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I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

marcgayle.com

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Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#91

Post by marcamillion »

ddodge wrote: post #80

My son Darren works for Jason at Mahalo. He is too busy working to comment here...so I will for him :-) Darren works 6 or 7 days a week because he loves what he is doing, and is learning a ton from Jason. Yes, he is tough and has high expectations. But, Jason is the best mentor and teacher around. Jason isn't for everyone, but if you want to rise to the top really fast...a ride with Jason will get you there.

Don, I am assuming this is Don Dodge, I won't debate that he can teach you a lot, and be a great mentor and possibly an awesome angel.

It's the attitude that he has - which we could excuse if his accomplishments were as big as he makes them seem like they are.

I am not diminishing the fact that he built a company from scratch and sold it to AOL for $30M. That's not a small feat, so don't get me wrong.

But, that happens almost every day in many industries. There are countless stories like that, and we don't see all of those CEOs acting like they are God's gift to technology. Jason acts like that, and quite frankly, when you compare him to his peers (the YouTube guys, Andreesen, Joshua Schacter, Max Levchin, etc.) - he comes up short.

As has been said so many times, the only people that I think has the right to act like that are Jobs, Gates, Bezos, etc. And they don't.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#92

Post by HectorRamos »

fareastenders wrote: post #83

Having read the post and comments, the entire argument seems to be "Some don't want to work for a narcissistic, work-obsessed outspoken boss" and "narcissistic, work-obsessed outspoken people make it". You know the single thing that every single successful entrepreneur, in any field, has in common? They're work-obsessed. They bust their balls. I'd rather work for someone like JC than a work-shy narcissist.

Shhh, don't say that aloud here. You'll get down-voted. I thought Hacker News was about getting things done and kicking ass, not living the easy comfy life. Sheez.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#93

Post by rebooter »

If you have never started a business and suffered the consequences of having hired the wrong employees you lack the perspective necessary in order to voice an opinion on this matter. From my perspective, having started several businesses, succeeded and failed, I see no flaw whatsoever in what Jason is saying.

The consequences of hiring the wrong people can be dire, particularly when you need them to perform. I had a director of sales who was instrumental in killing one of my businesses.

When times got tough he did not have the "killer instinct" Jason talks about. Sales were down. Times were tough. I relied on him to go turn over rocks and find sales. Long story short, he just didn't have it in him. I had hired the wrong person. Funny thing is that there was another candidate that was rougher around the edges but definitely had the drive. I chose the more "refined" candidate (in my eyes) and made a huge mistake.

Jason is right.

If you don't understand it's because you lack the context. My favorite Mark Twain saying applies here:

"A man holding a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way".

Hold THAT cat by the tail first. Then you'll have an opinion worth considering.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#94

Post by phlux »

marcamillion wrote: post #85
jasonmcalacanis wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly my point. a) We have amazing job conditions: organic food cooked all day by our chefs, laundry service, car washing, personal trainers, unlimited monitors, killer espresso machine, developer-driven product design, etc. b) My point is it is fine to care about your own interests--but not more than the mission and success of the company. There is no 'i' in team, and you either succeed as a team or you fail a…

Jason, I have a theory, based on what I view as the most optimal way that labor markets work. Based on the system that we live in, everybody tends to benefit, when (in aggregate) everybody looks out for their self-interest. If they are not allowed to, there are distortions which actually impairs the benefits to both parties. For instance, if employees look out for their own self-interest, they will do everything to g…

>Based on the system that we live in, everybody tends to benefit, when (in aggregate) everybody looks out for their self-interest.

Isn't that the basic premise of Game Theory? and more specifically the Nash Equilibrium? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium)

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#95

Post by phlux »

alnayyir wrote: post #40
marcamillion wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jason wonders why people 'job hop' at Mahalo. Are you kidding me right now?

Oh man, don't get me started on that job-hoppers fiasco from a couple/few months ago. That thread put people into hysterics. You had people rallying behind the opposing flags of "work like damn dirty apes and love us for it!" and "we want our paternity leave and paid vacation!". Blood was spilt. :(

link?

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#96

Post by phlux »

roschdal wrote: post #27

Q: "How would you describe your management style, because you have a pretty unique management style?" Jason Calacanis: "Yeah, I would say I like people to be able to keep up with me. Uuuhm. And I don't get tired - I have only experienced being tired a couple of times in my life, it's typically from running the marathon and so I need people who are indefatigable, people who have pretty high stamina. I need people who…

So.... what if I already make more than 100K? Is he going to bring his value proposition and triple my salary?

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#97

Post by surfrat »

jasonmcalacanis wrote: post #68
stevefarnworth wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jason, I respect you and your work ethic, am a massive fan of TWiST and have been a Jason Nation subscriber for a long time. BUT, personally I don't believe this HR ethic will work long-time with the emergence of better angel funding. You're looking for the mentalities of founders to become employees, and when someone can partner with someone in university or down at the local coffee shop and apply for Y Combinator,…

Certainly there are more opportunities for brilliant and talented folks with every passing day. You can apply to an incubator like YC, TechStars or The Founders Institute (all great in their own ways). You can hit up www.OpenAngelForum.com or Angel List (angel.co).You can hit up the new crop of angel investors directly (assuming they keep investing!). Or you can sharpen your skills working for a killer entrepreneur l…

Jason, I'm a JNation subscriber, big TWiST fan and have to say that the abuse here is a bit much without knowing your contribution to the community.

That said, the quote above sounds like a Czar in early industrial Russia. I agree that you have high standards for your employees and applaud you for being upfront about expectations: your employees are adults and can make informed choices. But, that you would expect truly talented people to fall in line for that kind of industrial revolution era treatment defy's logic.

Yes, you can deliver 50x in mentorship/support post-hazing, but it is still a hazing. As someone mentioned earlier, why would a talented person want to work for you again? Truthfully, they could get similar support working at Google or Fb or any of the other successful startups in the valley.

I know that you "go for the gusto" approach has served you well in the past and has earned you the success and renown you have today. But, perhaps it is time to rethink that strategy, especially in these times and especially if you intend to stay relevant.

Keep on keepin on.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#98

Post by jammons »

marcamillion wrote: post #86
jammons wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as an employee at Mahalo, I can confirm that no one is being forced to work here.

Lol Jammons. Don't mean to call you out on that...but it's ironic that the positive comment you could muster was that 'no one is being forced to work here'.

That was sarcasm. Thanks for the downvotes though.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#99

Post by gobongo »

jasonmcalacanis wrote: post #63
dshankar wrote: post #45

I don't know Jason Calacanis, his personality or anything. His "I'm never tired, keep up with me" is.... odd to say the least. Nevertheless, I do agree with his "I want to surround myself with people who can work at my pace, work 80 hours a week not caring about life balance." Maybe not at a large company, but at an early stage startup I WANT people around me who are working hard and determined to make their product…

Please don't introduce a fair and logical argument in this thread or you will be voted down by the SEOs who have 20 astroturf accounts designed to slam me.

The only evidence of SEOing I see in this thread so far is your 4 completely unsubtle mentions of dubdubdub launch is.

Re: I would never work for Jason Calacanis - There, I said it

#100

Post by Evgeny »

phlux wrote: post #95
alnayyir wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man, don't get me started on that job-hoppers fiasco from a couple/few months ago. That thread put people into hysterics. You had people rallying behind the opposing flags of "work like damn dirty apes and love us for it!" and "we want our paternity leave and paid vacation!". Blood was spilt. :(

link?

Could be this one:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110

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