Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#131

Post by aortega » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:39 PM UTC

iretired wrote: post #50

hitchhiker999 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nice! The many girls thing will rapidly get boring though. Friends thing never will.

[Thanks, japhyr, for pointing that out although we obviously disagree] Actually, I've already figured that out. This guy is going to be my friend for the rest of my life even though I've only known him for a year. Several times it's happened that we both make excuses to ditch our respective girlfriends to just hang out alone together, drink wine and talk about life. Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is…

Somebody is burned I think. Check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA62iVIAIP4

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#132

Post by anon34567 » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:42 PM UTC

Kindasorta there.

I built a platform tool that basically replaced a department of people in this vertical. Add the bizdev cofounder who gets businesses use it and them lock them into long term agreements. Now we have some scale and I get to collect some dividends (low mils) every year that I end up throwing into real estate. My spend is I still work at the company but don't drive the top line revenue -- I mainly tinker around with it because I enjoy algorithm and machine learning problems. (Historically this business is very qualitative and human-powered.)

> How old were you?

I'm 32 and this started two years back.

> What was it specifically that made the cash that ended up in your pocket?

Just the dividends that get dispensed every year. So I get a low mil payout every year -- which is not exactly "never have to work again rich", but the expected value of the business surviving 5-10 years at a minimum is pretty high.

> Do you feel happy in your life?

I'm satisfied but do not intend to be fully happy -- it keeps my edge sharper so my days feel longer, fuller, and with meaning. A lot of my defined purpose (which dispenses happiness) comes from solving problems and adding value friends, so whenever I feel satisfied I just increase the scope of the problem and the definition of those around me.

My biggest life change that set me on this current trajectory was probably when I was 29, where my startup folded, my gf broke up with me, my over-levered investments wiped out, fell into debt, binged on video games and food, and succumbed to depression for a year. Somehow channeling all that hate and self-loathing into recovery gave me a lot of perspective on the absurdities of life and every day I remind myself of this knowledge. I am grateful for every day and am glad to be alive.

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#133

Post by personlurking » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:42 PM UTC

graeme wrote: post #96

personlurking wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not specific doors, just in areas I think I'd like to live. Getting all those characteristics in one place at the same time might be shooting too high but it's possible, I suppose. Finding a place to stay/rent, then talking with the people you're renting from or neighbors, you might have a better chance of hooking up the rest, even from a single person (ie, one person who cooks meals, will do cleaning and laundry). I…

But in the areas you want to live, you just knock at a variety of doors. They're not places that have advertised? In Cuba I found a lot of places that offered all of the above, but they're a special case where you need a license to rent to foreigners. That's a good idea about getting a house and then contracting out for work. How do you deal with trust in those cases?

"They're not places that have advertised?" Correct, some of my best results were from just talking to people about finding a place, knocking on doors, etc.

Trust is tough cause in one case I had rented a room which included a separate kitchen and bathroom/shower (reasonable for the price I was paying, $150). Well, the renter put another person in my room at one point, charging that person the same as me and therefore making double on the same space. In another case, the renter told me I didn't prepay him at the start of the month (something I swear I did) and I had no proof that I did so I ended up probably paying twice ($90 rent, so…). In both cases, I moved out soon after.

The lesson being that sometimes you're going to get worked over (because you're a foreigner) and you just have to take it in stride and move on. The important thing is to be clear, to get written and signed receipts if need be, and to learn to say no if things start to sound fishy or not close to what you expected. Also don't pay ahead, try to keep everything current so that if you do need to move somewhere else, you won't be out of luck because you decided to make things easy and just pay a few months in advance.

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#134

Post by dllthomas » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:45 PM UTC

rokhayakebe wrote: post #125

graeme wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is just how they are wired. If you want to have great conversations about anything meaningful, you must find a man. This sounds like selection bias. From what you wrote, it sounds like two things are true of the women you meet. 1. You're selecting them based on looks 2. Your intention is, in most cases, to sleep with them I'm not saying that no attractive women are int…

I'm not saying that no attractive women are intelligent, of course. What I am saying is that if you are selecting based on looks (and interest in clubs) then you're less likely to find intelligence. I know you mean well, but somehow your second sentence contradicts your first statement.

Strictly speaking, "If you are selecting based on looks (as opposed to picking randomly)" simply implies that you believe fewer attractive women are intelligent, proportionally. This actually could be reasonable without thinking less of attractive women, if you assume that attractive and intelligent women are likely to already be taken, but it's still certainly an assumption.

It gets even less damning if we say "If you are selecting based on looks (as opposed to picking based on intelligence)". It should be uncontroversial that a group of women selected for intelligence is going to be smarter than one selected based on an uncorrelated (or even weakly correlated) feature.

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#135

Post by hashtag » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:54 PM UTC

jyu wrote: post #114

hashtag wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious on the back story of how you got dragged into working for Google

He used to keep a blog on what it's like to work at Google from 2005-2007. In lieu of his response, it might suffice. The archive is available below: http://blog.rongarret.info/2009/12/xooglers-rises-from-ashes... http://www.flownet.com/ron/xooglers.html

Thanks. I wish there was a way to remove the comments and just straight read the story

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#136

Post by rcvassallo » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:55 PM UTC

STRML wrote: post #118

rcvassallo wrote: post #102

> "Never have to work again rich" I'm almost there. At this point, I just resigned my full-time job and have enough cash on hand to maintain my current lifestyle for the next 10+ years before even thinking about finding a new job or withdrawing funds from my retirement accounts. > How did you do it? I worked in IT at a community bank and built a reputation for software development. After ~5 years there, I started a c…

How did you get started in real estate? In a good year, it is sometimes difficult to choose what to do with extra money - and the usual 0.05-0.10% the banks offer certainly isn't cutting it.

