If you haven't done so, spend a couple weeks on a beach (or something else relaxing). Second, you've got that breadth of knowledge, but now you want some depth. Pick something, even if that means you throw a dart at a wall, and try getting a job doing that. Not a startup job, but a regular, 9-5, normal company job. Odds are, that will let you kinda focus on something. If that doesn't work out, go back to the dartboard, and try again.
Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
31–40 of 198 posts
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#32Have you thought about doing some freelance work with other start ups? Maybe get a feel for different industries to see which one peaks your interest? Could be a great way to network and learn other industries!
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#33I had a somewhat similar situation at a similar age though the industry and specifics were different. I moved to Yunnan province in China, taught myself to draw with a pencil and paper. Then bought a Wacom Bamboo tablet and a copy of Adobe Flash and started learning how to make digital art and web games. After that, I moved to California learned how to code at a professional level and worked at some tech companies in the bay area.
I don't think that it's been a net financial win (yet), but I really think it was worth it to experience other parts of life that I'd been ignoring when I had my nose to the grindstone and had tunnel-vision induced by that business. If anything, it would have been better to branched out sooner!
If you truly feel like a failure, try moving abroad for a few months. Meet and talk with people you never would have in your own country. See how they see life. Listen to their stories and their goals. You might be surprised to find that you're not the failure you thought. You might also discover opportunities to take advantage of your skills that you had never considered before.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#34Well, my latest startup failure left me with around $50k personal debt, some legal pursuits, expired residence visa in the country I lived in, and a 3 months old baby daughter to care and provide for. And right, no job and no upcoming interviews. I am sorry for a probably uninvited comparison — I am not implying that my situation is harder, and I know that burnout is a serious shit. It takes months to recover. Some t…
> Well, my latest startup failure left me with around $50k personal debt, some legal pursuits, expired residence visa in the country I lived in, and a 3 months old baby daughter to care and provide for. I'm having trouble imagining a scenario where the last item is really a proximate consequence of the startup failure (rather than a bit of context that makes the problems that are such consequences more acute.)
> I'm having trouble imagining a scenario where the last item is really a proximate consequence of the startup failure
That's pretty easy for me. Let me try to give an example: start-ups are really hard on relationships, starts-ups that are failing and that you are trying to save doubly so. There is a small chance that that led to relationship issues which in turn led to OP now is a single parent.
There are lots of other explanations besides.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#35This is very common in the industry, common enough to be predictable. Congratulations on your buy out. Take some well earned time off. Maybe do a bit of traveling. During this time you might come up with your next big idea, or be in the space to do so.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#36If common stock is worth anything - you may want to talk to a personal lawyer about whether you qualify for double-trigger acceleration. This could be a good thing.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#37Well, my latest startup failure left me with around $50k personal debt, some legal pursuits, expired residence visa in the country I lived in, and a 3 months old baby daughter to care and provide for. And right, no job and no upcoming interviews. I am sorry for a probably uninvited comparison — I am not implying that my situation is harder, and I know that burnout is a serious shit. It takes months to recover. Some t…
> Well, my latest startup failure left me with around $50k personal debt, some legal pursuits, expired residence visa in the country I lived in, and a 3 months old baby daughter to care and provide for. I'm having trouble imagining a scenario where the last item is really a proximate consequence of the startup failure (rather than a bit of context that makes the problems that are such consequences more acute.)
probably for the same reason there were so many summer 2009 babies in apartment buildings full of wall st types. :)
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#38Well, my latest startup failure left me with around $50k personal debt, some legal pursuits, expired residence visa in the country I lived in, and a 3 months old baby daughter to care and provide for. And right, no job and no upcoming interviews. I am sorry for a probably uninvited comparison — I am not implying that my situation is harder, and I know that burnout is a serious shit. It takes months to recover. Some t…
"Our feelings are not a reliable indicator of personal value, especially after burning out."
This is awesome advice for any situation brilliantly sumerized. Thank you!
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#39Have you thought about doing some freelance work with other start ups? Maybe get a feel for different industries to see which one peaks your interest? Could be a great way to network and learn other industries!
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Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#40If common stock is worth anything - you may want to talk to a personal lawyer about whether you qualify for double-trigger acceleration. This could be a good thing.
> We had to sold it to one of our competitors at a price of one tenth of the our series A valuation.
In this instance, with any sort of standard liquidation preference and dilution (i.e. 20% investor ownership), common stock was probably worthless.