Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update • Hacker News Board

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#21

Post by bretthellman » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:13 PM UTC

slewis wrote: post #15

bretthellman wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on where you are in your career. Straight out of college I wouldn't recommend going to most big companies... you'll learn bad habits and not be pushed to do your best work. Join a startup.

Can you give some examples of some bad habits you might learn? 40 hour weeks?

During my first month at Intuit as Product Manger who coded, I pitched some ideas to my leader at the time. His feedback was to try to come up with ideas that were more practical. That pretty much sums it up. To credit Intuit, that leader is no longer with the company. The problem imo is this type of thinking shapes the way people think. On the flip side, VCs/Investors/Angels are only interested in the big ideas that sounds crazy that big companies reject.

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#22

Post by dmix » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:17 PM UTC

> I wasted a month searching. I learned that you don’t find a cofounder; it happens naturally or it doesn’t.

I agree.

I've spent 2yrs+ years looking for good co-founders (through people I meet, not a recruiting mission). I've been to tons of events and meetups, kept up with entrepreneurs/developers in my area.

Theres only a few few people that I'd want to start a company with and they are all usually busy doing their own companies.

After having a few cofounders who didn't work out, I've learned its much better to not have one that have a mediocre one dragging out down. But at the same time I've still learned it crucial to have a cofounder.

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#23

Post by pkteison » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:21 PM UTC

slewis wrote: post #15

bretthellman wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on where you are in your career. Straight out of college I wouldn't recommend going to most big companies... you'll learn bad habits and not be pushed to do your best work. Join a startup.

Can you give some examples of some bad habits you might learn? 40 hour weeks?

Bad habits I observed at a very big company:

* I don't know [insert new technology here], I'd rather stick with [insert thing I know well here]

* That isn't my problem

* Is there a ticket for that?

* Can you file a ticket for that?

* I've hit my 40 hours

* But it's always been done this way.

* We need to schedule a meeting

* [20 people in one meeting]

* [20 people in one meeting every day for a month]

* [More time in meetings than programming]

* We can't use that open framework, who will support it?

* We need this to be on [X] hardware platform because that's what ops has available

* What does the vendor say / Has architecture reviewed and approved this technology? (this may have a useful point somewhere, but I have seen arch. approval mainly be a function of who took the arch team out to a nice restaurant or went golfing with them.)

* We can't use [insert appropriate thing to use] because it's too hard. We should use [simpler thing] because our devs can understand it better.

I know this list reads almost a stereotype of big dev at this point, but I personally saw all of these. I could probably come up with a few dozen more given a few hours of cringing.

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#24

Post by Hisoka » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:26 PM UTC

bretthellman wrote: post #6

Hisoka wrote: post #3

What is Hall.com going to be about, and how much did the domain name cost you:

Re: the domain name, beside hard work, we reached a fair deal thanks to some investor & legal advice. I'd be happy to share in another post if you're interested? Let me know...

Yes, I would like to read a post about it.. also would like to know how you manage to get 28K in private beta if you are willing to share that secret haha

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#25

Post by dustineichler » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:27 PM UTC

bretthellman wrote: post #19

porterhaney wrote: post #18

Brett, curious without a cofounder and no employees, how much had you built before you raised your seed round?

@porterhaney What's important is to show you can execute on what you're pitching. We also had solid metrics (retention etc...)

What's a 100% of nothing re: retention. No offense, but it sounds as though networking paid dividends, not what you had built... at all.

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#26

Post by ChuckFrank » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:31 PM UTC

And Hall.com does what exactly.

I've danced from your blog to your twitter and over to your fb and back, Then over to your .com which sends me back to your twitter, which says that if I read your blog, I can tweet a hall pass, for what? Okay so then I googled Hall.com and still nothing.

And herein we talk about how much the domain costs, and what your start-up experience is like (newsflash -- more creative control -- thanks) And still there's no word on hall.com.

Yet we have page after page of startup advice about being able to pitch our concept in an ice storm on a sinking ship, while the band plays and the Hotsy Totsies wink. Three Words -- Netflix for Comics. Done.

But still these pages fill with little teases here and there about the brilliant work that is being done, without actually saying what it is exactly.

So, dear sir, back to you -- in three or four words --

Hall is ..... in real life only better. Hall is ..... the new new coke. Hall is ..... Qwikster with a c. Hall is ...... kids in the. Hall is ...... Heuristic ALgorithmic Laboratory

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#27

Post by bretthellman » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:52 PM UTC

ChuckFrank wrote: post #26

And Hall.com does what exactly. I've danced from your blog to your twitter and over to your fb and back, Then over to your .com which sends me back to your twitter, which says that if I read your blog, I can tweet a hall pass, for what? Okay so then I googled Hall.com and still nothing. And herein we talk about how much the domain costs, and what your start-up experience is like (newsflash -- more creative control --…

Chuck, sorry if we caused any frustration. We had not updated our followers in some time and wanted to send out an update. We have 28k+ people in line and several have emailed asking for a status update. We'll be answer your question very soon and opening the doors to HALL.com. Thanks

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#28

Post by tm65atcolumbia » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 6:57 PM UTC

bretthellman wrote: post #6

Hisoka wrote: post #3

What is Hall.com going to be about, and how much did the domain name cost you:

Re: the domain name, beside hard work, we reached a fair deal thanks to some investor & legal advice. I'd be happy to share in another post if you're interested? Let me know...

Yep, another post on getting the domain sounds interesting.

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#29

Post by timjahn » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 7:07 PM UTC

bretthellman wrote: post #27

ChuckFrank wrote: post #26

And Hall.com does what exactly. I've danced from your blog to your twitter and over to your fb and back, Then over to your .com which sends me back to your twitter, which says that if I read your blog, I can tweet a hall pass, for what? Okay so then I googled Hall.com and still nothing. And herein we talk about how much the domain costs, and what your start-up experience is like (newsflash -- more creative control --…

Chuck, sorry if we caused any frustration. We had not updated our followers in some time and wanted to send out an update. We have 28k+ people in line and several have emailed asking for a status update. We'll be answer your question very soon and opening the doors to HALL.com. Thanks

Yet you didn't answer the very simple question of "What does your company do?"

Re: Why I Quit Intuit and Started Hall.com - An Update

#30

Post by Choppen5 » Mon, Oct 10, 2011, 7:15 PM UTC

bretthellman wrote: post #21

slewis wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give some examples of some bad habits you might learn? 40 hour weeks?

During my first month at Intuit as Product Manger who coded, I pitched some ideas to my leader at the time. His feedback was to try to come up with ideas that were more practical. That pretty much sums it up. To credit Intuit, that leader is no longer with the company. The problem imo is this type of thinking shapes the way people think. On the flip side, VCs/Investors/Angels are only interested in the big ideas that…

>only interested in the big ideas that sounds crazy that big companies reject.

Great! I've got that covered... we'll see though seems like a lot of VCs like safe a sure bets, proof that it is already working.