Comments on: Mahalo Fires Staff; Bad Economy or Bad Business Model at Fault?

By: Ian Bell

Ian Bell — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

You can find a lot of workers overseas that will do data entry for around $7K/yr (that is full-time).

$175K for 25 full timers sounds like a bargain.

Is the economy to blame? Maybe, but digital ad sales are still increasing last time I checked. And advertisers are never afraid to advertise on quality sites. The only thing these start-ups have to fear is running out of money before they get acquired. And less are likely to acquire with dwindling stock prices.

A real business model allows you to weather the storm, a stellar business model gives you a chance to sit back and watch the dirt and grime get washed away.

By: centernetworks

centernetworks — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don't know the exact percentages but I am sure that at least some of the businesses aren't firing staff for the economy.

Where do you get that startups are supposed to grow at 100% year over year?

By: Zee from WeDoCreative

Zee from WeDoCreative — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I really respect Calacanis as an entrepreneur and someone who really speaks from experience & knowledge but I have never for a second thought of Mahalo as a good idea/concept. Anything that laborious in my opinion is just not worth doing – good luck to him but frankly I would probably pull the plug earlier rather than later and/or buy out Kosmix.com .

By: zx

zx — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Great business model – $3000 coffee machine..(ahhh… life at Mahalo)

http://calacanis.com/2007/08/16/life-at-mahalo/

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Going to have a detailed email of what we did and why later today. You can signup for the email at http://www.tinyurl.com/jasonslist

In terms of Manilia we have a small team there doing data entry and clean up type work, Majority of the work is done by folks working from home for $10-12 an hour. That’s really what we did yesterday: focused on the outsourced editorial model that worked so well at Weblogs, Inc. and grew that business into a powerhouse.

Thanks for the kind words during a very difficult time. Also, I wasn’t endorsing Charles’ calling you fat with my tweet, i was just pointing to the cat-fight. As someone who’s been 20 pounds heavier than I am I have sympathy for your weight issues

all the best,

jason

By: Nat

Nat — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jason,

I am a Filipino and i can say, giving those individual (Jobs) a little help for their everyday need to support their family is something mean a lot to them. The $12-$13 dollars is small for us here but over there in the philippines mean a lot. Keep up the goodwork.

Nat

By: Alexander Torrenegra

Alexander Torrenegra — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hi Allen!

Startups that fail, as well as many other companies, like to blame the economy. In my opinion, most of the times, the problem is not the economy but a) the business model or b) the management.

Startups are supposed to grow very quickly: 100%+ every year. In contrast, a fast-growing economy grows at 10% (China), while an economy in recession may have a small negative growth (2%?). If a startup is supposed to grow at 80% per year during the first few years, a bad economy, in most cases, will only slow it down to a 70% growth per year.

Companies like LendingClub may blame their failure (if they fail) on the economy. On the other hand, Yahoo! (poor management) and Mahalo (not-so-good business model?) can’t and shouldn’t blame it.