Author Archives: Rakesh Agrawal

About Rakesh Agrawal

Rakesh Agrawal is a 0-1 product leader. Ex-Amazon, Ex-Microsoft, as well as a number of startups. He tweets at @rakeshsfnyc

PR tip: Don’t do this

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Don’t cold email reporters when you are drunk. From an email I received last night: We’re 2 weeks from launch. Our inaugural trip to SF as a company runs this Monday (7a virgin air from IAD) through Thursday, for the … Continue reading →

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Lunch with Rocky – March

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been doing random meals with people for the last couple of months and it’s been a lot of fun. The next one will be lunch in Palo Alto on March 14. If you’re interested in attending, email redesign@agrawals.org. Please tell me … Continue reading →

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First fitbit walk on March 1 in San Francisco

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Join me an Jon Sterling tomorrow, March 1 at 11 a.m. in Union Square. We’ll be walking from Union Square to Coit Tower and back. Rain or shine. Please tweet at me so we know to expect you. No fitbit … Continue reading →

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The story behind rakeshlobster

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I get this question a lot — “Where does rakeshlobster come from?” I was drinking with a bunch of friends at a bar in Milwaukee (I think it was the Safe House) when the B-52’s song “Rock Lobster” came on. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

How small businesses should use Yelp

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Although I’ve strongly criticized Yelp‘s business model in recent weeks, Yelp is an incredibly important platform for small businesses to be aware of and engage with. And unlike Groupon, which has almost no redeeming value, Yelp has created a valuable consumer … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, local search, yellow pages, yelp | 4 Comments

Yelp advertiser agreement

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

This is a Yelp advertiser agreement that I received from a source. I’ve removed elements that might identify the source or the salesperson. ADVERTISING TERMS AND CONDITIONS AD IMPRESSIONS PROGRAM AND ENHANCED PROFILE PROGRAM These Advertising Terms and Conditions (the … Continue reading →

Posted in yelp | 21 Comments

Breakfast with Rocky – February

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I had so much fun the last time I organized an ad hoc breakfast. I met some interesting people. The next breakfast will be in San Francisco at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, February 17. If you’re interested in attending, email … Continue reading →

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Why Facebook investors should be concerned about international growth

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

In the short-term, much of Facebook’s user growth will come from international markets. Unfortunately, that’s not where the money is. Based on my analysis of Facebook’s S-1, Facebook generated $13.99 in revenue for each U.S. user and $2.81 for foreign … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook | 1 Comment

Facebook has 100 million more U.S. users than Google did at IPO

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

In December, Facebook had more than 100 million more unique users than Google did when it went public in August 2004. In December 2011, Facebook had 162.5 million unique users in the United States. In August 2004, Google had 61.9 … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, google | 2 Comments

Twitter and Google are both responsible for you not being able to search tweets

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Chris Dixon ignited a firestorm on his blog when he said it was Twitter’s fault that Google doesn’t index tweets. It’s the fault of both parties, really. Neither has the moral high ground. Twitter does not block Google from crawling … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, google, search, twitter | 4 Comments