41–50 of 53 posts
There's a reason so many startups form in grad student housing.
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Ouch. No it's not. But neither am I here to please the universe. I'm just saying that it's not a lot of money. Perhaps it is to you. I can make that money as pocket change in a very short amount of time in my normal consulting business. If YC wants to pay 10 bucks for their team members, more power to them. Not my call. They've got their math to do and I've got mine. Even families have profit/loss statements and brea…
The solution seems pretty simple then. Apply to YC and let's hypothetically assume you get in. Spend 20% of your time making this ridiculous amount of money you can make doing consulting, the rest on your startup. Problem solved. =) In all seriousness though, didn't Xobni have to do something like this for a while? (side consulting)
But you can't do both at the same time. Good one-on-one consulting (or anything, for that matter) requires you to be 24/7 thinking of your client and their problems, not yours. Perhaps other guys are better at multi-tasking among completely different things. To me, you've got to pour your heart and soul into it, or it's not worth doing. That's just the OCD-kinda guy I am :)
My biggest problem isn't the savings, it's the team. I chose to live in a really rural area, which is great for kicking back after getting off a jet from somewhere, but really sucks wind when it comes to meeting and forming teams. I'm waiting for one of these YC groups to help us hermit schmucks out with some good team-formation software.
PG, have you thought of buying or leasing an entire apartment or condo complex and putting YC founders up in that? Besides economies of scale there would be efficiencies in putting together people with common goals. There's a reason so many startups form in grad student housing.
The reason startups form in grad student housing is the grad students, not the housing.
PG, have you thought of buying or leasing an entire apartment or condo complex and putting YC founders up in that? Besides economies of scale there would be efficiencies in putting together people with common goals. There's a reason so many startups form in grad student housing.
Actually our plan is the opposite. To run YC with just 4 people we try to outsource everything. We don't even own our own servers. We'd never want to own apartment buildings. The reason startups form in grad student housing is the grad students, not the housing.
I think grad student housing does help focus. You can get meal plan and not have to spend time going to the grocery store so much; you tend to interact much more with other people who are also focused on similar problems and random friends don't drop by and try to drag you off on some irrelevant adventure.
I have a problem with that sort of thing. I have to be a bit brutal when I'm really deep in something. The keeping-in-your-head essay really hit the nail for me.
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i have found more opportunity working in a cafe, and going out, than i have by working in an enclosed space. I figure 2-3$ for breakfast (egg, cereal, organic milk) lunch will cost (12$) at any reasonable panera, etc... and if i get something else cheap for the day, that means another day i can invite someone to lunch for a networking opportunity. that leaves me with ($10-$20) for dinner. eating just noodles does not…
If you are on a budget, one of the first things to cut is extraneous expenses. By cooking for yourself, you can have the possibility of better tasting and more nutritious meals, lowering your food budget, and saving time. Why spend $12 on panera when you can make a chicken breast sandwich for $4?
And it's worth noting that cooking for yourself doesn't always save time. After you consider preparation and cleanup, sometimes it consumes more.
It can also be stressful if you don't have a nice kitchen, or if you have to share your kitchen with others. Although probably one of the benefits of having founders living together is optimizing your kitchen.
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600 a month rent is what I'm paying, splitting a large rental house with 3 other people in Santa Clara, so definitely doable. I agree that the food is really high. If you are really trying, the one time cost of a rice cooker and a 10 lb bag of Basmati rice from Costco will go a long way, as will bag lunches instead of going out. If you try, food can really cost very little.
i have found more opportunity working in a cafe, and going out, than i have by working in an enclosed space. I figure 2-3$ for breakfast (egg, cereal, organic milk) lunch will cost (12$) at any reasonable panera, etc... and if i get something else cheap for the day, that means another day i can invite someone to lunch for a networking opportunity. that leaves me with ($10-$20) for dinner. eating just noodles does not…
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If you are on a budget, one of the first things to cut is extraneous expenses. By cooking for yourself, you can have the possibility of better tasting and more nutritious meals, lowering your food budget, and saving time. Why spend $12 on panera when you can make a chicken breast sandwich for $4?
I think the food expense is pretty high too. At the very least get a brita filter or something and carry around bottled water to drink. Some people do eat a lot more though. And it's worth noting that cooking for yourself doesn't always save time. After you consider preparation and cleanup, sometimes it consumes more. It can also be stressful if you don't have a nice kitchen, or if you have to share your kitchen with…
You can always stick to the basics. Ramen takes ~10 minutes for boiling water and clean up. Chicken breast takes 2 minutes to season, 14 minutes to cook and clean. Tuna takes no effort right out of the can. Boil or steam vegetables for about 5 to 10 minutes. Rice or oatmeal are cheap sources for carbs.
With these ingredients, you can eat well for under $10 / day where I live (Providence, RI). Just make sure you invest in a good spice rack.
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i have found more opportunity working in a cafe, and going out, than i have by working in an enclosed space. I figure 2-3$ for breakfast (egg, cereal, organic milk) lunch will cost (12$) at any reasonable panera, etc... and if i get something else cheap for the day, that means another day i can invite someone to lunch for a networking opportunity. that leaves me with ($10-$20) for dinner. eating just noodles does not…
If you are on a budget, one of the first things to cut is extraneous expenses. By cooking for yourself, you can have the possibility of better tasting and more nutritious meals, lowering your food budget, and saving time. Why spend $12 on panera when you can make a chicken breast sandwich for $4?
how much do you loose by not meeting new people?
I go out to talk to people while i work, most of our team does not, they are introverts, but I need to be the extrovert for the group, plus if these guys are bringing their wives or traveling back and forth, they can spend some of the food budget.
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i have found more opportunity working in a cafe, and going out, than i have by working in an enclosed space. I figure 2-3$ for breakfast (egg, cereal, organic milk) lunch will cost (12$) at any reasonable panera, etc... and if i get something else cheap for the day, that means another day i can invite someone to lunch for a networking opportunity. that leaves me with ($10-$20) for dinner. eating just noodles does not…
> I have found more opportunity working in a cafe, and going out, That may be true, but are you really lacking in opportunity if you're in a decent startup? >i can invite someone to lunch for a networking opportunity Is this "networking" for the startup, you, or is it a euphemism for a social life? Let me suggest a test. Networking involves enough pre-meeting prep to enable a non-trivial agenda. Post-networking, ther…
sometimes those deliverables are true, and sometimes i do it more casually than maybe i should. in milwaukee its about real relationships, in the valley i would think more people understand simple networking.
your food budget is 2x what I would consider normal, your housing budget is about 1/2 what I would consider normal. However, about $2K a month is pretty close to average living expenses, no matter where you cut back. here is my breakdown housing: 1100 internet: 0 (upstairs neighbors let me leech, coffee shops) electricity: 0 (covered in rent) food: 300 (burritos, cook at home, burger/pizza on weekends) water: 0 (incl…