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Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

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Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#191

Post by ajays »

Retric wrote: post #179
chalst wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. One has to factor into the assets that Microsoft had at the start the access to Bill Gates' dad, who was a highly successful lawyer active in technology. Where would Microsoft's shrinkwrap sales strategy have been without legal advice?

His mother served on the same board of directors as the IBM CEO. Which is probably why the original licensing deal was even considered and why the they where not heavy handed in their contract negotiation. Edit: In 1980, she discussed with John Opel, a fellow committee member who was the chairman of the International Business Machines Corporation," her son's company. "Mr. Opel, by some accounts, mentioned Mrs. Gates…

Thanks for posting that. These little things are often not mentioned in the success stories we hear. Was Mrs. Gates' chat with Mr. Opel the sole cause of Microsoft's success? Of course not! But opening a few doors so early on is definitely a huge stroke of good fortune.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#192

Post by corin_ »

jt2190 wrote: post #184
corin_ wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It struck me more as simple than gold. If a VC that invested in a company gives them advice then obviously his goal is to make more money... but that goal will, in turn make you more money too. If you don't like the fact that a VC has the potential to make more money than you, the solution is to not take investment from one, not to ignore them after they take investment. Also remember that yes, they're not putting in…

But what is not obvious is that the VC might not care if _your_ company is the one that makes him money. Remember that VCs are managing a portfolio of companies, in order to spread their risk. The VC might decide that your company is in the part of their portfolio that won't go big, and so they won't give it any more but the bare minimum of attention.

Not giving much attention isn't the same as actively giving bad advice.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#193

Post by pelemele »

antirez wrote: post #168

Humans are not designed to: 1) Stay long hours sitted, immobile. It ruins your health. 2) To provide a steady high quality output in creative disciplines (writing code qualifies) for more than a 4/5 hours a day (add to this the time to do breaks, install your updates, check news sites, fix the email client, and you'll reach the 7/8 hours per day figure). It makes sense in a startup to work hard in crucial weeks, you…

If someone has to stay long hours on a regular basis someting is wrong...

http://www.despair.com/incompetence.html

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#194

Post by regularfry »

nik_0_0 wrote: post #189
kristofferR wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may be slightly off topic, but for solving #1 a standing desk is a great idea. My energy levels have improved dramatically and I've also lost some weight since I got my standing desk.

If the human body isn't built for sitting 8 hours a day, I'm damn sure its not made for standing 8 hours a day (not mine at least!)

It's not made for being immobile. With a standing desk, I find I move around more.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#195

Post by damoncali »

chernevik wrote: post #188
patio11 wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VCs invest money from so-called limited partners: universities, pension funds, wealthy families, etc. They're partners in the VC firm by dint of providing money, but they don't get operational control of deals. The fee structure of a VC firm is similar to that of a hedge fund: they take a management fee (based on the committed fund size) and a performance fee (based on the profits, if any, from investing). Typical nu…

True but maybe not so significant. Without hits the VC can't raise the next fund. Fees are real but I'm not sure they drive model or the viewpoint. IMO the larger divergence of interest is investment of time. Financial risks can be diversified or hedged, but there is no protection against lost time.

Don't be so sure. In a down economy, with a large fund, the fees can be so large as to be demotivating. What's 2% of a billion dollars? A fuckton by my standards.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#196

Post by quanticle »

larrys wrote: post #103
quanticle wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about working hard or getting rich. It's about working until you've put your health in danger. It's about coding until you're hallucinating. It might be necessary. But it's not laudable. Likewise, with your dad, what's laudable is the result . What's not laudable is the process. I'm sure that your dad would have jumped at the opportunity to make the same amount of money for fewer hours worked every day. In l…

"But let's not pretend that there was zero luck involved" What in his comment gives you the impression that he is claiming that luck did not play a role?

He talks only about how hard his dad worked and draws a direct line from his dad's hard work to the results. I'm trying to make the point that the line isn't so direct. There are a lot of things that could have happened to upset that trajectory and I don't think the OP is acknowledging them.

In other words, I've got the impression that OP thinks that life is fair - that if you work hard, you're guaranteed to get ahead. I'm arguing the opposite. Sometimes you do everything right and it all goes to hell anyway, due to forces outside your control.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#197

Post by Jd »

nostromo wrote: post #91
1010100101 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Another one who should get some flack is Thiel. He may just be the worst, suggesting kids should forgo a university education and going so far as to actually debate the "issue" whether an education is "worth it". For some of these VC to make money, they have no need to see university degrees. But they have their own interests in mind. And, lo and behold, most of them have university degrees.

I think you guys are being unduly cynical. Thiel recently debated this on NPR ( http://intelligencesquaredus.org/index.php/past-debates/too-... ) and I found him very convincing. He repeatedly talked about the concern of young people leaving college with 200k+ in debt -- which I think is very fair.

In the recent Thiel debate he said in fact that he supported undergrad education inclusive of non-technical degrees and was personally glad he did what he did. The larger question related to increasing price tag vs. decreasing value.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#198

Post by quanticle »

nostromo wrote: post #91
1010100101 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Another one who should get some flack is Thiel. He may just be the worst, suggesting kids should forgo a university education and going so far as to actually debate the "issue" whether an education is "worth it". For some of these VC to make money, they have no need to see university degrees. But they have their own interests in mind. And, lo and behold, most of them have university degrees.

I think you guys are being unduly cynical. Thiel recently debated this on NPR ( http://intelligencesquaredus.org/index.php/past-debates/too-... ) and I found him very convincing. He repeatedly talked about the concern of young people leaving college with 200k+ in debt -- which I think is very fair.

>He repeatedly talked about the concern of young people leaving college with 200k+ in debt -- which I think is very fair.

But is that a real problem? The statistics I've seen show that the proportion of students with more than $100,000 in debt is tiny. Most students graduate with ~$25,000 in debt. At that debt level, a college education is still a no-brainer.

I'd be willing to argue that if you've managed to rack up $200,000 in debt financing a college education, you've either 1) had extraordinarily bad luck or 2) made extraordinarily poor choices. Neither case is an indictment of the system at large.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#199

Post by bh42222 »

dgalling wrote: post #186
alexandros wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to me that Arrington does not realise that managing coders is not the same as managing journos on a blog. Maybe writers can churn and churn while working miserable hours for years on end. It does not work that way in coding. One hour of coding without thinking carefully can have a large negative contribution to your company's ability to meet its goals, by way of causing bad architectural decisions, bugs, and…

I highly doubt writers can work the same way. Anyone doing any type of creative work needs these types of breaks. Similarly, one article published without adequate editing/fact-checking can do wonders to destroy the credibility of a blog...

Similarly, one article published without adequate editing/fact-checking can do wonders to destroy the credibility of a blog...

Try reading an article on anything you are an expert in, from any newspaper.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#200

Post by Joss451 »

I've lived through a programmer's career already. Everything was good until age 50 when my body punished me for punishing it for 25 years.

Seven heart surgeries. High blood pressure. Damaged kidneys. Removal of an inner ear (from flying while ill and not getting to a doc in some place or another).

Take care of your body, blokes. It's the only thing keeping your brain intact. The cummulative effect of stress over a number of years is to attempt to kill you.

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