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How to start a company with no free time

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Re: How to start a company with no free time

#111

Post by logicallee »

_faster_ wrote: post #82
logicallee wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we should be respectful of the audience that this blog post is and isn't for -- where it says that VC's can be "quite persistent" asking for coffees, this kind of shows you the kind of audience this is written for. And yes, if you're the kind of person that in the words of the article: >I would say “Hey, during these next couple months it will be very tough for me to meet in person, but I’d love to still help…

Respectful? Give me a break, you've been successfully gas-lighted. >where it says that VC's can be "quite persistent" asking for coffees Lets be pragmatic. How many VC's are we talk about, 5? 10? Can we not read a little bit of a veiled humble brag into this point on the fact that the number isn't mentioned and that if the number is 5 that the author couldn't spare 5 hours over "multi months" to meet with someone sig…

I'm sorry I didn't see your reply sooner. if you see this in time to edit, please tone it down by two notches, come on. The OP (of the article) is here answering questions, and we're one community. you yourself are the article author in a few years if you want to be.

You know "what does this person do" because they are up-front about it: what they do is "Winnie, helping parents navigate the world with their children." Apparently within their network people really want to do that, and lots of VC's have kids, etc. (Many of the most famous ones do, often in the same age bracket.)

So welcome to our community, but please be a civil member in line with our rules. There's no distinction here between people. you can talk to VC's. you can literally talk to the blog author, they're here answering questions. people on this forum aren't born into wealth or the like (arguably for the most part they have had access to superlative education, but on the other hand much of it is self-taught.)

so try to be civil :)

I also share your frustration and agree:

> when every one of the most talented engineers that I know has to hustle to get these sorts of doors opened?

what is likely also at play (though the author can clarify for us) is their past enterprises or other businesses they had similar roles in. i.e. their track record.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#112

Post by logicallee »

smustin wrote: post #80
logicallee wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we should be respectful of the audience that this blog post is and isn't for -- where it says that VC's can be "quite persistent" asking for coffees, this kind of shows you the kind of audience this is written for. And yes, if you're the kind of person that in the words of the article: >I would say “Hey, during these next couple months it will be very tough for me to meet in person, but I’d love to still help…

To be clear, I didn't pay people in the beginning. I had a cofounder and an advisor and we all coded and worked FOR FREE before we raised money.

thanks for being here to answer questions! for the VC who reached out to you via email, who you deferred and then ended up participating in your round - did you have a past relationship with them? from where? where did they hear about you from, if you know?

I think we're trying to get a sense of what it takes to 'poop rainbows' (as my cousin comment said) and have VC's ask you to tell them when they can write their check :)

All information here is appreciated. We all aspire to be you!

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#113

Post by eximius »

lubujackson wrote: post #12

After having a baby I struggled to switch from marathon coding sessions to trying to punch out code in hour, half hour or even 10 minute increments. The best advice is what she said - plan and divide tasks ruthlessly. There's always bits of time to work on your task list on your phone or flesh out a bit of meta-code in your to-do list, and now I'm able to do the brunt of the "thinking" work in the shower or wherever,…

What if I actively don't want to think about my code in the shower? Work/life balance and all that jazz.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#114

Post by m4x »

civilian wrote: post #5

I have a related question for the author or anyone: How do you keep your energy up to code in the evenings on your own project, after a full day of coding at the office?

Often, when I'm struggling to find energy for after hours projects, I find that it's because I'm neglecting ancillary tasks such as eating nutritious meals, exercising and giving my brain down time (usually these can be combined by cycling etc), and planning my work in advance so that the barrier to start each day is low. Other times I'm overwhelmed by stress or sheer number of tasks (which can again be mitigated with more planning)

A sibling comment says that lack of energy indicates low motivation and that you should find a new project. With due respect to the commenter, this is not useful advice. If you are interested in completing a project, you have enough motivation to do so - what you may not have is the right environment around you. So identify what's stopping you from working, and get rid of those road blocks. Some times they aren't obvious and can take some time to identify, but keep paying attention and eventually you will spot them.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#115

Post by nols »

eximius wrote: post #113
lubujackson wrote: post #12

After having a baby I struggled to switch from marathon coding sessions to trying to punch out code in hour, half hour or even 10 minute increments. The best advice is what she said - plan and divide tasks ruthlessly. There's always bits of time to work on your task list on your phone or flesh out a bit of meta-code in your to-do list, and now I'm able to do the brunt of the "thinking" work in the shower or wherever,…

What if I actively don't want to think about my code in the shower? Work/life balance and all that jazz.

