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The Case of the Missing Stars: Why a Startup Community Can Thrive Nonetheless

By Alain Raynaud on November 15th, 2009

If you are like me, you like the new startup community formed at OnStartups.com. Lots of questions from people looking into creating or advancing their startup, and lots of good answers.

However, a promise from Dharmesh, the founder, was that “startup stars” would participate:

I have a long list of exceptional entrepreneurs I know well enough to arm-twist into participating in the community. Here’s a sample (in no specific order):

1. Adam Smith, Xobni
2. Drew Houston, DropBox
3. Jay Meattle, Shareaholic
4. Mike McDerment, FreshBooks
5. Neil Davidson, RedGate Software, Business of Software
6. Jeff Bennett, NameMedia
7. Brian Shin, Visible Measures
8. Sachin Agarwal, Posterous
9. Peldi Guilizonni, Balsamiq
10. David Cancel, Compete.com, Performable
11. Brian Halligan, HubSpot
12. Alexis Ohanian, Reddit
13. Andy Payne, angel investor
14. Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz
15. Don Dodge, Microsoft
16. Nivi, VentureHacks

The site was launched one month ago now. Where are the stars? I looked up the user accounts and tried to figure it out:

1. Adam Smith: 2 answers
2. Drew Houston: not found
3. Jay Meattle: 7 answers
4. Mike McDerment: not found (and no Mike with significant contributions)
5. Neil Davidson: 42 answers
6. Jeff Bennett: not found (there is a different Jeff who is a good contributor though)
7. Brian Shin: not found (and the Brians are like the Mikes, no significant contributions)
8. Sachin Agarwal: not found
9. Peldi Guilizonni: 7 answers (all on the first day – deserves extra points for trying)
10. David Cancel: 1 answer (on the first day)
11. Brian Halligan: another Brian
12. Alexis Ohanian: not found
13. Andy Payne: not found (and Andys can join the Brians and the Mikes)
14. Rand Fishkin: 13 answers
15. Don Dodge: not found (but understandable considering his latest adventures)
16. Nivi: 1 answer

My point is not to stigmatize those celebrities. They have better things to do. My point is that even if you are not as well connected as Dharmesh, you too can create a successful community. It’s not the stars that made that community, it’s the regular people like you and me.

The top contributors to the site are its two founders. And that’s how it should be: hard work by you the founder. That’s why I love the Internet, the great equalizer. You control your own destiny.