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Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

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Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#41

Post by Xcelerate »

GuiA wrote: post #15
awm wrote: post #8

Could you elaborate on what you mention is the MIT syndrome? I saw one definition (based on over explaining) but it seems like this is something else

Students entering MIT are the ones acing every class, being constantly praised by teachers/parents and feeling better than everyone else in high school. Then they enter MIT, where they find themselves with hundreds of fellow students just like them. For a lot of personalities, this leads to depression and even in some instances suicide.

I would think the fact that they are one of hundreds out of billions would inflate rather than deflate the ego.

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#42

Post by rjdagost »

larrys wrote: post #18

"I began getting depressed about the lack of a life I had outside of work. I’d bring this bad mood to work with me, in turn making it a worse place to be. I’ve since made an asserted effort to dedicate time to my social life: going on trips with friends; going on dates; and, most importantly, getting work completely off my mind occasionally." Serious question (and my thoughts) here I'm not trying to be cute. Regardin…

There is no reason why business success requires you to exist in a bubble isolated from everything and everyone near and dear to you. It's definitely not something to "grow out of"- we are social animals after all.

The best way to live the life you want is to start living the life you want in the capacity that you can and incrementally move towards where you want to be. It's not like there's some magic switch thrown or goalpost crossed where you can "really" start living.

I once worked for a highly accomplished executive who said that he didn't want to work with people who had nothing of interest outside of work. I think he was onto something.

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#43

Post by justsee »

heretohelp wrote: post #30
BenjaminCoe wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just trying to write an honest reflection on what my experiences have been like, diving head first into the startup world. I'm not trying to position myself as an expert :)

I guess the problem is that we have tons of wantrepreneurs and first-time startup kids posting about their feelings here. It's a multiple-times-daily thing. Seriously. What we don't seem to get very much of is more experienced (serial entrepreneurs, experienced programmers, etc.) individuals posting anything with with the same depth in terms of substance or how personal it is. The degree to which Hacker News has beco…

You seem to have a very strong opinion of what HN should be about, and yet this bubbling animosity for the OP and his content seems very out of place here.

The post's title was completely accurate, to the extent that you've admitted it's not something you want to read. Don't read it then.

The fact it's bubbling up the top posts means others found some merit in it. You want to lecture people against upvoting this content based on your personal reaction and needs, and feel compelled to fling about terms like 'wantrepreneurs', 'kids', 'self-indulgent bullshit'.

I'd prefer not to have to wade through comments full of seething resentment and antagonism, but I'm not going to lecture about it, because most HNers would find it very boring.

I'm a decade ahead and found the post a nice little read - seeing someone realise the importance of striving to find a balance. I like hearing notes from the ground from people at all stages of entrepreneurial activity.

Hacker News is not Hacker News From More Advanced, Insightful, Intelligent People Than Yourself At This Current State. That's a good thing.

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#44

Post by pbiggar »

heretohelp wrote: post #29
pbiggar wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that's a real dickish thing to say. Imagine saying that to a colleague or someone at a party! "I'm sorry but you are too young to have valuable opinions". TL;DR: don't be a dick

It has nothing to do with age, you've totally misunderstood my point. My point is that if the post seems pretty thin to somebody from the same cohort, how could it help anybody else? I'd rather see either 1. More substantive content, less "here are my feelings about being a startup kid" 2. Something from people who've spent more time at this and developed deeper people skills. Could even be somebody the same age, jus…

If I misunderstood your point, it is because you did not make it well.

From your comment, all I see is a dismissal of the post because it has nothing to offer you. Your last comment is much more substantive - perhaps you should have said that the first time.

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#45

Post by BenjaminCoe »

dkrich wrote: post #36
tkiley wrote: post #14

The "MIT syndrome" thing is crucial. I think the most important trait in a startup leader is humility. To build a kick-ass sustainable company, you absolutely, positively must be comfortable working with people who are (in some or most respects) smarter than you. Also, I find it very interesting that the "high" of this roller coaster is the funding.

I never understand why funding seems to be the end goal either. To me, apart perhaps from some vindication of your idea, the happiness people experience when funded almost shows a lack of vision.

For people with financial burdens, venture capital can be the difference between being able to pursue your startup dreams, or letting them die on the vine.

There are definite downsides to raising money, and I totally understand the stigma the HN community tends to attach to it.

Having said that, a 500k seed investment let Jesse and I put down everything, and put 100% of our efforts towards Attachments.me. I have no regrets about this.

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#46

Post by [deleted] »

larrys wrote: post #18

"I began getting depressed about the lack of a life I had outside of work. I’d bring this bad mood to work with me, in turn making it a worse place to be. I’ve since made an asserted effort to dedicate time to my social life: going on trips with friends; going on dates; and, most importantly, getting work completely off my mind occasionally." Serious question (and my thoughts) here I'm not trying to be cute. Regardin…

[deleted]

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#47

Post by minikomi »

larrys wrote: post #18

"I began getting depressed about the lack of a life I had outside of work. I’d bring this bad mood to work with me, in turn making it a worse place to be. I’ve since made an asserted effort to dedicate time to my social life: going on trips with friends; going on dates; and, most importantly, getting work completely off my mind occasionally." Serious question (and my thoughts) here I'm not trying to be cute. Regardin…

What did those 7 years give you that perhaps a more balanced lifestyle wouldn't have?

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#48

Post by majormajor »

larrys wrote: post #18

"I began getting depressed about the lack of a life I had outside of work. I’d bring this bad mood to work with me, in turn making it a worse place to be. I’ve since made an asserted effort to dedicate time to my social life: going on trips with friends; going on dates; and, most importantly, getting work completely off my mind occasionally." Serious question (and my thoughts) here I'm not trying to be cute. Regardin…

"The best way to insure that you can live the life you want and have some fun is to put all the effort in that you can now and try to put off having fun until a bit later on."

How do you reconcile this with most startups failing?

(Let's assume here that people fail for reasons other than just "didn't work hard enough.")

Re: Confessions of a 20-Something Startup CTO

#49

Post by mquander »

Xcelerate wrote: post #41
GuiA wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Students entering MIT are the ones acing every class, being constantly praised by teachers/parents and feeling better than everyone else in high school. Then they enter MIT, where they find themselves with hundreds of fellow students just like them. For a lot of personalities, this leads to depression and even in some instances suicide.

I would think the fact that they are one of hundreds out of billions would inflate rather than deflate the ego.

That doesn't make sense. People emotionally calibrate themselves against the visible skills of the people in their peer group, not a global distribution of IQ.
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