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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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161–170 of 198 posts

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

#161
I've been in similar situations myself a few times. Getting to "closure" with a project that didn't have anywhere close to the desired outcome can be a big let down.

While it's appropriate and even helpful to have some perspective (you are in a good financial position, you hopefully are in good health, you are still very young), your disappointment and pain is still real. You need to process the disappointment.

After I took the time to just do nothing, here are some of the things that helped me get excited about something new. I think it's important to shake up your routine - you cannot just wallow in past thinking. You have to tell yourself to turn the past experiences into wisdom you have forever instead of constantly thinking of them as proof of failure.

Travel. New places are exciting. Maybe do something 100% guided so you don't have to do any planning. This can help bootstrap things.

Do new things. I find it feels good to be early on the learning curve of something new. Lots of feedback of progress, and it's fun. New sport, new programming language, etc. Even if it's entirely purposeless.

Do you have any lists of ideas you want to pursue from the past? Or maybe go read lists of ideas for startups that others have posted.

Volunteer at local startup events, or offer your expertise for free to other founders. You would be surprised how meaningful your experiences will be for others. You are in a great position to help them.

Hopefully some of these things get you excited about the future.

Good luck!

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

#163
post #30

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,…

I agree on #2. I burned out and lived off my savings for a while (granted I was fortunate in that I HAD savings), and started biking and working out more to try to accomplish a long-time goal which I had always told myself I didn't have time for. I lost 45 lbs and eventually started gaining muscle. Being able to bike farther and farther each day without wanting to die gave me motivation to keep going, and further the numbers on the scale helped.

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

#164
we are a super small team approaching series A. would love to see if you like what we are doing and if there's a good fit for you to join us. your experience would be invaluable as a senior leader. twitter in my profile. check us out and contact me if interested

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

#165
Everyone else said the same thing as each other, so i'll try a different tact: For long term success, you need to figure out what YOU want. Whats your ideal, practical situation where you will be happy. Manager; Take a break, lay low for a few years more; start another company; get out of tech; start a family? Whats the IDEAL scenario for you. From there, you can develop a system instead of a goal.

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

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to suggest Chiang Mai after reading the OP then scrolled down and saw it's the top comment. I just spent 4 months traveling around Asia with 1 month in Chiang Mai. It's an incredible city and incredible in ways you wouldn't expect. For one, it's actually very developed (second biggest city in Thailand) with many big modern malls. Also, the cellular infrastructure is great and you can get a SIM card for re…

> with many big modern malls Maya and ? The other other 1 or 2 are literally falling apart they're so old and empty

Yeah Central Festival was epic - not sure where you live that makes CF look like it's falling apart by comparison?

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

#167
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you kidding me? All trading schools are scams ran by con artists - this is what my profile says in a nutshell...

All right. If you want to send anonymous proof (you can blank out your details) of the size of your accounts, you can email me at the email in my profile. I'll then post here saying I've verified your claim, if you want. Until then it seems like you are still primarily trying to promote your web site here and I don't have any reason to believe your claim about how much money you've made trading. Overall your claims s…

Are you that naive in real life as well?

I can photoshop a statement showing gazillion dollars in my account, but how about first you go into my profile and show the community exactly how I am running a trading school, because this is how you came out swinging at me unprovoked 2 posts ago...

I don't like bullies in real life and even less hidden on the net...

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

#168
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All right. If you want to send anonymous proof (you can blank out your details) of the size of your accounts, you can email me at the email in my profile. I'll then post here saying I've verified your claim, if you want. Until then it seems like you are still primarily trying to promote your web site here and I don't have any reason to believe your claim about how much money you've made trading. Overall your claims s…

Are you that naive in real life as well? I can photoshop a statement showing gazillion dollars in my account, but how about first you go into my profile and show the community exactly how I am running a trading school, because this is how you came out swinging at me unprovoked 2 posts ago... I don't like bullies in real life and even less hidden on the net...

Don't you make more money from your web site than you do from trading?

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

#169

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…

Wow, thank you for the perspective. I've been feeling similar, but on the spectrum my situation is not so bad. Do you have a blog or contact? I'd be glad to get to know you.

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

#170

You made money to live for a year, that's great! Things you can do for 6-9 months (save at least 3 months as emergency fund) before you decide your next step and could possibly lead to either a new startup or new job: - Entrepreneur in Residence or Mentor to an accelerator (not sure where you are) - Mentor or Advisor to local seed stage startups - Advisor to local angel group or fund to help in technical due diligenc…

It's important to not jump back into a startup as a founder/owner. Take some time to decompress and figure out what went right, what went wrong, and what lessons you've learned.

Being a mentor or an advisor is a great way to stay active and involved without the crushing pressure that comes with a start-up. Once you get yourself oriented, dive back in if that's what you're feeling up to.

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