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Ask HN: Am I crazy?

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11–20 of 95 posts

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#11
you're not crazy, this would make for a good read. it's like founders at work, but improvised and down in the trenches.

we have a tent you can borrow for a few nights if you'd like, won't charge. look up the palo alto hacker house and if interested email me (jared /at graffitigeo /dot com). we have people who have dropped out of school, left jobs, etc. and would probably be open to letting you profile a bit.

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#12

Where did you go to college?

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

My degree is in Political science with concentrations in computer science and economics. I also have about half a degree in physics and a whole lot of coursework (around the reqs for a minor) in math, english, and music.

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#13
post #12

Where did you go to college?

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign My degree is in Political science with concentrations in computer science and economics. I also have about half a degree in physics and a whole lot of coursework (around the reqs for a minor) in math, english, and music.

cool, same here. are you on hndir.com? there is a collection of about 25 or so hackers for uiuc, many of them would be good to check out.

shoot me an email and let us host you for a few nights in palo alto, no costs -- jared /at graffitigeo /dot com

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#14
post #7

Yeah, you're a little crazy, but there's no better time than now to do crazy things. It won't get easier, cheaper, less stressful, as you get older. I think you're underestimating the expense of some aspects of this...but if you plan extremely well and live extremely cheap, you can probably live a couple months on the road for $1500. You should start blogging about your plans (your route, what you're taking with you,…

I'll donate a six-pack to that endeavor, as long as I get to join in drinking it. :)

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#15
I don't think you're crazy, it's something uncommon and it'll be a great experience no matter what happens.

If you are happy about your idea, do it without a doubt.

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#16

How able/averse are you to living with or taking money from your parents while you do this? I think it's a great idea, but there's no way you've got enough money to do this and take it to the point where it's publishable or monetizable. $1500 is like one month's rent in SF. While you can stretch that out by couchsurfing or camping, there'll be a lot of other expenses (gas? car breaking down? cell phone bills for all…

My mom would bankroll my phone bill and probably some other things. She also has her own business, so I could work for her while I compiled my work.

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#18
post #3

If you don't have any other streams of income, you might want to think about ways you could get $1k/mo flowing into your bank account to keep you afloat while you flesh this out. $1500 isn't a lot of money, but perhaps that constraint will just make you more creative. As for the validation that you're seeking, I've seen people do much crazier things that have turned out well. Which is all to say that, yes, the idea i…

The point of doing it on such a small budget (besides being how much I have) would be to force me into making it up on the fly. The project is deliberately structured to be somewhat open-ended.

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#19
post #12

Where did you go to college?

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign My degree is in Political science with concentrations in computer science and economics. I also have about half a degree in physics and a whole lot of coursework (around the reqs for a minor) in math, english, and music.

thumbs up for UIUC. :-)

Re: Ask HN: Am I crazy?

#20
Do it, because you'll not get time to do five years from now, and you might even meet someone who'll want you for a job. Just don't expect to necessarily return from it.

~Matt (met my wife while travelling and ended up in the USA)

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