Baby steps. I got my feet wet by taking on a roommate at my first house for the extra cash flow. Once I had saved up enough for a down payment on a 2nd house, I bought it, moved there, and rented out my first place. If things keep going well I plan invest in a 3rd property by the end of this year.

Some factors that helped out:

1. I live in Texas so buying there is a healthy margin between mortgage payments and rent prices. Insurance prices eat into this margin but once you're renting this becomes and above the line deduction on your taxes.

2. I bought my first house when I was 22 and lived there for 5 years.

3. Luck - my first house was flooded by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Insurance payout worked out to a free remodeling and a kickstart for the down payment on the 2nd house.

4. I found tenants through assisted housing programs. Put in the work to find people who feel your property is a dream house, then they will want to be long-term tenants. The housing program pays via direct deposit on the first of the month so you never have to chase down money.

5. Maintenance - get friendly with some people who work at home depot and local plumbing and electrical services so you can have a handyman to fix the inevitable problems that crop up.

6. I had a friend who was going to transfer to a college near my 2nd house so he's living with me as a roommate. The deal is win-win - he saves money, time, and vehicle expenses while paying the mortgage for me and then some.

Hope that helps!

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#137

Post by wpietri » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 7:58 PM UTC

Eyas wrote: post #80

iretired wrote: post #34

I feel obliged to comment, although not with my normal HN username. I’m 41. I retired two years ago at the age of 39. I spent 18 years working in Silicon Valley at four different companies of various sizes. At 29 I was promoted to a first-level manager. Two of the companies I worked for were successful while I was there, although not spectacularly so. Mostly I minimized my costs. For the last five years of my career,…

Reading this post was very uncomfortable, especially the follow-ups describing women as having "no intellectual curiosity", but also the general tone. I was also perplexed at how many others described this as an ideal life -- perhaps they were just referring to the raw facts (lots of fun, dating, throwing good parties, etc.) and not actually adopting many of the implicit attitudes in there. Still, I couldn't help but…

Yeah. When I focus on just him, I feel sad for him. He took something he loved doing, software, and ruined it for himself. For half the human race, the half that he wants to be intimate with, he doesn't even know how to interact with them in a way that isn't exploitative. He's now reluctantly spending his cash hoard to buy cheap status from bar staff. It's kinda heartbreaking.

And then I think about the women he's exploiting, the one whose early, formative relationships are with somebody with no respect for them. How many of them will spend the rest of their lives thinking that men are exploitative assholes? That if they're going to make it in this world, they have to be as awful as him?

It's hideous. I hope he gets over it. For their sake, and his.

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#138

Post by wpietri » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 8:07 PM UTC

mr_luc wrote: post #116

Eyas wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading this post was very uncomfortable, especially the follow-ups describing women as having "no intellectual curiosity", but also the general tone. I was also perplexed at how many others described this as an ideal life -- perhaps they were just referring to the raw facts (lots of fun, dating, throwing good parties, etc.) and not actually adopting many of the implicit attitudes in there. Still, I couldn't help but…

I'd like to thank the gp for his comment and his honesty; I think his participation adds a lot to this discussion. That said, I felt just as uneasy as you. Here's my experience from the Funemployment thread, if anyone's interested -- not FU money, but a life that feels just as free: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7932707 (I thought about commenting on this thread, but I already commented on the 'Funemployment'…

The reason I'd be comfortable calling it immature is that shallow relationships with people are common in the young, but most people grow out of it. And very few go back from treating other humans as equal to a more narcissistic approach.

I don't think there's anything essentially wrong with narcissism. Toddlers believe the whole world is about them, and have to be trained not to hit others. Gradually, we learn that other people are independent entities, just as real as we are, and just as deserving of respect. I think that's a life-long process. This guy seems way behind for his age, which is also my age. I hope his time off lets him catch up.

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#139

Post by noir_lord » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 8:14 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #120

iretired wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Thanks, japhyr, for pointing that out although we obviously disagree] Actually, I've already figured that out. This guy is going to be my friend for the rest of my life even though I've only known him for a year. Several times it's happened that we both make excuses to ditch our respective girlfriends to just hang out alone together, drink wine and talk about life. Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is…

> Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is just how they are wired. If you want to have great conversations about anything meaningful, you must find a man. It makes me burn with shame to see such horseshit on Hacker News. This account is banned as a troll. Do not post anything like this again, and kindly keep the douchey Maxim-magazine pastiche off this site as well.

Spot on. Also are you a series of robots? as you never seem to sleep...

I personally hold the theory that dang is an YC-funded AI run by a stealth start up ;).

Re: Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?

#140

Post by jasonostrander » Wed, Jul 02, 2014, 8:21 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #120

iretired wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Thanks, japhyr, for pointing that out although we obviously disagree] Actually, I've already figured that out. This guy is going to be my friend for the rest of my life even though I've only known him for a year. Several times it's happened that we both make excuses to ditch our respective girlfriends to just hang out alone together, drink wine and talk about life. Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is…

> Women have almost no intellectual curiosity. It is just how they are wired. If you want to have great conversations about anything meaningful, you must find a man. It makes me burn with shame to see such horseshit on Hacker News. This account is banned as a troll. Do not post anything like this again, and kindly keep the douchey Maxim-magazine pastiche off this site as well.

Well said Dan!