Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up • Hacker News Board

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#111

Post by shanghaiaway » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:31 PM UTC

koonsolo wrote: post #100

skrebbel wrote: post #47

I read the comments before clicking the link, and found myself agreeing with commenters who complained about this line: > In addition, if people are working less than 8-10 productive hours per day, then they are clearly not being as productive as they could be. I almost dismissed the book as a "yet another VC-driven, work-your-people-to-burnout story" but really, there's more to that. I've found it an excellent read…

Steve Blank has an awesome anecdote on this: https://steveblank.com/2016/09/07/working-hard-is-not-the-sa... "Our team knows this isn’t a 9-5 company. We stay as long as it takes to get the job done." “Let’s just wait across the street from your company’s parking lot and watch the front door." "a first trickle of employees left. I asked, “Are these your VPs and senior managers?” He nodded looking surprised and kept w…

American work culture, always trying to please the boss.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#112

Post by rimliu » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:31 PM UTC

cncrnd wrote: post #83

skrebbel wrote: post #47

I read the comments before clicking the link, and found myself agreeing with commenters who complained about this line: > In addition, if people are working less than 8-10 productive hours per day, then they are clearly not being as productive as they could be. I almost dismissed the book as a "yet another VC-driven, work-your-people-to-burnout story" but really, there's more to that. I've found it an excellent read…

Why is everyone disliking this statement about 8-10 hours a day? Excluding weekends, this is 40-50 hours a week, nothing outrageous. You're not that special folks, you have to work to get paid like everyone else.

Once again this reminds me how Basecamp was build in 10 hours a week.

https://twitter.com/dhh/status/870596974428508160

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#113

Post by douglaswlance » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:41 PM UTC

throwawayqdhd wrote: post #54

skrebbel wrote: post #47

I read the comments before clicking the link, and found myself agreeing with commenters who complained about this line: > In addition, if people are working less than 8-10 productive hours per day, then they are clearly not being as productive as they could be. I almost dismissed the book as a "yet another VC-driven, work-your-people-to-burnout story" but really, there's more to that. I've found it an excellent read…

I track my productivity very assiduously. For some tasks, such as writing, it is next to impossible to be productive for more than 5-6 hours/day. Your brain gives up after a while.

Right before that happens, eat a good meal then meditate or take a nap.

You'd be surprised how much more you can squeeze out your day.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#114

Post by Mtinie » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:42 PM UTC

shanghaiaway wrote: post #111

koonsolo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Blank has an awesome anecdote on this: https://steveblank.com/2016/09/07/working-hard-is-not-the-sa... "Our team knows this isn’t a 9-5 company. We stay as long as it takes to get the job done." “Let’s just wait across the street from your company’s parking lot and watch the front door." "a first trickle of employees left. I asked, “Are these your VPs and senior managers?” He nodded looking surprised and kept w…

American work culture, always trying to please the boss.

As I’ve heard very similar anecdotes from friends and coworkers all around the world, I’m going to offer an alternative phrasing:

> Modern work culture, always trying to please the boss.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#115

Post by ErikVandeWater » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:43 PM UTC

shanghaiaway wrote: post #111

koonsolo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steve Blank has an awesome anecdote on this: https://steveblank.com/2016/09/07/working-hard-is-not-the-sa... "Our team knows this isn’t a 9-5 company. We stay as long as it takes to get the job done." “Let’s just wait across the street from your company’s parking lot and watch the front door." "a first trickle of employees left. I asked, “Are these your VPs and senior managers?” He nodded looking surprised and kept w…

American work culture, always trying to please the boss.

I'm fairly sure this is fairly universal. Even in socialist countries, your boss has enough power over you to do you harm.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#116

Post by gadders » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:43 PM UTC

oldandlesswise wrote: post #49

An interesting article; i was reading the replies to this. So here is my take. A UK 40++ entrepreneur. I have been there and done that - made good £££ from the first boom in 2000. Since then tried a couple of startups all of which failed, for one reason or another. Sadly we did burn through quite a lot of investor £££ in the process and gained no personal value other than experience. What I think I have learned is th…

A business like that would completely suit me. Maybe it's because I'm of a similar age?

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#117

Post by chatmasta » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:43 PM UTC

mephitix wrote: post #32

This is a fantastic resource. >> ...the data shows that solo founders rarely succeed. The emotional burden is just too high. I am a solo founder and yeah, I completely agree with this. I severely underestimated the emotional burden of going it alone. I am in a much better state now, but it was definitely a struggle. If I had to do it over again this is the main thing I would change - be more open towards and work har…

The biggest advantage of a co-founder IME is that you balance each other's waves. When one of you has a down week, the other can have an up week. If you're a solo founder and you have a down week, the whole company has a down week. This balance keeps progress consistent.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#118

Post by Mtinie » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:46 PM UTC

grvdrm wrote: post #92

cwingrav wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an important comment. I used to be a late night worker but family and other commitments has made that impossible. I wake at 5AM to get a few solid hours of brain work in before the family stirs. This has been the best approach to retaining the 'late night work hours' and balancing family.

Second this. Morning is the best for clear thinking. Late night work is less productive.

I find my creativity peaks after 1 A.M.if I’ve been able to get into a state of flow. I’m certainly not at my most productive, but for work which isn’t time critical it’s a useful tool.

Edit: grammar

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#119

Post by sah2ed » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:47 PM UTC

asafira wrote: post #101

sah2ed wrote: post #67

The book mentions "Percentage of tickets closed" as a metric by which engineering should be evaluated, which IMO is incredibly short-sighted. The Google Doc has all editing disabled at the moment, but does anyone know if the author would welcome improvements to the text?

THey mention a more nuanced metric further down --- do you still feel it's a poor metric?

Would you mind quoting the relevant bit? I'm on mobile at the moment.

My problem with including it at all is that, as he said in a preceding chapter, he is in a unique position to shoot down myths that technical founders believe about VCs and the converse, so the book presents a great opportunity to do the same about the myth of closed tickets as an engineering metric, particularly since it is largely well-written and will reach a much wider audience than his coaching may permit.

Re: Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up

#120

Post by ArtWomb » Tue, Jul 03, 2018, 12:49 PM UTC

Author namechecks Thirteen Days, the harrowing account of the Cuban Missile Crisis and a world on the brink of annihilation. There is also a terrific movie adaptation. In it, Secdef McNamara talks about how the positioning of submarines and aircraft carriers about the open seas is actually a coded language. And by making moves and counter-moves, what the US and USSR are actually doing is communicating intent.

Another classic is Ron Howard's Apollo 13. One of the few movies that depict the engineers as heroes. An inspiring watch for the whole team. And Damien Chazelle's upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic might make for a similar outing.

Crisis management, perhaps more so than innate technological superiority, can yield distinct competitive advantage. And this is where actually learning from precisely the type of case study found in the YC network makes sense. Knowing that you can stay calm, slow time, take deep breaths, and react rationally because others have dealt with far more on their plate than you ever will.

I'll share an anecdote. A small independent media outlet once got wind of a redesign I was working on and reported the story. The client was incensed as they were planning a full marketing rollout and had "lost the narrative". We were still months from launch. But rather than get into a blame game and lose more time. I suggested a soft, beta launch with media blitz immediately. After a week of jamming to polish our working prototypes for general availability, we were public facing, with laudatory feedback and the client appearing on CNBC ;)

Weeks later, as it turns out, it was revealed I was in fact the source of the leak. An unscrupulous reporter had called my office posing as a contract employee of the client and asked about a meeting time and place. In replying that it would be at my office that afternoon, they had confirmation that in fact the redesign was in progress!