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Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

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Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#101

Post by justbaker »

donw wrote: post #30
atemerev wrote: post #26

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. 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…

(2) is very important advice. Don't worry about the big picture. Every day, find yourself some wins and celebrate them. Maybe it's something as small as brushing your teeth. Dental hygene rocks -- go you! Or leaving the house and going to Starbucks, even if only to browse Reddit. Hey, getting out that door can be a big challenge. Maybe it's going for a run or a hike. You totally owned that half-mile. Whatever it is,…

Can not agree with this enough. Burnout leads to serious depression; it left me in the ER a few times. DON'T stress man. Things work out eventually.

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#102

Post by donw »

davidmr wrote: post #96
donw wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(2) is very important advice. Don't worry about the big picture. Every day, find yourself some wins and celebrate them. Maybe it's something as small as brushing your teeth. Dental hygene rocks -- go you! Or leaving the house and going to Starbucks, even if only to browse Reddit. Hey, getting out that door can be a big challenge. Maybe it's going for a run or a hike. You totally owned that half-mile. Whatever it is,…

Thank you. Even if things are a little different for every person as they naturally are, this is good advice and I genuinely appreciate the positive attitude. As someone who has struggled with depression quite a bit, I generally have a knee-jerk reaction to "just be positive" advice, but this really sits a nice middle ground between "be positive" and "find a way to be as positive as you can".

"Just be positive" is horrible advice, even for non-depressed people.

Sometimes your world really has gone to shit. There is no shame in admitting that. Despair isn't limited only to people that have mental problems.

So you treat it like any other survival situation: take stock of your resources, focus only on your next action (and on nothing else), celebrate every win that you get, and realize that failure is going to be part of the process, too.

You're going to need every ounce of motivation and positivity that you can muster, and those ounces don't come free. So earn them, no matter how small, and bank those victories for the next day.

Slogging through a long and grueling hike isn't about focusing on the summit of the mountain. It's about taking one step. And then you repeat.

Sure, it might not be fast, and it might be hard as hell, but if you just don't quit, you will make it through.

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#103

Post by magacloud »

I sympathise with you on the current situation. But, congratulations and Bravo for being an entrepreneur and very few people get an opportunity to make a difference and create jobs.

I'm just trying to give my perspective, I'm sure there are good days ahead and lets keep up the spirit.

Here in india, we refer our life as "Maya" - everything is imaginary. It is important to do our duty and the result is not in our hands!

As a parent of two, and founder of couple of ventures, I see entrepreneurship is a role that we play just like how we play our roles to parents and our kids. Also its a journey that we take and no destination.

All the best.

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#104

Post by bufordtwain »

Think about your time at your previous two startups and try to identify the roles/work that you enjoyed the most. Try to find a new position where your day would be spent doing mostly that type of work. For example, if you really enjoyed hands-on development, then focus on finding a development job. Make sure you are clear in the interview what it is you want to be doing all day. Within reason, hold out for a position at a company that seems like a very good fit for you. At your next job, when they ask you to do things that you know you won't enjoy say "no" if possible.

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#106

Post by abhishekash »

At just 29 with such entrepreneurial experience is an awesome feat plus money in the bank for an year is a blessing from my point of view.

What you really need is just plain vanilla positive intent and outlook and you would sail past this crossroad.

What i would do is : Go for a road trip or travel somewhere may be Nepal for a fortnight. Get energized and come back with lots of positive energy. Skill wise don't bother much. All great entrepreneurs have felt this way at some point in their life but now are multi-billionaire because of their tenacity

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#107

Post by Baobei »

I think travelling could be a good idea. Asia is very affordable for long stints. We have an open couch for other entrepreneurs and you are welcome here in HK for a couple weeks if you need. Well done asking for help. I think you would get even more if you used your account next time. People understand. Because we've been there. :)

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#109

Post by zubat »

Get yourself into a classroom again. It doesn't have to be an ambitious course. It's a familiar structure and you've been out of it long enough that it'll seem refreshing. While you do that go hit the gym if you aren't, yet. (Or if you want to do it on a budget, get a set of resistance bands.) Set lots of simple goals with structure and regularity. Journal your progress. This will get you back into the thick of things without the nasty obligations of the workplace - by the holidays you might have a good plan together.

Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?

#110

Post by westoque »

donw wrote: post #30
atemerev wrote: post #26

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. 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…

(2) is very important advice. Don't worry about the big picture. Every day, find yourself some wins and celebrate them. Maybe it's something as small as brushing your teeth. Dental hygene rocks -- go you! Or leaving the house and going to Starbucks, even if only to browse Reddit. Hey, getting out that door can be a big challenge. Maybe it's going for a run or a hike. You totally owned that half-mile. Whatever it is,…

This happened to me awhile ago too. Some mismanagement on my part. Left me with around 44k of debt.

I never let that put me down. What I did instead was to find more work since I do consulting and pay down the debt and still get a decent living.

So lesson is to learn from your mistakes and find solutions to your problems and keep on fighting.

You'd be surprised how many people actually have it worse than us but the key here is to not give up.

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