The “You Be the VC 7.1” feature focuses on Quora, an online question-and-answer site that encourages in-depth questions and answers and combines social networking with substantive questions and answers.

Spend some time studying Quora.

Other than the ethical and legal issues that confront all firms, what special issues do you think Quora should be particularly attentive to?

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YOU BE THE VC 7.1 Company: Quora Web: www.quora.com Twitter: quora Facebook: Quora Business Idea: Launch a question-and-answer site on the Internet that encourages in-depth questions and answers and combines social networking with sub- stantive questions and answers. Pitch: There are a number of question-and-answer sites already on the Internet. Examples include Yahoo! Answers, ChaCha.com, and Ask.com. While helpful in some respects, many people shy away from these sites because they often do not include thoughtful and in-depth questions and answers. Quora aims to do just the opposite. It is a forum where in-depth questions can be posed and answered. Its func- tionality encourages the achievement of this goal. Once a question is posed, users vote answers up or down according to how good they are, which pushes the best answers to the top. Few questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. Users are required to register their real e-mail addresses. Quora has had early success attracting very credible people to respond to specific questions. For example, in the fall of 2010 the CEO of Netflix (Reed Hastings) answered a question regarding how much the company spends on postage every year. (You might be interested to know that the answer was between $500 million and $600 million.) Quora further differentiates itself from other question- and-answer sites through its unique social networking features. Users can "follow" topics that interest them, such as cloud computing, business strategy, or books. Whenever the topics the user selects are discussed, the related questions and answers appear on their Quora homepage. Users can also follow people. If someone a user follows posts a question, answers a question, or votes an answer up or down, this activity will show up on the user's Quora homepage. Private messages can also be sent from one Quora user to another. Quora's ultimate goal is for each question-and-answer page to become the most authoritative resource avail- able for someone who wants to know about a specific topic. The added advantage of the question-and- answer format, which isn't possible via Wikipedia or a general Internet search, is that if a user needs additional information on a specific topic, he or she can reach out to the Quora community for the answer. Is there a specific topic or issue about which you really want to have additional information? If so, go to www.quora. com and experience this firm's business model on a personal basis. Q&A: Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm's founders before making your funding decision? What answers would satisfy you? Decision: If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the company's Web site, would you fund this company? Why or why not?