Startups and Moms • Hacker News Board

Re: Startups and Moms

#11

Post by jaf12duke » Sun, May 12, 2013, 8:58 PM UTC

ncasenmare wrote: post #4

As a 2013 Thiel Fellow, this hit close to home for me. Growing up in an Asian family, I was always pressured to take the safe, traditional college route. And then grow up to be a doctor or lawyer. It's not their fault, of course, who wants a risky life for their kid? As part of the Thiel Fellowship, I'll be moving away from Vancouver to the Bay Area. Leaving the nest. This article will be my Mother's Day Gift, to let…

Congrats! You'll now find your crazy, brave, audacious career choice to be fairly commonplace here in the Bay Area. It feels wonderful.

Ping me directly--I'd be happy to help you get settled here.

Re: Startups and Moms

#12

Post by cjoh » Mon, May 13, 2013, 12:54 AM UTC

ncasenmare wrote: post #4

As a 2013 Thiel Fellow, this hit close to home for me. Growing up in an Asian family, I was always pressured to take the safe, traditional college route. And then grow up to be a doctor or lawyer. It's not their fault, of course, who wants a risky life for their kid? As part of the Thiel Fellowship, I'll be moving away from Vancouver to the Bay Area. Leaving the nest. This article will be my Mother's Day Gift, to let…

This is really awesome. But please -- save this as a note for some other time for your mother. As a dad, it'd be heartbreaking to get a "it's time to let go" note on Father's day. It would crush me. Even the most amicable divorce is tough.

Give your mom some flowers and, heck, draw something for her. Or use your talent to express your appreciation for her. But don't give her a goodbye letter on Mother's day.

Re: Startups and Moms

#13

Post by SatvikBeri » Mon, May 13, 2013, 1:11 AM UTC

Man, when I think about the heart attacks I've put my conservative Indian parents through (frequently getting lost/injured/severely sick as a small child, dropping out of high school, getting married at 19 with no income, refusing prestigious consulting jobs to go work at startups, then leaving 3 jobs in a row with less than a year at each...) it makes me realize that parenting must be even more of an emotional roller-coaster than starting a startup. I'm guessing it never gets easier, either.

Luckily it's turned out pretty well so far. I'll be sure to thank my parents for putting up with me for so long.

Re: Startups and Moms

#14

Post by sliverstorm » Mon, May 13, 2013, 2:40 AM UTC

orbital303 wrote: post #9

tekacs wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if worried, do this after a university degree; make sure not to let your skills rust; pick up practical experience... and then take a job (even temporarily) if things go downhill? Broke is better than massively in debt - so don't take on debt. Burnt out is more difficult, but at least somewhat in your hands (and pretty easy to come by in the course of a 'professional' career). Unemployable? Now that one's wholly i…

Unemployable is not wholly in your hands because burnout is not at all in your hands, as evidenced by the startup culture that expects and rewards long hours even though they know how unproductive and unsustainable that is. Burn out is just another way of saying "major depressive disorder" or some other mental illness. It is not glorious and it's only in your control if you never start down that road. Is it possible…

I agree that burnout is not really in your control when you work for someone. There are games you can play to push out the hard wall, but it is hard to truly regulate it yourself when you are not your own boss.

This does not mean burnout will always happen. It just means your superiors play an important role in managing it.