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I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

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Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#41

Post by anonymouse008 »

bob33212 wrote: post #39
vessenes wrote: post #24

This is a kind of writing I think of as Silicon Valley mythos - in it, a plucky entrepreneur, a lucky angel investor and a hacker get together, and fail their way into an IPO. At the end they tell the reader he just needs to believe in himself more, and the SV myth will come true for him. There’s a lot of hate in the comments here, but I am personally more equivocal - it is definitely true that absolutely no centimil…

Persistent people are much more likely to ignore their misses and focus on their hits. Someone that hits 10M in revenue may have pivoted multiple times when they were below 1k in revenue trying to get traction. They probably don't even see it as a pivot, they have forgotten about the sales pitches that totally fell flat, and remember the times that a customer said "Could you also do X, we really need that"

Whole heartedly agree -- though too long in this desert without the savory success can make one feel like they're going mad.

Too many times I've found comfort from laying prone on a hard wood floor...

I'm not asking to remove the stress completely - it would just be nice to feel like I can afford a small nap pad underneath me.

Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#44

Post by fma »

barrkel wrote: post #36
bsder wrote: post #11

Someone always hits the lottery. The probability that it will be you is zero. Most people are much better served working for a company and punching the 9-to-5 clock--especially since startups nowadays rarely give contributors sufficient stock to make the risks worthwhile.

I spent nearly 8 years at a fintech startup in London, leaving late last year. It just recently had a liquidity event (private capital) which means that my options will net me a bank deposit worth several times my after-tax annual salary. And yet, my current total comp at Google is worth more than my final salary + (pre-tax option value at liquidity event / 8). And I reckon I was the highest paid engineer in the comp…

The less sexy way of "making it big" is get a well paying, interesting but low stress job, live below your means, dollar cost average your way into an index fund.

Instead of spending nights and weekends hacking away, spend it with your family or a hobby...become a guaranteed millionaire.

$20k invested per year, 8% average yearly return, 30 year growth = $2.5mill. YMMV based on tweaking those numbers

Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#46

Post by mattferderer »

jakequade wrote: post #5

> Knowing nothing about software. A few lines in: > I created a horse-racing simulation game in Applesoft BASIC in Manhattan Beach Middle School’s computer classroom and ran a small gambling operation. ... Ok.

The more you know the more you realize how little you know.

Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#47

Post by skeeter2020 »

fma wrote: post #44
barrkel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent nearly 8 years at a fintech startup in London, leaving late last year. It just recently had a liquidity event (private capital) which means that my options will net me a bank deposit worth several times my after-tax annual salary. And yet, my current total comp at Google is worth more than my final salary + (pre-tax option value at liquidity event / 8). And I reckon I was the highest paid engineer in the comp…

The less sexy way of "making it big" is get a well paying, interesting but low stress job, live below your means, dollar cost average your way into an index fund. Instead of spending nights and weekends hacking away, spend it with your family or a hobby...become a guaranteed millionaire . $20k invested per year, 8% average yearly return, 30 year growth = $2.5mill. YMMV based on tweaking those numbers

You make it sound like getting a well paying, interesting, low-stress job is a total cake walk. For most of us it's not.

I also love how someone inevitably trots out the "just invest $ at % for ". Nothing is giving you guarenteed 8% post tax returns, and you might want to, I don't know, buy a house in the next 30 years.

Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#48

Post by kevinventullo »

bsder wrote: post #11

Someone always hits the lottery. The probability that it will be you is zero. Most people are much better served working for a company and punching the 9-to-5 clock--especially since startups nowadays rarely give contributors sufficient stock to make the risks worthwhile.

I think the exception is if you are a founder, for at least two reasons. First, if the startup does have success, you can make substantially more than any 9-to-5. Secondly, the skills you develop running even a smallish company can translate well to upper management if you do ever decide to “work for someone else”.

N.b. I do not know this from personal experience, just my observations.

Re: I created a $350M software company knowing nothing about software (2015)

#50

Post by clpm4j »

fma wrote: post #44
barrkel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent nearly 8 years at a fintech startup in London, leaving late last year. It just recently had a liquidity event (private capital) which means that my options will net me a bank deposit worth several times my after-tax annual salary. And yet, my current total comp at Google is worth more than my final salary + (pre-tax option value at liquidity event / 8). And I reckon I was the highest paid engineer in the comp…

The less sexy way of "making it big" is get a well paying, interesting but low stress job, live below your means, dollar cost average your way into an index fund. Instead of spending nights and weekends hacking away, spend it with your family or a hobby...become a guaranteed millionaire . $20k invested per year, 8% average yearly return, 30 year growth = $2.5mill. YMMV based on tweaking those numbers

Perfectly reasonable path for some people. For others, like myself, not being my own boss and working a "normal job" for years on end is the definition of hell. I know I'm in the minority though.
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