Ruth Ann S. Basnillo

SYSANAL

O0A

James Hong

Cofounder, HOT or NOT

            James Hong launched HOT or NOT together with his friend Jim Young. It was just built for fun wherein the site would let users submit their photos and have others vote on their “hotness” on a scale of 1 to 10.

            This idea just popped up into Hong’s head while looking for a job in 2000, when Jim Young mentioned a girl he met at the party and thought that she was a perfect 10. With that, Hong thought of having a service where people could post their pictures into the system, and the other people could rate them from 1 to 10.

            The first problem their startup addressed was getting rid of the huge bandwidth driven by pictures which took the users 30 seconds to get to the next picture. They also addressed porno issues because of some users submitting naked photos. Another problem they addressed when they started HOT or NOT was the initial name of it which is “Am I Hot?” because they got a cease and desist letter from a site which is also named “Am I Hot.” Good thing it was resolved by letting the latter site keep their name and Hong just rebrand the company to HOT or NOT. The concept about HOT or NOT was totally new and edgy, and no one had ever seen or thought about it anymore.

            People used the service because for guys, looking at hot chicks and scaling them is fun. At the same time, girls also loved looking at handsome guys. Moreover, the idea for dating was a hit because it increased some women’s self-esteem with the idea that dating would suddenly make them hot and cool.

            In the history of the Internet, it had an impact in a way that it used the essence of technology like the Internet to build good relationships between opposite sexes and at the same time, it helped in the improvement and wide knowledge about the Internet.

            What’s unique about this startup is the same service it offers wherein physical appearances of users who submitted their photos will be rated or scaled from 1 to 10 by other users. This startup was    something that was never offered nor done before.

            If I were in the cofounder’s shoes, I would have also not accepted naked photos of users because that will only ruin my business. But then, I would have accepted some acquisition offers because startups like this would not be a hit anymore after some time. If they had accepted one, they’ll have an assurance of big money and they could then proceed to another startup.

            The startup would have been possible in a Third World Country because places in this area already have knowledge about the Internet. The peculiar characteristic that it had was that it was something very worldly. People liked it and that became a hit.

10 THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW:

1. After reading the case study, I learned that HOT or NOT is a site wherein photos submitted by users are scaled from 1 to 10 by other users. Before, I didn’t know anything about HOT or NOT.
2. After reading the case study, I learned that James Hong and Jim Young cofounded HOT or NOT. Before, I didn’t know about them.
3. After reading the case study, I learned that the initial problem of this startup was getting rid of the huge bandwidth driven by the pictures. Before, I didn’t know that this was their initial problem.
4. After reading the case study, I learned that there are also parents who consider and have fun on pornography. Before, I didn’t know that there are some.
5. After reading the case study, I learned that sites that copy other sites’ name are also sued. Before, I didn’t know about this matter.
6. After reading the case study, I learned that this was the first startup that let users vote other users’ pictures. Before, I didn’t know that this was the first.
7. After reading the case study, I learned that dating for a monthly fee was the way they found to generate revenue from the site. Before, I didn’t know that dating via Internet could also be a means of getting revenue.
8. After reading the case study, I learned that Ofoto hosted the photos submitted to HOT or NOT by users. Before, I didn’t know that Ofoto host this site.
9. After reading the case study, I learned that the site was just emailed to Hong’s 40 friends and they got forty thousand hits on the first day of its launch. Before, I thought that it got known through a lot of advertisements before it was totally launched.
10. After reading the case study, I learned that HOT or NOT remains to be a stand-alone company despite many acquisition offers. Before, I thought that it’s also acquired already.