Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am very curious about the history of the SuN community....  How did the community come to be?  How long has it been here?  Who were the first members?  What initial topics drove the discussion.

 

 http://www.startupnation.com/pages/about/aboutJR.asp  This link should give you good insight. Welcome!

I think he was saying history of the community ...

I don`t know. Ask someone with a whole mess of activity points, like CraigL. He`s been here for a while.

I just joined on a few months ago.

To be really brief, it started as a radio show in Detroit on WJR.
My guess this is where they may have met Joel .. He has a radio background.  The show was accepted by other stations across the country. I remember them telling us the new cities that were being added every couple of months. At the time i was able to stream the show live in California. Play on demand type audio was still a very new thing at the time. Naturally, they started a web site. In those days it was mostly a static site. It talked a little bit about the guests on the show, how-to topics, and the 10 steps.  They then asked us listeners to sign up for their newsletter. If i remember, the newsletter was similar to todays ... short articles, always encouraging you to re-visit the  web site.
After several years of radio expansion I assume there was a large infusion of capital. At that time their book went on sale. Then one day they e-mailed all us newsletter people and said "Hey ... join the community". (Spring of 06)  It was in Beta at that time. There wasn`t even categories for topics. If i remember, it was just one category. Some key members have stayed on, some have disappeared .... Jonese, for example was one of the key fathers of the forum.

One of the strange things I noticed is that in the beginning almost no one used a `head shot` for an avatar, and slowly that changed to the norm ... not sure what that means. Maybe people were just clipping a picture of their dog and winging it.  The reason my  tag line says (not Sloan) ... its because Jeff Sloan did not have a login picked, so some other guy signed up as `Jeff`, and then things got real confusing. In the end Jeff S. got his Login after some behind the scenes negotiations.

Guys, let us know if i got any of this story wrong

The forum started like any other web forum. The Sloan brothers wanted to have a way to build visibility for the site.

They initiated the forum with significant modifications, to tailor it to their own desires and design. There already were a number of people visiting the site for advice on how to build a new business, and they emailed those folks that the forums would be a new feature.

At the very start, there were invitiations to post topics related to the whole idea of being an entrepreneur. It quickly began to grow, and Joel`s activity helped sustain the interest and excitement. Podcasts, interviews, and so forth, generated activity. Rich and Jeff Sloan have walked the walk, as well, and aren`t just academic professors talking about theoretical business. Their active participation in the forums is another explicit factor in the growth.

But in my opinion, it`s been the ongoing self-discipline of the entire community to hold the discussions to business-oriented topics that`s kept the ball rolling.

I`m not at all an expert, nor a historian, but that`s my understanding of how the community got started. Most likely, though, it`s because "it`s an idea whose time has come." The "cottage industry" is growing exposively, and where else would people go for this kind of forum?

CraigL,
SUN goes way back... I was a member way before they even had the forum. The forum came into existence March or  April of last  year I believe. But  before that  all you had was a Login Screen with Folder type settings. you would click on them and then get your information. There was no Market Place, no Community Forum..
All this is brand new.
As far as I can think I registered with SUN Back in March 2003 or earlier.
SUN has come along way. I still remember when there was only a few sign ups, some of the first members are: ScrapbookKim, iouone2, entreprenerd, scrappy, twc (paul), Terry McCahill, Zman, Rose, and a few other`s that I forgot.
But yeah it was a small community.. Now it`s huge. I used to like it more when they had the ratings.


-------------------------

Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

first, let me say that it`s pretty incredible you folks know this much about StartupNation. i guess i should stop being surprised and just accept the fact that we have some incredibly dedicated and long-standing members who really care what goes on here and what HAS gone on here.

in the new site that`s launching later this week, our ABOUT page will have a much better snapshot of SUN`s history. i hope that will be helpful. much of what`s been said so far is true, some is not, but generally, i can tell you that when jeff and i started SUN, it was the outgrowth YEARS of wishing we had access to a comprehensive resource to help us succeed. this is our stab at just that. more to come later this week. thanks for the interest.



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Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

You go, Rich! Weave a little tale for us ...

I think the site demonstrates the best use of the Web as a consolidation of information. But what makes SuN really different, and I think a particular success, is that it comes out of Rich and Jeff`s success as entrepreneurs.

Today`s cultural climate seems to lean in favor of explaining how it`s impossible to do just about anything creative. There`s that stupid expressions, "Oh yeah, if you`re so smart....how come you`re not rich?"

Startup Nation takes care of both arguments simply by its existence. What better possible argument against, "It can`t be done" than the fact that it HAS been done? Then, adding to it, at least one Sloan brother can also say, "I`m Rich, so I must be smart!"

There are plenty of sites that try to consolidate information for how a small business startup should or could do stuff. SCORE is one such place, where retired executives try to pass on their experience. But many of those sites tend to be more theoretical, or academic. They`re sometimes run by groups of people, or by those leaning toward corporate or enterprise knowledge.

This site could (and does) say that it`s been created by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. And that brings a whole bunch of credibility! :-)