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ClipMarks - Just The Best Parts of the Web
By Rob | March 23, 2007
ClipMarks is a company I first stumbled across when I met Eric Skiff at SXSW. I love the idea - to just clip and save part of a web page instead of the entire thing - so I was excited for the chance to interview CEO Eric Goldstein. Here’s the best stuff from our Q&A.
1. You seem to have a grand vision that Clipmarks can make the world a better place. Was this your approach from the beginning, or was it more pragmatic than that?I’d say it was more pragmatic at first. The idea for Clipmarks stemmed from the need to easily save or share specific information I found on the web instead of bookmarking entire pages. I often found myself reading things on the web and wishing there was an easy way to capture just the bits that really mattered to me. For example, if there was a great paragraph or quote buried within a large article, I wanted an easy way to capture that specific element. All too often I ended up bookmarking pages only to later find myself deleting most of them because I couldn’t remember why I bookmarked them in the first place. With Clipmarks, that never happens because I have the specific content that mattered to me and a link to the page from where it came.
My belief that Clipmarks could help make the world a better place developed later, as I watched the user community on our web site grow. I started to realize that I was learning about all sorts of topics that I never had time for, thanks to other users who were posting clips about all sorts of interesting things. The key difference between Clipmarks and other socially driven news sites comes from the small size of each clip. Because of that, people are posting only the most interesting bits of information, making it possible to take in more information about a wide variety of topics in less time than if you were trying to read entire articles. I think that many of us are curious about all sorts of things that we just don’t have time to read up on. But if other people clip the most interesting pieces of information about those topics, then we can consume those clips pretty easily. So, the net effect is that I have learned so many interesting things about topics such as global warming, Buddhism, the brain, being a parent, the value of a good night’s sleep, etc.
Quite honestly, I think that my awareness and understanding of these issues has had a positive impact on me as an individual. I am definitely more open minded and less quick to be judgmental as a result of the diversity of information I’ve been able to consume on Clipmarks. So, if that’s how I’ve been affected, I can only hope and assume that others are similarly affected. It’s often said that knowledge is power. In my opinion, Clipmarks makes it easier and more fun to become more knowledgeable. So, if lots of people end up having this experience, I’d say that it is possible for Clipmarks to have a positive impact on the world.
2. How long did it take from the conception of the idea until the time you launched publicly?
Well, before we launched Clipmarks, we created something called Amplify. It was kind of like Clipmarks on steroids. An overly feature-rich, fairly complicated solution to the problem of managing information found within web pages. So, in the spring of 2005 we had a long discussion about how to create a more effective solution that people could more easily embrace as part of their online behavior. The result of that discussion was Clipmarks. We released an initial version in the fall of 2005, but it took us more than a year from that time to get it to a place with which we were really comfortable. Just a few weeks ago we released Clipmarks 2.0, which is, in my opinion, the first time that the product lives up to the potential of the vision. So, I guess you could say that it took one failed attempt (Amplify) and then about a year and half to get Clipmarks to a place that we’re very comfortable. That being said, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make it better.
3. What are the pros and cons of being in New York, as opposed to Silicon Valley?
Let’s start with the cons. Not being in Silicon Valley hurts because we’re not able to easily network with the “right” people. Let’s face it - the Valley is where much of the action is. I’ve made a number of trips out there over the past few months, and each time I’m able to meet with more people in a couple of days than I do each month in New York. Whether it’s potential investors, partners, members of the media, thought leaders, etc., most of them are out there. Not being able to easily spend time with them has probably hurt our ability to more quickly gain a higher profile.
The most important pro is that being in New York makes it easy to focus all our attention on product development. Because there aren’t nearly as many meetings to be had or events to attend as there likely would be if were in Silicon Valley, we’re able to just hunker down and apply all our energy towards making Clipmarks a better product and service.
4. Can you comment on your funding situation?
Sure. We’re privately funded by a number of individuals. We have recently begun to explore some relationships with venture capitalists, but nothing yet has come about on we’re ready to move forward. Perhaps over the next few months we’ll make a move in that direction, but right now, I’m not sure how that will play out.
5. I see from one of your clips that you work 25 hours a day. Any chance you will teach that skill to other CEOs? I think there is a big market for it.
Well, that’s a tough one. I guess the first is necessity. If you’ve got too much funding (whatever that means), then it’s easy to just hire more people to do the work so you don’t have to. But we have always stayed lean, so if we don’t do it, nobody will. Therefore, if we want Clipmarks to stay around and succeed, we have no choice but to get it done ourselves. If that means working 25 hours per day, so be it.
In all candor, it’s not something I would recommend. I’ve learned the hard way that you have to find a balance that allows room for work, family, friends, hobbies and some relaxation. That’s something I need to do better.
Outside the Valley Score
Location: New York = 1
Founders: First Time Entrepreneurs (sort of) = 2
Technology: Existing technologies = 2
Funding: Local Angels = 2
Total = 7 - Proof that good ideas and competitive startups don’t need to originate in the valley.
Topics: Startups, East Coast |
