Bought it back :)
That's awesome! I'm sure most of us would be interested in this story.
Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
21–30 of 93 posts
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#22I played professional poker for 3-4 years after selling my first startup in 2007. In hindsight I should have jumped straight back into tech, but I was seriously burned out and the poker monies was good.
>The poker monies was good. Would you mind sharing round figures? I've always wondered how much pro poker players that don't have endorsements etc. actually manage to scrape away from the game after rake, travel expenses, leaks (pit games), etc.
I made 90% of my winnings online, and treated live tournies and cash games as kind of a break from my real job. I was a heads up specialist (we used to be referred in a derogatory sense as "bum-hunters") who could enjoy basically variance-free winnings if you were table selecting well enough. So my winnings were comfortably in the 6 figures each year pre-tax, until Black Friday hit and it all came crashing down.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
>The poker monies was good. Would you mind sharing round figures? I've always wondered how much pro poker players that don't have endorsements etc. actually manage to scrape away from the game after rake, travel expenses, leaks (pit games), etc.
I made 90% of my winnings online, and treated live tournies and cash games as kind of a break from my real job. I was a heads up specialist (we used to be referred in a derogatory sense as "bum-hunters") who could enjoy basically variance-free winnings if you were table selecting well enough. So my winnings were comfortably in the 6 figures each year pre-tax, until Black Friday hit and it all came crashing down.
If (like me) you don't know anything about the (online) poker scene, "Black Friday" here is likely a reference to United States v. Scheinberg [1], a federal criminal case against the founders of some major online poker sites.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I made 90% of my winnings online, and treated live tournies and cash games as kind of a break from my real job. I was a heads up specialist (we used to be referred in a derogatory sense as "bum-hunters") who could enjoy basically variance-free winnings if you were table selecting well enough. So my winnings were comfortably in the 6 figures each year pre-tax, until Black Friday hit and it all came crashing down.
If (like me) you don't know anything about the (online) poker scene, "Black Friday" here is likely a reference to United States v. Scheinberg [1], a federal criminal case against the founders of some major online poker sites. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg
out of interest, do the people of the usa generally agree that gambling like this should still be illegal (especially when most other countries allow it?).
i'm in the uk and gambling is allowed.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#25Still working on it post-sale, but with more resources at my disposal and a sturdy safety net to prevent abject failure due to lack of resources.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#26I sold my company last year and the deal came with a standard lock-up period. The company that bought us has a really bright future and I'm excited to be part of their journey so I don't mind.
I'm currently working hard on integrating the product into their portfolio. Since they are using our former company as a stepping stone into a new market it's a lot like running a startup again, just with much more capital and people.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#27Exited with two co-founders when our runway ran out. Sold our IP and assets for a modest amount to our main competitor. I realised that (as CTO) the main area I couldn't contribute to was 'the business' of running a successful company. So I decided to remedy that, I joined McKinsey and left last year as an Associate Partner. I'm now the VP Engineering at a fast growing tech company (250+ people) and the impact I can…
Can you explain a little about how your experience at McKinsey has allowed you to have a greater impact? Why did you go back to VP Engineering after having consulting experience? At first though, I would think your technology experience would give you leverage on the business side rather than the other way around.
I'd be very interested in this too, also at what age you did this.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#28The startup nearly killed me but I cashed out ~$3M after taxes. It’s all invested in a portfolio of index funds.
I moved to a ski town in Colorado and ski 3x per week and volunteer teach fitness classes 4x per week.
My wife and I have plenty of time and money so we “live sexy” - basically we’re swingers. We try to hook up with others for a threesome our foursome once a month or so. It is insanely fun but only works because we have a super strong relationship.
Hooking up with others has been great motivation to stay healthy. I live close to the main street in our town and walk to the grocery store most days for lunch. I’m in the best physical shape of my life.
I sleep on average 9 hours a night. If I ever feel at all in a negative mood I take a nap and feel great again.
I stay lightly in the entrepreneurial game but don’t do anything that demands much of my time. Working ~20 hours a week I’ll do ~$100k in profits.
My wife and I talk a lot about how we’re basically cheating at life because money isn’t supposed to buy happiness but in our case it definitely has!
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#29Bought it back :)
I liked it! Mind sharing little details? Seems highly interesting.
Re: Ask HN: Founders who sold their company, what do you do?
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
If (like me) you don't know anything about the (online) poker scene, "Black Friday" here is likely a reference to United States v. Scheinberg [1], a federal criminal case against the founders of some major online poker sites. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg
out of interest, do the people of the usa generally agree that gambling like this should still be illegal (especially when most other countries allow it?). i'm in the uk and gambling is allowed.
In Nevada, gambling has lawful for much longer than I've been alive. And, in most states, it's lawful within certain locations, so most states these days have casinos. I suspect the online gambling thing comes down to taxation rather than mores.