Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#51

Post by tim2 » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 1:01 PM UTC

NSX2 wrote: post #7

aswanson wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think about your life now, and your life at 75. What decision do you think your 75 year old self would wish you had made? Do what the old man tells you to do.

But that's the thing. My life now sucks because I've spent most of my spare time researching this. And progress has been so slow. Friends have drifted away, etc. If I give up and sell out, at least I'll have a comfy position at a respectable company where people smarter than me would respect what I have to offer because I have 6 years worth of thinking about the problem on them. But the startup route ... hell I can't…

> progress has been so slow. Friends have drifted away

Same here....

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#52

Post by tim2 » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 1:06 PM UTC

mixmax wrote: post #45

NSX2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You've made the mistake of believing an idea has value. > It doesn't. I didn't put much credibility in this line of reasoning before, and now that I found out that major companies are putting millions into just reasearching this idea, I put even less. Crap executed brilliantly is still crap. > and you can't pay developers to work on your idea Actually, the money's not the problem. I can raise the money but I'd like…

I've seen you comments here and in other posts, and while I appreciate your posts I think there are two important things you need to learn. Please don't see this as an attack - it isn't. It's meant to be helpful and to get you moving forward. 1) You have to work on your attitude. I've noticed that you tend to look at the negative in a post and respond to it - this thread is a good example. People aren't trying to put…

1) I can have a terrible attitude! Keep in mind though that this can be a great way for some people get things done:)

2) If it's detailed enough, it can be extremely valuable.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#53

Post by Hexstream » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 3:09 PM UTC

NSX2 wrote: post #26

Hexstream wrote: post #15

One solution is to continue trying; Another is to "sell out" to BigCo; Yet another is to publish your idea and possibly get hero status when someone that understands the relevance of your idea and has the necessary resources/skills to make it happen does so. You'd probably feel good about those 6 years spent thinking about it and researching it not being completely in vain. I'm a bit freaked out thinking that great i…

Or ... Or ... OOOORRR - you just gave me another idea in a way: What if I go up to BigCo and THREATEN to publish it online for free, thus rendering their money spent on research/subsequent patent-based revenue streams completely useless? Just walk up to IBM and say, "I know what you guys researching, here's what you'll discover, now pay up or I'll write a white paper and just put it on the internet ... or mail it to…

As far as I can tell, it's probably better for your sanity to end your involvement with this project, one way or another.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#54

Post by Prrometheus » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 3:19 PM UTC

I’ve had a similar frustration, which is why I’m learning to code. I’ve never really wanted to code per se, but I want to be able to do things, to mock up a prototype. People seem to understand ideas better when you show them something than when you tell them something, and people want to work with other people who can add value.

And hey, I like applied math, so I’ll probably enjoy coding well enough.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#55

Post by Prrometheus » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 3:22 PM UTC

Do what you can to implement your idea, even if you make less money off of it. People seldom have only one good idea in life, and then you can point to that implementation as an example of what you can do next time around.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#56

Post by NoBSWebDesign » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 5:56 PM UTC

Perhaps one of the reasons that you haven't been able to drum up interest is because you won't share what it is. If you indeed have this great knowledge and insight that no one can replicate, then there should be absolutely nothing holding you back from telling us what this idea or field is. This would really allow us to help you in a way that is meaningful.

Another observation I'd like to point out is that in 6 years, you could have learned to program and done it yourself. I've learned to program and started 3 companies in the past 4 years.

So, my question for you is, do you really believe in this idea enough to do what it takes to make it happen? If not, then go to IBM and milk what you can of it.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#57

Post by NSX2 » Thu, Mar 06, 2008, 6:26 PM UTC

mixmax wrote: post #43

I've had a similar experience that you may learn from. In 96 I did my first startup, based on an algorithmic way of sorting links. Basically somewhere in between Google and del.icio.us. Me and my partner thought that Altavista, which at the time was the best search engine out there, fell short. We secured seed founding in the amount of ca. $100.000 and developed a working prototype of the technology. After this we ne…

Thnx, very good analysis. Appreciate it.

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#58

Post by aggieben » Fri, Mar 07, 2008, 8:13 PM UTC

NSX2 wrote: post #13

aswanson wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I give up and sell out, at least I'll have a comfy position at a respectable company where people smarter than me would respect what I have to offer because I have 6 years worth of thinking about the problem on them. No they won't. You'll be a part of a dispirited bureauacracy, and nobody will care. They probably won't even finish the project. Your best bet is to get a bunch of young college age programmers to wor…

> our best bet is to get a bunch of young college age > programmers to work with you. Columbia couldn't seem to care less, and the entire NYU structure has so far gotten ... hold your breath ... 2 resumes. Only one of which was remotely relevant, but not experienced enough to take initiative on this. And since I'm not a programmer, I don't have the experience to provide guidance in that department. I don't know why,…

It strikes me as odd that you've been noodling for 6 years an idea that needs programmers to implement, but you haven't become a programmer yourself in all that time.

Do you have any idea how many "Learn X in 21 Days" books you can read in 6 years? :-)

Re: Ask YC: To continue, or not to continue ... how do you know?

#59

Post by NSX2 » Fri, Mar 07, 2008, 8:46 PM UTC

Prrometheus wrote: post #55

Do what you can to implement your idea, even if you make less money off of it. People seldom have only one good idea in life, and then you can point to that implementation as an example of what you can do next time around.

Where are you located, if I may ask?