I've often wondered this this isn't part of the "foundations" portion that is me... | Hacker News

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		rednaught on July 30, 2011 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Plot thickens in Airbnb vacation rental horror sto... I've often wondered this this isn't part of the "foundations" portion that is mentioned in the description of the YCombinator program. Not only a PR firm as you mentioned but a couple of training sessions in PR AND ethics before launch even happens. A core set of skills and knowledge is more than merely a founder and a great idea these days. I count at least three YCombinator startups that have stumbled severely with PR not once but multiple times: Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB.

skmurphy on July 30, 2011 | [–]

Wakemate, Dropbox and AirBnB have made poor business decisions. It's a PR problem when you explain a good decision poorly.

bgentry on July 30, 2011 | | [–]

Good point! Dropbox has had the same kind of problem dealing with unfavorable coverage.

adharmad on July 30, 2011 | [–]

And Loopt recently, although they handled it pretty well.

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