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Take the Money and Run

nate.io

41–50 of 182 posts

Re: Take the Money and Run

#41

I currently live in Columbus and actually attended CodeMash this past year. Its great to hear about people in my own back yard, so to speak, that have a successful start up. Typically you only hear about them in silicon valley. Great story and i'm looking forward to the next installment.

I live in Columbus too. Its a huge start-up city. Some label it as the next Silicon Valley because of Battelle, Ohio State, and the SIGNIFICANTLY lower cost of living.

Re: Take the Money and Run

#43
post #24
post #6

I'm probably being petulant or don't understand American culture, but: > To avoid spending money, we'd been subsisting on a diet consisting largely of soup. [...] But now, we'd gradually started to feel like we might be able to afford to eat at restaurants again. No middle ground?

I was being hyperbolic -- we did eat quite a bit of soup because it was cheap, but we ate other things also. I didn't mean for the word largely to be taken literally.

It evokes images of Charlie Chaplin eating boiled-shoe soup, or Charlie Bucket's entire family eating thin cabbage soup (and just one Wonka bar per year). Eating hot dogs, bologna, mac and cheese, and peanut butter sandwiches doesn't quite do it, because people eat those things occasionally, even when they can afford not to.

But if you cut up that one hot dog and use it to make hot dog soup, you're now signaling that you're far too frugal for a second hot dog, a bun, or even mustard. But you're still not pinching that penny so hard that you just eat the hot dog, unheated and unaccompanied. Soup says "poor, but still trying hard, because it is only temporary".

~ Either that, or it says "following a fad diet based on the idea that people who eat mostly soup are not fat". ~

Re: Take the Money and Run

#45
post #23

Aah, so it sounds like one of the big reasons you sold was because of imposter syndrome? I don't mean that negatively -- I feel one of the things that comes with experience is you realize that nobody knows what they are doing. This dispels the impostor syndrome pretty quickly. Once you think you know how a business or industry works, you develop patterns to solve it. This can sometimes work against you because it can…

So true. I've switched industries a few times and by now you'd think I'd get it. It still takes me some time to get up to speed with the 'dynamics' of the space/industry I'm working in and the realization everytime is that it is truly a con-fidence game. There is no consensus on the one 'right way' to do things and anyone who spouts with religious fervor that their way is the only way is being disingenuous or worse really believes the horse-shit they spew

Re: Take the Money and Run

#46
post #6

I'm probably being petulant or don't understand American culture, but: > To avoid spending money, we'd been subsisting on a diet consisting largely of soup. [...] But now, we'd gradually started to feel like we might be able to afford to eat at restaurants again. No middle ground?

If there's an item of American culture you may be missing, it's probably that American restaurants can be very cheap.

Re: Take the Money and Run

#48
Sounds like you made the right choice. When you're weighing certain money versus 'we think this company will be a big deal someday if we slog it out', it'd be silly not to cash out. As long as it's a reasonable offer, of course.

Worst case you work for a couple years at the acquirer until your golden handcuffs run out, then start another company -- this time with money in the bank.

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