The video covers various startup stories, including a multiplayer coding game, a video site for skill-sharing, a customs brokerage startup, and the challenges of managing a sales team.

• 🎮
  00:00

  A team launched a multiplayer coding game called "Not Just Badges" to teach programming through a game-like approach, but the server struggled to keep up with demand.

  • A team is building a multiplayer programming game for teaching people how to code, where players compete to complete levels and earn points by writing code to kill bad guys.
  • A new coding game called "Not Just Badges" was launched recently, but due to high traffic, the server is struggling to keep up with demand.
  • The company aims to teach programming through a game-like approach, focusing on core programming concepts and gradually increasing in complexity to encourage learning.
  • The speaker discusses the importance of making levels progressively harder in a game to encourage users to learn new skills, but notes that assuming prior knowledge can be a barrier for beta users with no programming background.
  • The speaker discusses a web game where the player controls soldiers and heroes using JavaScript and a targeting strategy for their tiller.
  • Server maxed out at 15,000 people due to unexpected traffic from Reddit, and spinning up more servers was not possible due to lack of proper architecture.
• 🎮
  05:28

  People caused the hug of death on GitHub due to excitement over a new game, while the startup aims to provide qualified developers through coding challenges and recruitment.

  • People who didn't know how to program before or just wanted to play a fun game caused the hug of death, while those who already knew how to program were excited to get on GitHub.
  • The company is planning to open source their project in the next few months to capitalize on interest, but they are still learning about the gaming business and will likely follow industry best practices.
  • Game designers advised to make robots instead of spells as it is more natural for players to control units and easier to understand.
  • The team behind the startup has developed a level editor to turn out three levels a week using live coding drag-and-drop technology, and has been working together for six years.
  • The startup aims to provide qualified developers to companies through coding challenges and recruitment, validated by positive feedback from recruiters and a Y Combinator company.
• 🎥
  10:05

  A video site called Give it 100 allows users to share their daily progress in learning new skills, while a website hosting coding videos plans to use YouTube for marketing.

  • Give it 100 is a video site where users sign up, choose something they want to get better at, and share a video of their progress every day, with the most common use case being learning to dance.
  • The product is still in a closed beta phase and the team is working on improving engagement and adding social sharing features before launching in the next few weeks.
  • A website that hosts videos of people learning to code has about 20-30 unique visitors returning every day and plans to use YouTube as a marketing channel.
  • The website has a gallery of ten-second clips that can be consumed in context and sequence, making it a powerful tool for storytelling.
  • The most popular things for third parties to watch are good stories of people struggling against all odds, such as Phil Libin's 3:00 a.m. moments, rather than just hearing about them.
  • The speaker discusses the popularity of different genres of dance and suggests that documenting a baby's progress in learning to walk could be exciting for parents.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
  16:22

  Being a parent can overwrite recent memories, children videos are popular but not organized, a beatboxer improved with community support, and Flex should avoid over-optimizing too early.

  • Being a parent can cause memories of recent past to be overwritten by memories of the current child.
  • The children category is a compelling one, with implicit sequences in videos, but not organized that way, and users on average upload 18 videos each.
  • A beatboxer showed significant improvement over time with the encouragement of the community.
  • The speaker discusses the option of making videos semi-private on a platform and advises against over-optimizing too early for a startup called Flex.
• 🚢
  19:53

  A new software allows easy import of goods into the US without a customs broker, with licensed customs workers on staff to handle the process.

  • Customs brokers organize and file documents with US Customs to clear imported goods and ensure legal compliance.
  • The company specializes in helping customers file the necessary forms electronically with the government through an online dashboard and collects the required documents for them.
  • A new software allows users to easily import goods into the US without the need for a customs broker, as the company has licensed customs workers on staff to handle the process.
  • The speaker has a waiting list of 300 customers, including the world's top wheel company, but was hesitant to create an energy crisis and is now awaiting a supertanker in San Francisco, having been in the industry for 12 years.
• 💻
  23:06

  A customs brokerage startup created software to clear shipments electronically, replacing the need for local ports, but the government shutdown caused delays.

  • A licensed customs brokerage startup has developed software to clear shipments electronically with customs, which was previously only possible at local ports.
  • Importers and customs brokers have long-standing relationships, but every time a product is imported into the US, it becomes public record and can be accessed through shipping manifests, which are collected and sold by companies like the speaker's previous employer.
  • The speaker has developed a web app with initial functionality and is preparing for their first shipment, but the government shutdown delayed the process.
• 💰
  26:28

  A customs brokerage startup charges a flat rate of $100 for clearance and views brokerage as a way to enter the larger logistics space, with each customer worth around $2-3k per year potentially leading to $3 billion in revenue.

  • The speaker charges a flat rate of $100 for clearance regardless of shipment size, but may charge extra for certain clearances such as FDA, and views brokerage as a way to enter the larger logistics space.
  • Logistics is a 2.3 trillion dollar industry, but it's hard to predict how much profit a customs brokerage startup can make.
  • Each customer is worth around $2-3k per year, and with enough customers, the business could potentially make $3 billion a year.
• 💰
  28:47

  Managing a large sales team can be challenging but it's necessary for making the most money.