting forums, little village forums. Not just LFGSS.

As an early adopter of the platform LFGSS get all the focus, our problems get solved first and we get the greatest ability to steer direction. Eventually though, and hopefully, LFGSS will be just one of many communities in a large network of interest based communities.