Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where are you based? If you are in San Francisco, let me know if I can be of help. (my HN name @ gmail, or google my name).
I'm from Oshkosh, WI. There aren't many tech meet ups around here.
Email me--in my profile
Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
171–180 of 183 posts
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any one can learn to code it isn't difficult to learn at all. Just like any one can learn math or english. What makes the difference is what level you can achieve. Just like math goes from elementary school to college level coding has a similar pattern where certain people get stuck in different areas. Hello world would be elementary level building large scalable enterprise application would be college level. You don…
Great answer. How does one find their level?
"Know thyself". I don't know exactly what you mean by the question. That was just my first thought. If you are asking where you place in the spectrum of the guy that builds simple websites vs the guy that build large scale enterprise applications the only way you will know is keep on trying till you succeed. Some would argue failure is the measurement, but in truth we fail all the time. Failing is the easiest thing for one to accomplish so it could never be the metric we use to measure. Failing repeatedly till we achieve success is what life is about. Every time we run into a problem or new situation is a chance to grow to expand and to achieve something we couldn't the day before. The whole whats the difference between the master vs his apprentice? The master has already failed a million times while the apprentice has only failed a handful of times. The master never cared about reaching greatness he just cared about taking care of the challenge that was placed in front of him when it came. Those challenges are what turn him into a master and the same shall happen to you. The level you speak of is the spoon in the matrix it only exist in your mind the second you realize that then you can bend the spoon.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#173Loneliness is a vicious self-perpetuating cycle. It makes you depressed, which makes you want to wallow in self-pity, which makes people not want to be around you, which isolates you, which make you lonelier, which makes you more depressed. The only way to break the cycle (and I apologize if this sounds harsh, but it's really the only way) is to just give yourself a swift kick in the pants and fucking DO something ab…
OP is trying to do something about it! He is setting up video chats with people.
Actually, he's not. He's asking if anyone else had set this up.
But video chat is not a good substitute for face-to-face interaction in this case. Video chat is great if what you're trying to do is exchange information. It's much less well suited for providing emotional support. When dealing with emotional issues it's best to be closer to the ancestral environment.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#174Hi! This isn't exactly what you asked for, but our Invisible College informally helps connect peers doing independent work. Sometimes we organize video checkins. Eventually we're going to create a method for cohorts of independent workers to form. These cohorts can support each other over time with checkins to counter that loneliness of independent work.
If you want to get involved, join our Slack at http://invisible-slack.herokuapp.com
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#175I'd like a place where I could log in and see people working. The https://complice.co/rooms stuff (just chat, no cams) mentioned above/below is an interesting concept. Pomodoro timers. X mins push, Y mins talk. Shame the rooms are empty.
Creator of Complice here. I agree it's sad the rooms are empty! I thought it would be way easier than it turned out to be, to get a room off the ground. There are a few private ones that are consistently active, but for some reason I've had a lot of trouble getting a public one to stick.
Last summer when IndieHackers launched on HackerNews and Complice was one of the businesses featured there, I made a "Hacker Hall" room (https://complice.co/room/hackers) and posted it to Show HN. It had people in it for a few weeks but it never quite stabilized.
Based on the experience with the private rooms, I think it would only take a couple of champions--people spending most of their working hours there--for it to then be attractive to visitors. This thread probably has enough people to do it. I'd say just comment below if you're willing to hang out in the room consistently for the next few weeks, even if nobody else is there. And if a few people are up for it, then give it a shot. And let me know so I can support you in that!
I think the other thing that's needed is for at least a couple people to actually turn on their cameras, and to chat during the pomodoro breaks, so that people are actually connecting with each other.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#176What you're feeling is so very common among solo founders. I'm glad you're talking about it here. It is one of the most important conversations founders need to be having. Isolation has the power to undo you and your business. Like others have said co-working, masterminds, volunteering- those are all helpful ways to connect to other founders. We at https://zenfounder.com/ run ZenTribe groups for founders. Our groups…
One more: http://discuss.bootstrapped.fm/
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#177Get yourself into a mastermind group with 2-5 others in a similar situation - solo founders, bootstrappers, etc. You can start with just 1 other person then add more. Have a regular 1 hour video call every week or two. Everyone gives updates, support, and keeps each other accountable on goals. Keep a Slack/Skype channel open in between to say hi, help each other, share wins, etc. Bonus points for meeting locally, but…
I'm interested.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#178We have a project called Campfire, to build video support groups around pretty much any area, from anxiety to grief to even being a founder:
campfire.care
Sign up and indicate you want to join a founder group!
My co-founder and I are also still working on the right setup for optimizing efficiency/cost/culture, and this discussion is great.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get up at 5am every day to go to Starbucks at 6am every day. The "stillness buzz" of my apartment bugs me. I go to Starbucks and ignore everyone - but I still feel part of the mix. I could, you know, go to the office, but everone interrupts me there. It's not lonely, but unproductive. The trick is to be productive, but to feel like a human in the mix. For me, Starbucks does that.
For those bothered by silence but also - at times - annoyed by music: https://coffitivity.com/ Some kind of optimized noise is a weird concept, but I've found that it really works, from time to time. Especially if I'm doing something that requires a great deal of concentration rather than just "production".
Focusmate is a middle ground of sorts - social but without leaving home. https://www.focusmate.com/
The core of the UX is the Focusmate session, a structured, 50-minute video interaction, where you and another user act as accountability partners for one another.
You'll find lots of solopreneurs as well as a handful of sole founders, but above all, you get human interaction without compromising productivity.
Disclaimer - I'm the founder. I was a sole founder for a lonnnng time and doing these sessions was my saving grace.
Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
I get up at 5am every day to go to Starbucks at 6am every day. The "stillness buzz" of my apartment bugs me. I go to Starbucks and ignore everyone - but I still feel part of the mix. I could, you know, go to the office, but everone interrupts me there. It's not lonely, but unproductive. The trick is to be productive, but to feel like a human in the mix. For me, Starbucks does that.
For those bothered by silence but also - at times - annoyed by music: https://coffitivity.com/ Some kind of optimized noise is a weird concept, but I've found that it really works, from time to time. Especially if I'm doing something that requires a great deal of concentration rather than just "production".
Brain.fm works for me.