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Advice

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Re: Advice

#131

Post by austenallred »

java_script wrote: post #98

Advice for SF people: Stop talking about changing the god damned world when what you're actually working on is a middleman payment processor. You sound like your head is planted so far up into your ass you can see daylight again. E: Just to point out what I actually believe so I’m not just doing a drive-by insult - let capitalism and self interest be just that, like how a pizza delivery guy or payday loan provider pr…

> payday loan provider probably isn’t deluding themselves about making an impact

Having worked at a YC-backed alternative to payday lender (https://www.//lendup.com) and having spent a lot of the time in the call center listening to our customers, I'd suggest that a lender to folks without access to credit can have much more impact than you could possibly imagine. Being able to instantly inject $500 into the bank account of someone that needed it for a car repair or they'd lose their job when they couldn't get it elsewhere was only one of the many, many examples. Now multiply that by hundreds of thousands of customers, and the impact is not trivial by any measure.

Taking something that is incredibly painful and making it a delight at scale is a beautiful thing, almost no matter how trivial that thing is. I'm reminded of when Steve Jobs forced the Apple team to shave 30 seconds off of the startup time, because multiplied by the number of people who use Apple devices it's the equivalent of years in aggregate.

I love that there are thousands of companies trying to change the world by making the one thing they work on absolutely perfect. It's a great thing.

Re: Advice

#132

Post by baby »

sudhirj wrote: post #27
wolco wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hang out in front of google or attend the local 2600 meeting. Best way to meet CEOs is to become one yourself.

What’s a 2600 meeting? This? https://www.2600.com/meetings/mtg.html I’ll keep trying to search, but could someone post a note on what’s it’s about?

https://www.2600.london/

Re: Advice

#133

Post by bengarrr »

sincerely wrote: post #129
voidmain wrote: post #5

I'm a bit amused by the advice to move to SF because that's what all the other nonconformists are doing.

I suspect that even though SF at one point may have been a gathering point for people who didnt want to do things the normal way it has been filled with people who want to make money off the previous group, which makes it less interesting for future trailblazers. i wonder where they will go in the future

Orange County (if that zoning bill ever gets passed), Austin, Salt Lake City? Probably Portland.

Re: Advice

#134

Post by DoreenMichele »

java_script wrote: post #98

Advice for SF people: Stop talking about changing the god damned world when what you're actually working on is a middleman payment processor. You sound like your head is planted so far up into your ass you can see daylight again. E: Just to point out what I actually believe so I’m not just doing a drive-by insult - let capitalism and self interest be just that, like how a pizza delivery guy or payday loan provider pr…

I completely and totally disagree with you.

I have a serious medical condition. I was sexually abused as a child. I spent nearly 6 years homeless.

The last thing I want is someone trying to "rescue" me. I've spent enormous amounts of time trying to figure out how to solve some really hard problems without approaching it as charity and rescuing other people.

For example, I am trying to start a program to help homeless people and others with barriers to regular employment start making money online, even if it is only in dribs and drabs. I do what I can to advocate for more development of market-rate, inexpensive housing rather than "homeless programs" per se. I want to see the fabric of society change such that we have less homelessness. I absolutely don't want to see more Big Feels (TM) efforts to Help The Homeless because that almost always means giving them temporary relief that often actively helps keep them stuck and then expecting them to grovel in gratitude.

Having thought about this a whole, whole lot, I think good business models are the single best way to make the kind of civilizing impact I desire to see.

We need more Ghandis, who taught India financial self sufficiency as the antidote to being Britain's bitch, not more Jesus Christ Superstars, who at this point is a meme of "the only good man is a dead man who died a martyr." I assume that was what the world needed 2000 years ago. But I would like to see less charity and more healthy fabric of society that makes the lives of ordinary people work better without them having to prove they have some problem that merits positive intervention of some sort.

I"m fine if people feeling like their vision will "change the world" is the motivation they need to put themselves through the hell that starting a company can be. I'm extra fine if that framing has them thinking in terms of "How does this genuinely improve the lives of people and not just milk them for money to line our pockets?"

Re: Advice

#135

Post by sincerely »

andy_adams wrote: post #99

> If you think something is important but people older than you hold don't hold it in high regard, there's a decent chance that you're right and they're wrong. Status lags by a generation or more. I feel like I'm missing the point of this one. For basically 100% of the things I thought were important between 10-20 years old, as I got older I realized I was wrong and older folks were right. Conversely, if someone olde…

Yea if I followed these instructions I would have flunked out of high school playing Team Fortress.

Someone 20-30 disagreeing with the previous generation is much more likely to be right imo.

