151–160 of 190 posts
Hey Mohamed! I'm really glad you're making a startup. When I started my first startup, I had no idea how to make "mywebsite.com" link up to my actual website - the whole process was a mystery to me. It was like wandering around in a dark room and bumping into the furniture and walls. I got the business started with just a simple Bootstrap template and PHP form, and it worked great! After around 6 months of learning n…
Before you do this, consider the following question: would you rather spend your time learning to build the Uber app, or learning the skills to build Uber (the company)? Those are two truly different skill sets, and the latter is far more rare and valuable. The ability to raise money, build teams for a variety of functions, budget, and execute on an audacious vision is far outside the realm of most software engineers…
By learning to code, my desire is to get to a stage where: a. I can converse with tech people who have been at this their whole live, b. gain the proficiency to build the mvp, c. become a team member with attributable skill set when company is formed, etc. Hiring someone is inevitable down the line, but I need to create the map for him/her to paint first. I agree about the different skill sets. I am working on gettin…
This combined experience and study has lead to owning a successfully bootstrapped business. We don't have investors, we have a wonderful audience, and we just hired employee #1.
Stack those bricks! Every one counts.
My daughter and I were in the same position around 18 months ago. Neither of us knew any coding, but we wanted to do a startup. I have an mba and another professional degree and wanted to do a startup, so in theory, I could have tried to find a tech cofounder, but in the end, felt I would be in a better position if I learnt to code. As usual, paul graham says it better than I can, "anyone reasonably smart can probabl…
My profile is updated with my email. I would love to chat.
Hey Mohamed. I am interested in how someone who is not an engineer/investor/etc even came to hear about Hacker News?
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I had a cab driver a couple of weeks ago. We got talking, and I said I am a developer. He said he knew some c#. He seemed slow but I humoured him - asked how he got into it. He then started talking about machine code programming on the c64 and showed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sprite system, the way to build event loops and different approaches to laying out large programs.
Cab drivers are really some of the most interesting people. I've spoken to a cab driver that claimed to have been a refugee from a country in Africa- told me how he missed how brightly the stars shone in comparison with the light pollution of the American city. He was a reporter that got in trouble with his government and had to get out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a cab driver a couple of weeks ago. We got talking, and I said I am a developer. He said he knew some c#. He seemed slow but I humoured him - asked how he got into it. He then started talking about machine code programming on the c64 and showed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sprite system, the way to build event loops and different approaches to laying out large programs.
Some people with high IQ are smart enough to say "I want to be a cab driver", and do it. They probably are happier in their jobs, than many others who just do whatever "is expected" of them.
Hi Mohamed Your goals are admirable, and I think you're on the right path. Do you have some product or company idea in mind already? The one piece of advice I'd like to give you is, there's no need to rush. There will be plenty more YC intakes, and you'll have tons of good ideas - learning to execute on them by trying a bunch of different stuff is the best way to get there, and to do that you need to give yourself ti…
Thank for your feedback. I have two ideas in mind. One is about a process I would like to streamline using technology at my current job, and the other one deals with ESL and learning a new language. Many of the ESL or learn a language methods out there are so boring, and I think I have a way to make it less boring and actually learn something. I had this problem when I wanted to learn French. You can sit there and repeat all the French words until the cows come home, but it will be no use to you when you want to converse in real life situations. The idea is about learning a new language in a way that is engaging, not learning from a CD and tucked away in your bedroom.
Welcome Mohamed. "This place is overwhelmingly full of smart people, and I sometimes feel out of place!" Don't feel out of place. You may just be suffering from Dunning-Kruger effect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect The smartest people for me are those who can drop all pretensions and learn as much as they can. You're well on your way.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is grossly overestimating one's own skill. I think that's the opposite of what you meant.
Mohamed let me tell you about my little sister. She was the opposite of me in that she hated school. Truly hated it. She said she'd never set foot in school again after graduating high school. But, she wanted to be a police officer, and that required college. So she put herself through school by being a prison guard. My little 5'3" sister running around bossing grown men like it was nothing. She made it through schoo…
Im gonna print this and put it in a frame! So much of enlightenment in one reply!