Just leave the comfort zone.
Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
131–140 of 198 posts
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#132It may not make a difference hearing this - but you don't sound like a failure to me. You sound like you're tired and in need of more rest. 29 is young, you still have a lot of bounce left. Take the time you were planning to take to relax and actually relax. Actively ignore these negative feelings, they do nothing to help you in the way you are experiencing them (in other words, try to see tragedy as opportunity). I…
He's right! You are not a failure! I'm 33 and I left a company I founded 3 years ago after 5 in the trenches. It was close to the big deal that was gonna make it all go sunshine and rainbows but I got fat, angry, and had started drinking a lot. I got so caught up in day to day people management it was months since I touched a real engineering problem.
I took a fairly extreme route. I said I would help try to close a merger with a large player in the game, if it hit, I'd stay, if not I'd leave. It didn't work out. I left. I walked out the door.
Because I'd been an executive it was near impossible for me to get a programming job. Also, I was an odd person to interview at the time. I definitely echoed a lot of the feelings you have here. I gave away everything I owned filled a backpack and couch surfed for eight months. Saw both oceans in 30 day. Lived in a bungalo in Vermont on the lake for a month. Crashed on an old friends couch and caught up for a while and worked on cars. Played with the idea of moving to the woods to become a blacksmith. I was depressed as hell. I knew it was what I needed to do but re-assimilating was hard, also the nagging feeling I'd fucked over everything that was good.
I ended up taking a jobby-job with a huge porn video company in LA and lied about my credentials to get a junior position. Kept my head down and just worked my ass off on stuff. Started putting together new ideas in the evenings and just finding myself. I really kind of stopped growing as a creative since the startup got legs and customers.
I took another job at a startup I found on craigslist and moved to Seattle. This time got an apartment and quit living out of my backpack. It was a decent paying gig but clearly doomed. But it gave me a dojo to play in that wasn't life and death. Plus I got my teeth fixed with the insurance.
Long story long, during that time I put together the structure for a new thing and took it slow. It's all me. Now I'm back in it on my terms and focused very differently than I was the last time. I'm almost unflappable. I'm enjoying programming for the first time since well before I quit and the people I used to work with are now back in my life.
The assets you've built at these "failures" is your biggest strength. There are things about business that you now know instinctively that most people never will. There will be more great and terrible days! No one's got a clock on you and there are no real boundaries for success other than what you want. Take time for you. You'll get back to it eventually 100x more ready for the fight.
Even when things got on the up swing I still felt like maybe I really fucked up by leaving that gig. I just recently caught up with one of the other founders, they are doing the 4th platform overhaul for the same client that I was trying to close 3 years ago. The big check is still around the corner. They will make the money, I'm proud of them and my experience, but I was right to leave for sure.
Keep at it! Put yourself first and you'll get rudder soon enough. There's really no need to rush it.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#133sounds like you did very well. i see so many people who are posting 'you don't sound like a failure to me'. i think saying something like that is basically an insult. im the same age you are and look how many companies i founded: lol. you have some money. you have a good amount of experience. so perhaps just start looking for a job as a PO or something higher up. VP, CIO, maybe. whatever is available. you sound like the person who is not satisfied with just doing dev work. and i completely agree, it is not really that great. mostly get something that pays well and has good career prospects. I'm pretty sure people will hire a guy who has your experience. i dont think a year's worth of money is enough to retire quite yet, so you will need a job eventually and i think the sooner the better because burning through savings is no fun. i'd invest the savings in something with a decent yield (stocks, property). having your capital as cash on a bank seems a bit of a waste.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#134Idea: Find super-early stage startups you're interested in to advise (can sometimes even lead to a job). I've failed at 2 companies, and doing well at my current. Even if you're not a wild success, a lot a startups appreciate even someone to talk to on a regular basis which can be rewarding on both ends. Although you'll be able to offer more than that (things that are extremely obvious to people who've been through 3 companies, whether successfully or not, have a lot of real-world experience and insight to offer).
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#135This is an awesome opportunity (aside from the disappointment) to go traveling, and reset, develop as an individual, and get re-inspired for whatever you do next in life.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#136Invest in digibyte. It's the future.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#137Idea: Find super-early stage startups you're interested in to advise (can sometimes even lead to a job). I've failed at 2 companies, and doing well at my current. Even if you're not a wild success, a lot a startups appreciate even someone to talk to on a regular basis which can be rewarding on both ends. Although you'll be able to offer more than that (things that are extremely obvious to people who've been through 3…
PS - we're hiring! brandon@localizejs.com :)
Your skillset would be valuable to many small companies. The founder skillset /experience is rare but extremely valuable at the right company.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#138I'm kind of in the same place as you are! However, I have less experience than you have. I've tried to take some time off, think through what I really want to do, and then try to get a job which takes me there. Thinking of joining a new early stage startup, but I think I need a break from the pre-seed chaos and join something that is rather post Series A at least.
Drink some beer, that is good for you!
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#139Your options are massively open now and with the financial situation you're in you don't have to rush - learning an instrument is a great way to relax and give you focus too - I've played guitar for nearly 15 years and don't know where I'd be without it.
Just bear in mind that you can't escape this but can go for a role without the responsibilities or stress – while most roles call for a specialisation in a certain area there are still roles where you can be a generalist.
Regroup, re-establish and reward yourself for what you've already done.
Re: Ask HN: My company has been acquired and I'm kicked out. What should I do now?
#140You founded 2 startups. You're already 2 steps ahead of those who founded zero. You have knowledge of the full life cycle of a company. You allegedly failed but failure (like success) is subjective and you did gain knowledge you would not have had you "succeeded". Again that puts you a few steps ahead of others.
You can go at it again - do another venture.
Or you can join someone else's idea (which you believe in) and do it together. You can consult other startups with who are just starting out. You can take the time to perfect one of the skills you acquired. Hopefully in the area that you found most attractive and interesting.
You are in a good position. You did not fail.