Then don't. There are only so many hours in the day, this is about fitting as much as possible into them. If you want to take a break during your shower, or go to get coffee with friends every day, that's cool, but there are people with many things going on and they enjoy doing it all. To each their own.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#117

Post by nols »

ryandrake wrote: post #29
ggregoire wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by the points 1 and 3. I started a company 2 months ago as solo founder and I work everyday on the product (a SaaS for small/mid companies). I really have no free time to do marketing yet or promote my idea. I just focus on having a MVP. 1. "Decline invitations from VCs to drink a coffee" I've never received any attention from a VC, like probably most founders when they started their first company. It s…

Yea, kind of bizarre, especially as point #1. How would a VC even know you're working on a start-up? I also don't get random E-mails from VCs asking me whether I am working on a start-up and if so would I like to drink a beverage. Is this really a common problem for people?

She's a lot more popular than your average person, and more tied into SV than most. Her resume includes Google, Youtube, Twitter, and Postmates before founding her own company, plus she's got 35K followers on Twitter and had a TechCrunch article written about the startup. I think a lot of what she wrote is applicable but she also moves in spheres the average person doesn't.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#118

Post by ggregoire »

nols wrote: post #117
ryandrake wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, kind of bizarre, especially as point #1. How would a VC even know you're working on a start-up? I also don't get random E-mails from VCs asking me whether I am working on a start-up and if so would I like to drink a beverage. Is this really a common problem for people?

She's a lot more popular than your average person, and more tied into SV than most. Her resume includes Google, Youtube, Twitter, and Postmates before founding her own company, plus she's got 35K followers on Twitter and had a TechCrunch article written about the startup. I think a lot of what she wrote is applicable but she also moves in spheres the average person doesn't.

Thank you for the clarification. It makes more sense in this context.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#119

Post by rpedela »

ggregoire wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by the points 1 and 3. I started a company 2 months ago as solo founder and I work everyday on the product (a SaaS for small/mid companies). I really have no free time to do marketing yet or promote my idea. I just focus on having a MVP. 1. "Decline invitations from VCs to drink a coffee" I've never received any attention from a VC, like probably most founders when they started their first company. It s…

For #1, I get random emails now and then from various equity firms including VC. If your startup is listed on AngelList, Crunchbase, or other startup lists then you will likely get them. Or you are in the news for some reason like winning a competition. BTW I am not in SV and not well connected.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#120

Post by ladytron »

BadCookie wrote: post #103
ladytron wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who are you to judge her priorities? Watching an infant can be brain numbingly tedious, and so can sitting in waiting rooms for hours at a medical office. Maybe the startup gives her husband a positive distraction to focus on instead of his treatment and it gives them something good to talk about. You have no idea. A startup might be the perfect antidote to balance out her other duties to her family. Remember that al…

Obviously, she can do what she wants with her life, but by writing about her decisions, she has invited people to comment on her experiences. I've dealt with a newborn. It is soooo stressful and exhausting. I have dealt with serious health problems. Even more stressful. I have almost a decade of startup experience (though not as a founder). Also stressful. For 99.9% of people, and maybe more, combining the three is a…

This post is written for that .1% then, and probably not for you.

Founders are very different people, with very different energy levels and risk profiles than the general population, or even the population of startup employees.

Some of us CAN have it all, and there are not always trade offs for us compared to the "norm".

For example, some can excel in multiple college varsity sports while holding a 4.0 in EE, when most college students play club ball and feel overwhelmed getting their homework done.

I would like you to entertain the thought that others may have 10x more capacity than yourself.

My goodness, let Hacker News be at least one place where unique women feel free to be honest about their drive, ambition, and productivity.

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