Source? Most tech companies I've worked at here in the Bay Area have either a few contracted engineers in developing countries for a reduced rate, or contact with foreign firms that have very low rates. It's a global market, man.

There is a difference between contracting work offshore (which can be done for pennies) to bringing contractors here (there are specific rules; the upshot of which means that they are not as cheap as one might imagine).

It is incredibly unlikely a subtle tweak in the image improved anything, unless performance was terrible before. No?

What's your role gonna be? Will you have a Founder title? That will completely inform the answer. Joining as a co-founder or President? Go big, 5-10%. An exec? Aim for 3-8%. An Engineer or other role? 1-3%.

And of course, always ask for more than the above at the outset. It's a negotiation.

I won't be joining as a co-founder, and the role i'm gonna play in the company is more on the engineering / product side.

So i'm guessing somewhere around the 5% region would be fair?

You would be blessed to get 5%! Standard from what I see in early stage startups in Silicon Valley... I'd shoot for 1%, and be happy with 0.5%. Dirty secret of the Valley: You only get rich if you are a co-founder, or join the next Google.

Ah, pardon my naivety. Well, I'll look at the figures you provided then. Thanks!

5% for an engineering guy? How many employees could they hire before they run out of shares?

Thanks for the reminder, was too naive!

Just the built-in Google Chat (we use Gmail to power our email).

No plans currently. Do you think that would help with someone buying a digital Valentines? Please lemme know if you have any suggestions of relevant charities!

You want people to pay $10 for nothing in return. Usually that sort of thing is reserved for charities. I wouldn't buy one of these just to line your pockets. I would buy one to support a cause I believe in assuming enough of the money went to said cause.

I feel like the fact that '1 million' is in your name says a lot about why you did this.

Thanks for the feedback! And yup, we're being up front with it all (re: name, etc.). Seems like charity path might be the best way to try something like this (and do some good in the world).

Why change the plan now based on a few comments? The point was to make money. The problems I see are:

* You launched too late. You have 9 days for this to build traction and then you have to wait until next year. * You're charging to much for 1x1 * The price seems to be the same for all squares no matter where they are * You have to scroll to see some squares * You should have given away a lot of free squares so it wouldn't just look empty

For something like this I think you need a lot of marketing. Here is how I would have gotten word out for cheap:

* Give free squares to facebook fan pages (ideally fans of people like Bieber, Twilight, 1D, etc) in exchange for posting the link * Do a competition on a large facebook fan page to give away free squares * When a valentine pic is added, an email is sent to the valetine telling them someone has added their pic and to come back on valentines day to see a roll-over note * Integrate Facebook so that you get people updating Facebook when they add someone

Hey these are awesome ideas! Haven't changed the plan yet, still noodling over it all. I agree with your points. We're treating this as more of a prototype / MVP / test the waters. I think we're going to proceed with the free plan (similar to your idea), and in meantime (in the SHORT meantime) reach out to charities and some big stars to see about seeding / cross promotion.

Cool, it sounds like you're taking the right approach. You can use what you learn for next valentines day. You could even do it for Xmas (leave a present under the tree for someone you love)

That's the plan! We're having fun and learning. And Mother's Day is also right around the corner...

Looks like you have a competitor:

http://www.lidl-love-lock.com

Alright free squares implemented at www.1millionvalentines.com. We're looking at misc. non-profit partners as well. Thanks again. Go grab one :)

You could pick something topical, maybe heart disease or eliminating conflict diamonds :)

Clever. I like that. Heart Disease seems especially applicable. Thanks!

Good questions / concerns. Yup scrolling works, but as well, if one shares a specific Valentine, then it will appear auto-popped / enlarged.

As for the value, the thinking is this is a public showing of one's affection, and real estate is limited / disappearing.

Thank you that's helpful! And totally makes sense.

We've found it's easiest to just ask for email adress twice in the initial form (and try to prevent pasting for the second field). Works pretty darn well. Email confirmation is a hassle to build and often for users to act on, from our experience.

Nice site! The content shines through, so I immediately got excited. Two suggestions... On the movie detail page, please put the trailer above the fold. That's what I came for. As well, possible to include links to Netflix so I can stream/order it?

Thanks for the suggestions. We'll add links to Netflix. Putting the trailer above the fold is something we can consider if many people will want that.

I see a link. Maybe they just added it? Or maybe you're saying the linked article is not the O.G. source.