Re: Advice

#136

Post by aphextron »

kyledrake wrote: post #130
seathrowaway wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle is (or was) great at many things but as someone who has lived here all my life, I disagree with this categorization. From what I know of Portland, it describes that city even less well. We're politically liberal (sometimes to a fault), not any more optimistic than average (and quite possibly less), and definitely not what I'd call "energetic". It'd be more accurate to say the PNW has positioned itself as the…

Having spent a year in the Bay Area after living in Portland for 10, I really do feel there is much more creative energy in places like Portland, and also that it's a far better place to start most companies. The problem is that the Bay Area might be full of more creative, interesting people, but the quality and cost of life down there is terrible (and nobody's fixing it), and the problems associated with that more t…

>I think in order for the Bay Area (and California in general) to really become good for creatives, they need to take a deep existential look at themselves and really decide that they're willing to solve the problems. That means making radical, Marshall Plan levels of reform to zoning and property tax laws, establishment of strong regional metropolitan governments, and significant investments in better transportation.

And this will never, ever happen. California is going to continue it's slide into something resembling the third world, where the ultra-rich elite 10% live in their exurban gated communities with armed guards, and a permanent underclass of service workers provides for their every need while barely scraping out an existence. The incentives pushing things in this direction are simply too great for any kind of change to happen. I've been here for 4 years now and have seen it visibly getting worse in that time. The place is completely unlivable. I'm now just biding my time to save for a down payment in Seattle or Portland, because the thought of buying a house here has literally become a punchline for even high income earners.

Re: Advice

#137

Post by olfactory »

voidmain wrote: post #5

I'm a bit amused by the advice to move to SF because that's what all the other nonconformists are doing.

His point was that openness is highly valued. The way I'd put it is that in SF, it is completely OK to be a nonconformist and to do things your own way.

It's actually hard to be fully aware of the high levels of conformity one finds elsewhere until you have spent 6+ months in SF.

That's not to say that there aren't widespread prejudices held in SF.. the biggest one I have encountered is the belief that people living in "flyover" states are idiots and are less enlightened than those living in SF.

Saying SF is open to nonconformity is not another way of saying SF is "enlightened". It's just an aspect of enlightenment that SF culture does particularly well compared to other parts of the world.

This isn't even necessarily all kinds of nonconformity... it's just some that are rare elsewhere.

If you pick a person at random from anywhere in the US you'll find roughly equivalent levels of enlightenment and judgmental views. What's unique about SF is that being different is way more acceptable than it is elsewhere.

When you live in SF for a while and then go to other major cities and see how people dress it looks like they are all wearing a conformist costume, trying to look acceptable. But acceptable to whom? It's this instinct toward conformity that is so repellent about many areas of the country. The example I used about fashion is just an example, the same exists when it comes to life choices, values, etc.

Re: Advice

#138

Post by jonbarker »

aphextron wrote: post #136
kyledrake wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having spent a year in the Bay Area after living in Portland for 10, I really do feel there is much more creative energy in places like Portland, and also that it's a far better place to start most companies. The problem is that the Bay Area might be full of more creative, interesting people, but the quality and cost of life down there is terrible (and nobody's fixing it), and the problems associated with that more t…

>I think in order for the Bay Area (and California in general) to really become good for creatives, they need to take a deep existential look at themselves and really decide that they're willing to solve the problems. That means making radical, Marshall Plan levels of reform to zoning and property tax laws, establishment of strong regional metropolitan governments, and significant investments in better transportation…

Having lived there and now living in a cheaper real estate market I am grateful for having lived there, where I could not afford a house. I am now no longer interested in owning residential real estate no matter where I go!

Re: Advice

#139

Post by aphextron »

nickthemagicman wrote: post #65
voidmain wrote: post #5

I'm a bit amused by the advice to move to SF because that's what all the other nonconformists are doing.

Literally stepped over human feces getting off the bus yesterday. There are alot of non conformists here.

>Literally stepped over human feces getting off the bus yesterday. There are alot of non conformists here.

The fact that you didn't step in it makes that a good day in SF

Re: Advice

#140

Post by aphextron »

bengarrr wrote: post #133
sincerely wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that even though SF at one point may have been a gathering point for people who didnt want to do things the normal way it has been filled with people who want to make money off the previous group, which makes it less interesting for future trailblazers. i wonder where they will go in the future

Orange County (if that zoning bill ever gets passed), Austin, Salt Lake City? Probably Portland.

>Orange County (if that zoning bill ever gets passed)

lol

>Austin

Texas.

>Salt Lake City

Mormons.

>Probably Portland.

Bingo.

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