51–60 of 77 posts
Here's a video of him giving us some startup advice at justin.tv: http://www.justin.tv/hackertv/58652/Tech_Talk__3_Adam_Beguel...
I hope so. I'm in the same boat (plus a couple years) and have my sights set on doing a startup as well. That said, I wish I had pursued this 20 years ago when I had more time, energy, and freedom -- but I guess I wasn't ready then.
I appreciate the response. Can I ask what you are doing about it?
I have a vision for a product that would hopefully rock the project management landscape. If only I had 6 months locked with a fellow coder... I'll have to settle for a couple hours a day trying to make a convincing demo to sell the dream.
Age, marital status, and personal situation have much less to do with it than you may think. Removing the word "fail" from you vocabulary have much more to do with it than you think. Go for it!
Are you suggesting that the 'fear of failure' is a major reason why people don't make the leap? I have to say, I think you are correct. Fear of failure is HUGE. Imagine if I had a fear of failure.... what could be the outcome? 1) Leave current job (it pays the bills etc.) 2) Start new venture 3) Fail! (I have deliberately shortcut the possible reasons - so bear with me!) 4) No money comes in.... 5) Can't pay bills...…
1) Leave current job (it pays the bills etc.)
2) Start new venture
3) Fail!
4) Get a new job
5) Goto 1)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are 'fail' and 'can't' words in your vocabulary? I assume so, as you clearly understand my comments. Something more thoughtful would help! ;)
I can't speak for Ed, but "fail" and "can't" are still very much words in my vocabulary, and I worry almost daily that we can't build the product we'd want to use and will fail in the market. Maybe that's a problem for me. It does seem to be a negative when talking to people about my startup; they pick up cracks in the facade of perfect confidence fairly often. But I don't want to be blindsided by potential problems;…
I have always had a lot of respect for you and your contributions here.
At first, I was a little surprised to hear you say, 'but "fail" and "can't" are still very much words in my vocabulary'. I never imagined you as someone who "worried".
But then once I thought about it, it's no surprise at all. There is no one philosophy or "thought set" that makes one a successful hacker or business person. This may be the biggest takeaway for the OP - yes you can; there are very few absolute disqualifiers.
This discussion reminds me of my first 2 mentors, both very successful and great leaders. Neither would accept "no" and both got upset when I used the words "can't" or "but". I know it sounds silly now, but I have maintained that philosophy ever since.
Sometimes forcing yourself to "find the possibilities" brings something out from deep down inside that you never knew was there.
Probably. Don't know your situation, and I'm not 40 anyway, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. One thing I've noticed, having worked for startups with older founders: when you're over 35, it's to your advantage to start a different kind of company. When you're in your early 20s, it makes sense to swing for the fences with a new consumer idea that's wildly innovative and nobody really understands. That way…
Your 35 cutoff seems ridiculously arbitrary and ageist. If anything, more experience means more exposure to more ideas and thus gives you an advantage in coming up with something innovative. There is more cross-pollination. This is a function of time and effort and so only loosely correlated with age.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your 35 cutoff seems ridiculously arbitrary and ageist. If anything, more experience means more exposure to more ideas and thus gives you an advantage in coming up with something innovative. There is more cross-pollination. This is a function of time and effort and so only loosely correlated with age.
Also, hopefully, more money/financial security with a bit of age. I am nearly 34, own own house, car, etc etc... nice to have that bit of security. But I guess in big cities you are a wage slave for a long long time, so its a harder jump to make.
Probably. Don't know your situation, and I'm not 40 anyway, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. One thing I've noticed, having worked for startups with older founders: when you're over 35, it's to your advantage to start a different kind of company. When you're in your early 20s, it makes sense to swing for the fences with a new consumer idea that's wildly innovative and nobody really understands. That way…
Great advice, as usual. This seems like a good point in the conversation to throw in an idea: are any of the "oldsters" willing to pair up with the "youngsters" to try and get the benefits of each age? As an older "youngster", I'd love to talk to someone who's in the 30s or 40s about possible cofoundership (I'm in the NC triangle area).