Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#1

Post by nomad » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 4:26 PM UTC

Curious when you are picking projects, is it enough for you to be passionate about hacking towards a great idea or do you also need passion for your particular field of work?

For example, I love travel, so if I came across a project for a law firm enterprise solution, I'm not too inclined to take it on even if I think it makes a lot of sense. I'd rather take on a travel project, even if it makes less $$$.

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#2

Post by brk » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 4:31 PM UTC

I think passion is very important. Overall, the better your understanding for the application/use of the work you're doing, the better your overall chances for success. Having passion for the application and use of the product will allow you to think about how it will be used, what the users will value the most, etc.

A recent startup I worked at was trying to create a product that was used for audit compliance (SOX, PCI, etc.). The problem is that they really didn't have anyone truly passionate or informed on the subject. The first several versions of the product greatly reflected this.

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#3

Post by xenoterracide » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 4:43 PM UTC

your product will be better if you are passionate (or really need it yourself).

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#4

Post by hunterjrj » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 6:21 PM UTC

Hacking with passion towards a great idea will see that idea to fruition, but passion for your field of work will keep you go going indefinitely.

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#5

Post by edw519 » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 7:08 PM UTC

It's pretty easy to work on stuff when things are going well.

But when something goes wrong (illness, fatigue, family issues, money issues, problem with your product/business, etc.), passion is the thing that keeps you going. You don't know any other way.

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#6

Post by ken » Mon, Apr 21, 2008, 7:18 PM UTC

I once interviewed the industrial design lead at Fluke, who are well-known for the design of their electronic test equipment. I asked him, "Did you have any particular desire to work on test equipment when you started?"

He laughed and said "I still don't! I don't even know Ohm's law. I just love industrial design."

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#7

Post by nazgulnarsil » Tue, Apr 22, 2008, 2:59 AM UTC

News Flash: you don't get paid the big bucks to do things that are interesting exciting and fun.

Want to work on something you love? great, if you wind up making something that other people love too you MIGHT make a lot of money.

Re: Ask YC: Is passion for your field of work important?

#8

Post by lacker » Tue, Apr 22, 2008, 8:19 PM UTC

nazgulnarsil wrote: post #7

News Flash: you don't get paid the big bucks to do things that are interesting exciting and fun. Want to work on something you love? great, if you wind up making something that other people love too you MIGHT make a lot of money.

Plenty of people get paid the big bucks to do something interesting, exciting, and fun!

Consider the founders of YouTube, HotOrNot, reddit - those seem pretty fun to me.