Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 183 posts

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#141

Post by bubblesocks »

ryandrake wrote: post #105

This thread is such a stark and welcome contrast to the dozens of "remote work is the one true way" and "open offices are bad in all ways" threads that seem to pop up here every few weeks. For extroverts (or in my case, introvert-deliberately-turned-extrovert) energy, creativity and innovation are fueled by human interaction. I consider going solo, couped up in your sterile, quiet home office, to be a certain path to…

You bring up a good point when you talk of introverts vs. extroverts. I cannot see extroverts being happy working remotely. They seem to need the human interaction offered in the office. Personally, I'm an introvert. I don't like being around other people and find their presence irritating and unwelcome when I'm trying to get something done. For me, working remotely really IS the one true way. I cannot even relate to the author of the article's sense of loneliness. That certainly isn't true for everyone though. Rather than dictating one or the other, companies should be flexible and embrace both, I think, in order to get the most out of all their employees.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#142

Post by EGreg »

Please remember:

Your friends don't have to do the same thing you do.

Find people whose schedule matches yours and hang out with them!

Also: go to meetups. Talk online with your developers (if you employ them) with screensharing etc.

And your FAMILY -- the perfect opportunity to spend time with them.

Don't let American mores of individualism keep you from spending way more time with your family.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#143

Post by atomicnumber1 »

smilesnd wrote: post #124
swyx wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is a bit of an awkward question but.. have you ever come across anyone who you tried to teach but in the end was just not suited for coding? can everyone learn to code?

Any one can learn to code it isn't difficult to learn at all. Just like any one can learn math or english. What makes the difference is what level you can achieve. Just like math goes from elementary school to college level coding has a similar pattern where certain people get stuck in different areas. Hello world would be elementary level building large scalable enterprise application would be college level. You don…

Great answer. How does one find their level?

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#144

Post by taytus »

lunaru wrote: post #76
swyx wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is a bit of an awkward question but.. have you ever come across anyone who you tried to teach but in the end was just not suited for coding? can everyone learn to code?

Not everyone can learn to code (well), imo. But, that's not an elitist coding-is-harder-than-other-things statement -- it's just the truth for any discipline. Not everyone can draw/paint; not everyone can sing; not everyone can learn new languages proficiently; not everyone is good with numbers; not everyone is good at teaching; not everyone is good with working with other people; not everyone is athletic. And by thi…

Everyone can learn how to code. Not everyone might be able to have the skills to be a great coder, but that happens with any discipline.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#145

Post by psyc »

hindsightbias wrote: post #31
notlisted wrote: post #17

I'd like a place where I could log in and see people working. The https://complice.co/rooms stuff (just chat, no cams) mentioned above/below is an interesting concept. Pomodoro timers. X mins push, Y mins talk. Shame the rooms are empty.

This gave me an idea. Anyone need a virtual supervisor? People could check in with you every few hours and ask you about the progress on your TPS Reports. All just for 5% of your startup.

I paid someone 10% for this exact service. Nominally, they were supposed to be QA, but they ultimately did very little other than be interested in the project and hound me to make progress. Totally worth it, and to date the only large, multi-year solo project I ever finished and brought to market.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#146

Post by fpisfun »

I work remotely for my current job and am also working on a startup so I can relate to the feelings of loneliness.. I intentionally took a remote work job to try to figure out more about myself and what I really want long-term. Establishing a routine helps a lot, for example I like to use a standing desk at home for a couple hours but after that I'm usually about to go crazy so I go out to work in public, usually a coffee shop. Then, from there I may stay out the rest of the day, switching venues at least once, or come back home depending on how I'm feeling. Then I to to go to the gym when I'm done working. This seems to have helped my feel a lot better than when I would just stay home all day. Another thing I've realized is I hate the area I live because I have to drive everywhere and being able to walk places makes me much happier so I'm figuring how to eventually move somewhere that's a better fit. Also, I've gotten into traveling, I have a little camper I travel with sometimes and work in that. I basically do the exact same routine when traveling but just the added stimulation of being somewhere different. I've developed a lot of interest in learning about how the brain works and one thing I've read is that the main purpose of having complex brains is for motor control and movement, I don't have a good source off the top of my head but it's an easy topic to look up. Basically, though, what I take from it is that it's hard for most people to truly be happy sitting idle in one place all day because it's very unnatural.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#147

Post by TomMarius »

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #138
rdslw wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I trust you're doing for the good, yet it reminded me a story I heard some time ago. Story went like that: I'm a gold miner. Gold mining is cool, everybody wants to gold mine. So I'll teach you FOR FREE how to gold mine, but during first year I offer you to gold mine for me at minimum wage. It's a shity goldmining you're doing, as you're newbie, so that excuses minimum wage, right? And I'm doing teaching for "free",…

Plenty of people pay lots of money to learn how to code. If someone is being paid to learn and work, isn’t that a pretty good deal?

It depends on what the exact deal is. I'm sure that in this particular case it is a good deal, however I've seen such jobs where they literally exploited these poor people.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#148

Post by LandR »

I work remotely in a shared working space, but I'm the only person from my company there.

I thought it would better than working from home, on my own all the time, but in a way it ends up worse. I'm in an office with a load of other people but I can't talk to any of them. It can feel a lot more isolating than if I was just sitting alone at home.

The only time I see friends is at weekends, so if I don't go out on one weekend, I can easily go 6 days a week without having a face to face chat with an actual real person.

It's been a big shift from my previous company where going to work felt like going and hanging out with my mates.

I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do this, I feel it can't be good for your mental health long term.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#149

Post by taneq »

rdslw wrote: post #133
songzme wrote: post #42

Personally, whenever I feel lonely I would go volunteer and help people. It makes you feel connected and really puts things into perspective (like, even if your startup doesn't do well, you would still be surrounded by people who enjoys you as a person). Every Saturday, my wife and I volunteer at our local library (northside branch in santa clara) to teach people how to code. We've been doing that for almost a year w…

I trust you're doing for the good, yet it reminded me a story I heard some time ago. Story went like that: I'm a gold miner. Gold mining is cool, everybody wants to gold mine. So I'll teach you FOR FREE how to gold mine, but during first year I offer you to gold mine for me at minimum wage. It's a shity goldmining you're doing, as you're newbie, so that excuses minimum wage, right? And I'm doing teaching for "free",…

If the only way to get a non-shit gold mining job is to have a few months experience in a 'real' gold mine, then the minimum wage job is well worth doing.

I started back in uni doing software dev for McDonald's wages. By the time I graduated I had two years' experience which got me my first 'real' job.

Re: Ask HN: I'm lonely. Are there any video chat support groups for solo founders?

#150

Post by JayClouse »

There are a ton of great ideas here, coworking spaces, volunteering, etc. Someone sent me this topic because it's super relevant to the work that I do right now working with creators and entrepreneurs.

I've found that creating around other people has a ton of benefits both personally and professionally, and so I create those spaces for people via video chat. https://unrealcollective.com

Post reply on HN