Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Greg

blog.samaltman.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 103 posts

Re: Greg

#31

Post by gdb »

onion2k wrote: post #17
codingdave wrote: post #7

Every success DOES need a guy like Greg. But I really worry about the part where Greg was working on the effort full-time, doing it all while the other guys still worked. When it ends in success, it is a great story. When it ends without success, Greg is the guy who put all his time into it, then ends up with nothing. Greg becomes the warning story. Greg is the guy you need. Not necessarily the guy you want to be.

Greg is the guy you need. Not necessarily the guy you want to be. I don't think that's true. At least at the beginning, a "Greg" will be the person who has all the direct contact with mentors, investors, team, suppliers, and customers. A "Greg" will be the "business face" of things (not necessarily who the public see, but who everyone else sees). That's a very good position to be in when things fail or when the compa…

> Greg is the guy you need. Not necessarily the guy you want to be.

(I am Greg, and am reasonably happy to be me.)

I think this reply is true. But even that aside, the startup philosophy that guides me is variance maximization. So yes, when starting something new and pouring your heart into it, you have a chance of having nothing concrete to show for yourself in a few years. But if you succeed, the magnitude will be much greater, and you'll have been a core force in making that happen.

I worked on a number of startup ideas in college, which never went anywhere. The first company I worked on that had any sort of success was Stripe (which I joined when we were 4 people). I've taken an identical approach (hard work and trying to cover the entire problem surface area) to each organization I've been a part of, and am pretty happy with recommending it as a general strategy.

Re: Greg

#32

Post by throwaway13100 »

cryptarch wrote: post #28
edanm wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whether what you're saying is true or not, do we really need to remember this every single time we read anything he writes? How about we just hear what he has to say and then decide if it's worth listening to? (Besides which, at this stage, whatever his earlier successes or failures, you can hardly say he isn't at least worth listening to based on his experience at YC.)

I don't think GP was relevant or that he's sympathetic, but he did post something mildly interesting I didn't know before; because of this I chose not to vote. I don't think the flagging was proportionate, I'd prefer it to hover around the bottom of the comment section.

> I don't think GP was relevant or that he's sympathetic, but he did post something mildly interesting I didn't know before; because of this I chose not to vote.

Here's the background:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=385178

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3683994

> I don't think the flagging was proportionate, I'd prefer it to hover around the bottom of the comment section.

I spoke ill of Altman, PG's anointed one. I'd be surprised if I were met with anything less.

Re: Greg

#33

Post by 6stringmerc »

This nice summation really reminds me of a quote from Shawshank Redemption which is, I must admit, not the most flattering in a business context:

>I'm a convicted felon who provides sound financial advice - it's a nice pet to have.

The best takeaway for Technical / SV minded folks in this posting is quite clear: The odds of success are greatly enhanced when you have a Top Flight Communicator at your disposal. An ability to "walk amongst the tribes" is very important. It's a lot like getting various human systems into harmony / unison (nerves and cardiovascular for instance).

I can state from first-hand experience with Bids/RFPs for projects worth tens of thousands to billions that the most important person in the room is the Proposal Coordinator and they get the least respect and compensation out of the gate. It's realistically a horribly stressful job that is only rewarding to a very select group of people, one of which happens to be me. I've learned how to herd cats.

If I wanted to be, uh, less generous in my perspective, the Machiavellian perspective is much more clear: "Manipulating people is a profitable enterprise."

That's why I have a photo of Winston Wolf in my peripheral vision every day at work, because his motto makes the most sense in a world plagued by Murphy's Laws...

>My name is Winston Wolf. I solve problems.

Re: Greg

#34

Post by finid »

codingdave wrote: post #7

Every success DOES need a guy like Greg. But I really worry about the part where Greg was working on the effort full-time, doing it all while the other guys still worked. When it ends in success, it is a great story. When it ends without success, Greg is the guy who put all his time into it, then ends up with nothing. Greg becomes the warning story. Greg is the guy you need. Not necessarily the guy you want to be.

But I really worry about the part where Greg was working on the effort full-time, doing it all while the other guys still worked.

Maybe because Greg so loved the idea that compensation didn't not matter to him, just the satisfaction of doing what he loves. He's a champion, and those are the guys you want around you.

And a guy like Greg will always be needed somewhere.

Re: Greg

#36

Post by CPLX »

The moral of the story here, clearly, is that when you're one of a pair of billionaires collectively responsible for some of the most successful entrepreneurship successes in recent history, and you decide to have someone handle logistics for a new venture, make sure they're enthusiastic.

Re: Greg

#37

Post by Thrillington »

cryptarch wrote: post #30
throwaway13100 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That "success" propelled him to countless more, including the presidency of YC. Altman's example demonstrates that success in the startup/VC game has much more to do with luck and connections than merit.

Being highly connected and being capable of utilizing your luck are skills IMO, and I don't understand why you feel the need to speak so spitefully of him.

THANK YOU. Finally someone who realizes luck is just floating around out there equally available to everyone and it's just the people who work hard enough on their bootstraps that see success. Gotcha.

Re: Greg

#38

Post by gdb »

pgroves wrote: post #8

But why does Greg need a cofounder?

(I am Greg.)

Starting something new is incredibly hard. The default is that your company never even forms, and it's on you to overcome the activation energy. I don't think I'd have the mental fortitude to stick that out alone.

In contrast, there's nothing more motivating than working with great people (and it's hard to do better than Ilya, Sam, and Elon). Everyone brings their own core strengths to the table, and if you've picked well your own efforts will be multiplied.

Re: Greg

#39

Post by finid »

MegaButts wrote: post #29
onion2k wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greg is the guy you need. Not necessarily the guy you want to be. I don't think that's true. At least at the beginning, a "Greg" will be the person who has all the direct contact with mentors, investors, team, suppliers, and customers. A "Greg" will be the "business face" of things (not necessarily who the public see, but who everyone else sees). That's a very good position to be in when things fail or when the compa…

So having worked way too hard on my startup only to have it fail, I can somewhat relate to this (I do not pretend to be as amazing as Greg). You're right - after my startup failed people were throwing what were objectively great job offers at me. Even more amazing, many of my investors were encouraging me to start another company and were willing to give me fantastic terms just for agreeing to start a company (entire…

I learned a hell of a lot and I recognize it has opened doors for me, but the real question is what it worth it?

If you learnt even one thing from the effort, then it was worth it. Not every endeavor will bring you financial rewards, at least not directly. If you took on the effort because you loved the idea, rewards will flow via other means.

Post reply on HN