Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 120 posts

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#71

Post by thaumasiotes »

maxxxxx wrote: post #57
ryandrake wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, I think the bad behavior is relatively common. Two of the last three SV companies I’ve worked for assert ownership over everything you do or invent, even on your own time and on your own equipment at home. I don’t know if this is super common or not, or whether or not it’s legal, and I’m certainly not going to spend $XXX,XXX on a lawyer to find out!

That's why this needs to be illegal. The regular guy doesn't have the money to fight stupid contracts.

It is illegal in Silicon Valley, which is governed by California law. (I'm making an assumption about the meaning of "SV".)

But that just means they can't enforce the contract as to work it can't legally apply to, not that they can be hit with penalties for drafting the contract that way. If they choose to fight over it, you'll still have to fight.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#72

Post by anon808 »

komali2 wrote: post #69
sorenjan wrote: post #23

Why are we singing his praises here? He sells a hangover drink, and in order to not have to get FDA approval he calls it a dietary supplement. Chances are this does not work at all, and he's selling something with false promises and no regulation. Are we praising snake oil salesmen for their businesses acumen now? The Tesla connection seems like nothing more than click bait since it's not related, except maybe gave h…

Because it's capitalism and that's how capitalism works. I don't like capitalism but I like games, and this guy played the game very well. If we don't like the constraints/rules why are we blaming the people who followed those constraints when establishing their algorithms, especially when culture tells them to do so? Basically, don't hate the player, hate the game. (Also let's go ahead and get post scarcity asap ple…

"don't hate the player, hate the game."

Why can't I hate both? That's how values work, I don't value his methods, and I don't value the person that chooses the methods I don't value.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#73

Post by danso »

modzu wrote: post #58
modzu wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hn eats up get rich quick clickbait

(yes i realize i clicked the article too). but really this is on the front page? ps: the cure for hangover is breakfast

I've found eating a banana and a glass of water before passing out seems to stop most hangovers. Problem is the eating-before-passing-out part.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#74

Post by nodamage »

mrkurt wrote: post #30
nodamage wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having seen too many companies raise millions in venture funding and burn through it to generate millions in revenue (at a loss) with the founders ultimately walking away with nothing, I think that's absurd.

You don't think wealth can be gained and lost? It's weird to quibble over the definition of millionaire when what you really think is absurd is highly volatile assets.

It's really not the same thing until the money can be legally transferred to him.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#75

Post by Will_Do »

danso wrote: post #40
FroshKiller wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, don't be giving a corporation kudos for NOT doing shit they OUGHT NOT do in the first place.

Why not? Tesla is seen as a company with ambitious grandiose plans. It's a common Silicon Valley cliché for startups and companies to claim they're changing the world. Tesla is one of the few companies that can legitimately claim an important mission. With all the stories (Tesla or otherwise) about SV companies overworking their employees in the name of holy missions, it's nice to see an example of what looks like an…

As someone who has worked at Tesla and a couple startups, there's never been anything in their contracts about other jobs as long as it's not with a competitor.

I encourage everyone to push back against wording that is more restrictive than that. In fact CA (and I believe WA as well), it is unlawful for employers to be more restrictive than that[0]. Employment shouldn't make an employer the owner.

Tesla had no legal leverage whatsoever to ask for a cut.

[0]: https://californiaemploymentlaw.foxrothschild.com/2015/03/ar...

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#76

Post by gamblor956 »

danso wrote: post #17

Kudos to Tesla for not only being OK with this guy having a sidegig but also not trying to be a jerk in demanding a cut. I know that seems like status quo for companies not to demand control over what employees create outside of work, but seems like that line can be blurred when there's enough money involved. (edit: not just having a sidegig, but being able to launch and run his startup for ~1 year while employed at…

Kudos to Tesla for not only being OK with this guy having a sidegig but also not trying to be a jerk in demanding a cut.

No kudos for Tesla. In California, they're not allowed to demand a cut of employees' side income streams if that income is unrelated to Tesla's business. The CA Dept of Labor punishes such things very heavily.

(This is why Theranos failed to acquire Kent's patent. In California, the IP assignment clause in his contract legally does not extend beyond inventions within the scope of Theranos' business lines if developed independently.)

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#77

Post by exolymph »

modzu wrote: post #55
sorenjan wrote: post #23

Why are we singing his praises here? He sells a hangover drink, and in order to not have to get FDA approval he calls it a dietary supplement. Chances are this does not work at all, and he's selling something with false promises and no regulation. Are we praising snake oil salesmen for their businesses acumen now? The Tesla connection seems like nothing more than click bait since it's not related, except maybe gave h…

hn eats up get rich quick clickbait

Not just HN, either. The audience for business "news" absolutely loves this shit. It's really depressing to work in business journalism (my previous job) and see what gets the most traffic.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#78

Post by gamblor956 »

danso wrote: post #40
FroshKiller wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, don't be giving a corporation kudos for NOT doing shit they OUGHT NOT do in the first place.

Why not? Tesla is seen as a company with ambitious grandiose plans. It's a common Silicon Valley cliché for startups and companies to claim they're changing the world. Tesla is one of the few companies that can legitimately claim an important mission. With all the stories (Tesla or otherwise) about SV companies overworking their employees in the name of holy missions, it's nice to see an example of what looks like an…

I'm still unclear on the concept of giving a company kudos for not doing something the law will punish them for doing.

It's the equivalent of saying we should all get kudos for not stealing from each other. You've made the act of stealing the baseline for moral judgment rather than the reprehensible exception.

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#79

Post by aqme28 »

Retric wrote: post #42
sorenjan wrote: post #23

Why are we singing his praises here? He sells a hangover drink, and in order to not have to get FDA approval he calls it a dietary supplement. Chances are this does not work at all, and he's selling something with false promises and no regulation. Are we praising snake oil salesmen for their businesses acumen now? The Tesla connection seems like nothing more than click bait since it's not related, except maybe gave h…

There are a wide range of thing you can do that reduce or eliminate Hangovers. If he was using Gatorade it would 'work' which IMO is a step beyond the classic snake oil.

Even water "works."

Come to think of it, how do you test a hangover cure drink? What is your control?

Re: A Former Tesla Staffer Became an Internet Millionaire in His Spare Time

#80

Post by astura »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #8
jonny_eh wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's rather inspiring. It shows you can swing for the fences without sacrificing much.

"[Swinging] for the fences" literally means to swing a baseball bat as hard as you can at where you think a baseball will be thrown[1]. You're far less likely to connect with the ball, but you will propel the ball much farther if you do manage to. Swinging for the fences is more apt for companies like Magic Leap, Groupon, Gilt, Pebble, etc. I'd characterize this guy's approach as being more like "Moneyball." [2] [1]…

"Swing for the fences" is basically the same as "go big or go home." You are going to either strike out or hit a home run.

I'm not sure "Moneyball" fits here, the premise of Moneyball was using advanced analytics to take advantage of market inefficiencies.

I would say the baseball idiom that fits here is "cover (one's) bases"

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cover+(one%27s)+bases

>cover (one's) bases To ensure one's safety or success by dealing with every potentially problematic aspect of a situation or activity. A reference to baseball, in which the defensive players must make sure all bases (and baserunners who may occupy them) are accounted for.

(I am fascinated about how many English (American?) idioms are derived from baseball and how I never really thought about it until a couple years ago)

Post reply on HN