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Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

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Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#21

Post by jyu »

Jaykyburz wrote: post #15

pffft.. screw startups, go work with the best people in the business on one of the best projects out there, Bioshock 2. 2K Marin are looking for level designers. http://www.2kmarin.com/ tell em Jay from 2K Aus sent ya.

Given your current position, this is really sound advice. The team behind Bioshock was innovative, relatively small, and they made an incredible impact on the gaming world.

As many before me have said, it's better to start a start up when the opportunity and market timing are right, not when your timing is right. In the mean time, working with a bunch of performers with a proven track record isn't a bad alternative.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#22

Post by spoiledtechie »

bootload wrote: post #7

"... the game shipped ..." Bummer. This highlights a problem making games. Revenue is project based and a bit like farming a crop. Miss the schedule, a hardware release, market and you don't get paid as much. "... What would be the right steps to take, to meet the kinds of people I want to meet that would work together on this kind of startup? ... I'm in the Bay Area ..." A job for "Gabriel Weinberg's" AskYC Archive…

Thank you for this Link!!!!

It is a huge amount of information that I really need. Thank you.

(coming from a guy who also wants to start up a business)

Thank you.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#23

Post by wastedbrains »

shawndrost wrote: post #6

Start going to the local hacking/entrepreneurship/etc meetups, there're probably 4-6 per week in your area. meetup.org

I agree, I believe the new tech meetup in SF is the largest in the country.

Also find a language or group specific to gaming. SF Ruby meetup is huge.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#24

Post by wastedbrains »

guit wrote: post #14

Go work for a start up. It's the best place to meet and learn from talented developers, founders, VCs, well-connected board members, etc. Build and keep those relationships. Brainstorm ideas and then sleep on them. Hack on the weekends. And then when you're ready, make your move.

I think this is good advice if I would have known more about the startup world I would have worked at a startup out of college instead of big business.

If you are not opposed to moving there is a great opportunity to work with some cool startups in Boulder, CO

http://boulder.me/

Shameless plug, I am in Boulder. My startup is a bit to small to be a part of Boulder.Me, but I know a bunch of the teams involved and it is really cool.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#25

Post by tstegart »

You might want to try your hand at iPhone games. There's currently a lot of room in the industry for new players. It has low barriers to entry, yet people are seeing a huge return on investments, and you can get projects out the door in a smaller time frame than most games take to develop and market. To me, it seems like the perfect space for a new business with little capital and lots of skill. I'd even say its perfectly suited to you. You can learn a new language and practically make yourself golden when it comes to being employed if your venture doesn't work out, because there's huge demand for iPhone programmers.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#26

Post by iamelgringo »

jacobscott wrote: post #9
iamelgringo wrote: post #4

I just got home from the Hackers and Founders Meetup 20 minutes ago. And, I started the group because I wanted the exact same thing: To hang out and talk with people who are serious about founding startups. We get together in the Bay Area every two weeks to hang out, have a tasty beverage and talk about startups, the web, stuff we read on Hacker News, etc... We've had between 20-30 attendee's the past few meetups, an…

Does anyone have a good writeup somewhere of all such (public) groups? I trust HN pointers/analysis over just searching meetup. I'm relatively new to the valley, it would be nice to figure out what part of the technology social network I fit best with.

A lot of it depends on what you're interested in. There are Meetup groups for most technologies out there: Rails, MySQL, LAMP. And, then there are Web 2.0 groups, "New Tech" meetups, general entrepreneur groups and business groups. Each one tends to have a focus and a slant. Some are sponsored, some aren't.

The Hackers and Founders group I host tends have about 1/3 to 1/2 of members read Hacker News on a regular basis. I'm also running it to simply build community. I'm not getting any financial return on the deal. I'm really just doing it to get to know other Hackers and Founders.

There are also non-Meetup.com groups like super happy dev house: http://superhappydevhouse.org/ and various and sundry Tech Crunch get-togethers, Digg parties, etc...

My advice would be to try a couple out. Worst case scenario, you're out a couple hours of your time.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#27

Post by rtf »

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I'll start following up on specific comments shortly, but some general thoughts:

My reasons for wanting to go for a new business have to do with the calcified nature of the development process; now that I've "seen the elephant" in this side of the business it's all much less interesting, and it won't get better just by changing my employer. It won't get better by going indie, even. I want to go beyond shipping products and find the next level - the franchise, the organization, whatever term might apply.

So in that sense I'm not worried about the product idea, just the process - the potential of changing and improving it. That's where I think the startup world has something to offer.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#28

Post by rtf »

iamelgringo wrote: post #26
jacobscott wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone have a good writeup somewhere of all such (public) groups? I trust HN pointers/analysis over just searching meetup. I'm relatively new to the valley, it would be nice to figure out what part of the technology social network I fit best with.

A lot of it depends on what you're interested in. There are Meetup groups for most technologies out there: Rails, MySQL, LAMP. And, then there are Web 2.0 groups, "New Tech" meetups, general entrepreneur groups and business groups. Each one tends to have a focus and a slant. Some are sponsored, some aren't. The Hackers and Founders group I host tends have about 1/3 to 1/2 of members read Hacker News on a regular basi…

When I got my game gig it was through demonstrating work at a Meetup group(San Francisco Game Developers), so I know this is a good place to start. I'm planning to show for as many of these events as I can.

Re: Ask YC: I just got laid off, and I have some startup dreams.

#30

Post by bootload »

spoiledtechie wrote: post #22
bootload wrote: post #7

"... the game shipped ..." Bummer. This highlights a problem making games. Revenue is project based and a bit like farming a crop. Miss the schedule, a hardware release, market and you don't get paid as much. "... What would be the right steps to take, to meet the kinds of people I want to meet that would work together on this kind of startup? ... I'm in the Bay Area ..." A job for "Gabriel Weinberg's" AskYC Archive…

Thank you for this Link!!!! It is a huge amount of information that I really need. Thank you. (coming from a guy who also wants to start up a business) Thank you.

"... Thank you for this Link!!!! ... It is a huge amount of information that I really need. ..."

Save the thanks for Gabriel for the "Best-Of" links and the Askyc team for comments search & where I go to find things. They are really adding a great deal of value.

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