...and you're providing employment, the highest form of charity.
Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
61–70 of 118 posts
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
$400 USD is quite prosperous in many parts of the world. Not in the US, or the wealthier nations.
Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).
Here in Bangkok, you can afford a pretty decent life at $400 a month given you don't live too close to a central part of the town. Internet here is cheap, $19.99 for a decent 6Mbps connection. Electricity is cheap, $65 for 24-hour air conditioning with always-on PC. Not sure about being hacker-friendly, though.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
$400 USD is quite prosperous in many parts of the world. Not in the US, or the wealthier nations.
Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).
I live in Oklahoma and I live the good life for less than $900/month according to Mint. Granted I have 3 roommates, but we have a huge place. I walk to work though, so that may be a factor. I'm also a stingy SOB.
It's cool to know that I could uproot to a place like Bangladesh if I so decided. That $900/month doesn't factor in the non-monetary costs of living in Oklahoma, which can build up :(
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
$400 USD is quite prosperous in many parts of the world. Not in the US, or the wealthier nations.
Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).
You need 700$/month to have a decent hacker life in Banagladesh? Wow.
I am originally from a second tier city called Surat in India. I think I can have a very comfortable life in 400$. Here's the breakdown (all costs in Indian Rupees):
Monthly Rent for 1 Bedroom: Approx 4000
Internet: 2,000 (Not the fastest but hey, we are not hosting servers from the bedroom)
Food: 1,500 (50 Rupees per day (eating out) for 30 days)
Others (Gas (Petrol)/Clothes/Entertainment/Electricity etc.): 3,500 (A rough estimate)
Total: 11,000 INR, approx 250 USD, I am still left over with 150$.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
$400 USD is quite prosperous in many parts of the world. Not in the US, or the wealthier nations.
Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).
I imagine that if it is a place that is recognizable to the average American, the cost of living will be too high. I know of someone in Moldova for whom $400/mo was quite nice. I have also heard that living in parts of Costa Rica can be very low rent ($400 can last you a year if you are careful). You would have to deal with Internet access, but 3G wireless is becoming pervasive. The real factor is the quality of life that you are interested in.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really? Like where? Not being sarcastic but even in a cheap place like Bangladesh, you need atleast $700/month to have a decent hacker life (constant electricity, decent internet, own apt, a hacker-friendly environment - coffee, music, hobby, junk food, etc).
Here in Bangkok, you can afford a pretty decent life at $400 a month given you don't live too close to a central part of the town. Internet here is cheap, $19.99 for a decent 6Mbps connection. Electricity is cheap, $65 for 24-hour air conditioning with always-on PC. Not sure about being hacker-friendly, though.
Internet here is cheap, $19.99 for a decent 6Mbps connection.
What's that like for accessing stuff outside of .th? I hear about lots of cheap Internet with high bandwidth deals around the world but I have to wonder whether for accessing the typical US sites, a 1Mbps connection in the US would always be a win over even a 100Mbps connection in, say, Korea.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't spend all your money on toys... The few hundred dollars you've spent already, had you invested it in your business, or even put it into savings, could be worth tens of thousands or even millions a few decades from now.
That's something I learnt while working and it really helped me a lot (and will in my professional life). However, I don't have my own computer (shared one, except this netbook); so I need a better setup for my development. I try to prioritize the items I need. An external hard-drive comes first, because I should have a backup strategy. The monitor is more important, because I need better display... Certainly, I'll o…
If you can learn the power of compound interest at your age, you're going to retire very comfortably.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here in Bangkok, you can afford a pretty decent life at $400 a month given you don't live too close to a central part of the town. Internet here is cheap, $19.99 for a decent 6Mbps connection. Electricity is cheap, $65 for 24-hour air conditioning with always-on PC. Not sure about being hacker-friendly, though.
Internet here is cheap, $19.99 for a decent 6Mbps connection. What's that like for accessing stuff outside of .th? I hear about lots of cheap Internet with high bandwidth deals around the world but I have to wonder whether for accessing the typical US sites, a 1Mbps connection in the US would always be a win over even a 100Mbps connection in, say, Korea.
Depending on remote host, but I constantly get about 3Mbps when accessing servers located in US or Japan[1][2][3]. I'm using an old 4Mbps package here (6Mbps upgrade still doesn't available where I live), I'd say pretty good for the price.
[1]: http://www.speedtest.net/result/983221226.png
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#69That's awesome. Congratulation. Can you talk about your marketing and sales effort? It's always difficult for technical folks.
It really varies depending on your industry. Generally, being a social person (which does not come easily to me at all) is very helpful. If you have a lot of friends, it's very likely one of them will be able to help you market or sell in some way or another. I relied heavily on friends and friends of friends. I still do. More specifically, figuring out who are major journalists or trend-influencers (potential custom…
You're only telling us general trivia. If you've done a wordpress theme, post a tutorial or a how-to.
Re: Thank HN: 7 months ago, I asked for help. Now I've got 5 employees.
#70Awesome. What is your business?
Well, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you all and tell you I run a bakery. I know you guys were expecting a tech company. I wasn't actually planning on revealing this, but you guys seem to really want to know and the community has been good to me. And maybe you can give me more advice. I actually have a degree in CS and I love to code, but I tried for a while and never managed to make money on my own with my tech…
That's fantastic! Starting a software business is mostly about business, and incidentally about programming. I think this is the reason that people like to read patio11's commentary (it certainly isn't because we like bingo cards). I would be interested to hear more about how you identified your customer base, picked your employees, and decided how and when to grow the business without external funding.