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Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

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Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#51

Post by beatpanda »

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics.

I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics.

Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear.

For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him have done more to move the world away from fossil fuels and towards alternative energy in the last decade than the U.S. government (at any level) has in the 25 years they've been aware of climate change. Musk is inventing the future, and in Congress they're still arguing over whether climate change exists or not. And that's just how fast things move in that arena. It's unavoidable.

At this point in history, even if you don't care about money at all, even if hate for capitalism runs deep in your blood, starting a business is the only means available for make a positive impact in the world on a reasonable time scale.

And I should also point out, going into politics or non-profits means you would actually be spending more time raising money than you would if you were running a VC-backed startup. So, if your goal is to get really good at raising money, the author's sentence makes sense. For any other meaning, it doesn't.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#52

Post by lukifer »

beatpanda wrote: post #51

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics. I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics. Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear. For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him…

> starting a business is the only means available for make a positive impact in the world on a reasonable time scale

There is a great deal of validity to what you say, but blanket statements like this are absurd. What capitalist venture is going to make an impact on gay marriage? What was the business model of MLK Jr.'s speeches?

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#53

Post by bentlegen »

beatpanda wrote: post #51

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics. I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics. Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear. For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him…

Government passed a bill that gives a sizable tax refund to those that buy electric vehicles. They also loaned Tesla 451 million dollars (that they eventually repaid, sure). Those actions have helped Tesla exist as a business.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#54

Post by pg »

"Yet, there is no enduring formula for creativity and rebellion."

This is a fine sounding statement, but it's false. We've been accumulating and refining techniques for having new ideas for centuries, at least. Leonardo da Vinci mentioned several in his writings.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#55

Post by jcampbell1 »

franciscoprat wrote: post #47
jcampbell1 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a flat organization, your boss is going to be irrelevant. I would gauge a company by whether the interviewers teach or belittle. I personally find belittling okay, and can learn in that environment. "fuck you, if you are such an expert, then you can explain it to me. If you can't explain it, then you are probably full of shit." I have no problem saying that, but most people won't/shouldn't. I get high from learnin…

A manager can be a mentor regardless of the type of organization. What is important if you want to improve a particular skill set is that the people that are managing you truly understand what it takes to do your job well and can provide feedback on what you are not doing well from a "do-ers" perspective - more of an apprenticeship model. I have personally found that mentors are great for career advice and resolving…

I used the word mentor incorrectly. What you want is peer teachers, not mentors. Mentors by the corporate definition are largely useless. You contact them 1-2 per month at best, which is pointless.

What you want is a person that observes your code, behavior, interactions, demeanor, etc., and tells you how to do better. It is impossible to have perfect introspection. You need to find a guide more than the corporate definition of "mentor". People need apprentice masters more than mentors, I wish I had used a better term.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#56

Post by danso »

beatpanda wrote: post #51

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics. I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics. Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear. For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him…

> For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him have done more to move the world away from fossil fuels and towards alternative energy in the last decade than the U.S. government (at any level) has in the 25 years they've been aware of climate change. Musk is inventing the future, and in Congress they're still arguing over whether climate change exists or not. And that's just how fast things move in that arena. It's unavoidable.

OK, this hyperbole stretches reality much too far in several ways...but let's just examine its scientific and economic assertions. Is Elon Musk's Tesla car the best thing for the environment in the last year? 2 years? OK, let's just say "yes".

But in the last 5 years? Obviously not:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_emission_standar...

Better fuel efficiency standards is decidedly less sexy than an electric car. But small improvements across a fleet of millions and millions of vehicles easily outweigh even the best case scenario for electric cars in the foreseeable next five years.

And before you say, "Well, Tesla's achievement will inspire an unquantified amount of innovation, etc. that will lead to something even bigger"...well, I can counter that the economic impact and consequences of even small changes to fuel consumption will drive just as many, if not more innovation.

And Jesus, can we really use Tesla as a prime example of independent innovation after the recent news that it paid back its federal loan? And yes, they did pay it back early, but are you going to argue that they took a half-billion low-interest loan just for the fun of it?

And how do you think that loan came about in the first place? Politics. It's not a stretch to say that Tesla's future was pretty shaky before that loan.

----

Anyway, not to be a negative Nancy...the can-do and fuck-the-Man spirit is not something to be squelched. But it helps no one to be oblivious of the many nuances and tradeoffs we make when we organize ourselves into civilized society. And it's arguably detrimental to society at large to imply that politics and non-profits is the realm for half-brained nitwits...unless you're totally unaware of the concept of cause-and-effect.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#57

Post by beatpanda »

lukifer wrote: post #52
beatpanda wrote: post #51

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics. I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics. Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear. For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him…

> starting a business is the only means available for make a positive impact in the world on a reasonable time scale There is a great deal of validity to what you say, but blanket statements like this are absurd. What capitalist venture is going to make an impact on gay marriage? What was the business model of MLK Jr.'s speeches?

I would argue that Khan Academy is doing more to correct disparities in our education system, including of the kind caused by centuries of institutionalized racism, by making high-quality tutoring available for free on the Internet, than any modern-day legislator or activist.

Large companies like Google are able to set standards in their industries around things like health benefits, which, while not providing the social recognition many gay marriage advocates are after, does provide one of the material benefits of marriage without waiting for the government's blessing.

And meanwhile, the systems that our government uses to suppress movements like King's (in his day it was COINTELPRO) have gotten frighteningly more effective. The Occupy movement was subject to a massive, coordinated campaign of extreme police repression before it even started.

Given how bad police repression of the civil rights movement already was, imagine what would have happened if anything as pervasive as the Patriot Act or computer-assisted social network analysis had been available.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#58

Post by sloria »

I have collected my favorite quotes and talking points from this piece, Michael Church's "Don’t waste your time in crappy startup jobs", and Aza Raskin's "Psychological Pitfalls And Lessons of A Designer-Founder".

Here: http://www.stevenloria.com/disillusionment-in-startups-colle...

I intend to add to this list of quotes, and I also welcome others to email me related bits of wisdom.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#59

Post by beatpanda »

danso wrote: post #56
beatpanda wrote: post #51

>Maybe the best way to meet your goal is starting a non-profit or going into politics. I'd like to know whose, or which, goals are better met going into politics. Politics, at least in America, are a machine that eats good ideas and shits murder, and anybody with half a brain and the desire to change the world should know, from even casual observation, to steer clear. For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him…

> For example, Elon Musk and entrepreneurs like him have done more to move the world away from fossil fuels and towards alternative energy in the last decade than the U.S. government (at any level) has in the 25 years they've been aware of climate change. Musk is inventing the future, and in Congress they're still arguing over whether climate change exists or not. And that's just how fast things move in that arena. I…

We have 16 years at current burn rates to end fossil fuels, and there is 0 political will to do anything on the scale it will take to do that. The emissions standards were great, I agree, but in the face of the challenge they're meant to address, ultimately meaningless.

The emissions standards Obama proposed in the campaign were far more ambitious, and it went along with a plan to put a price on carbon that is 100% dead in the water with no chance of ever being revisited in the next 4 years, if ever.

Every little bit counts, but when you think about what's possible with the scale of the U.S. government, versus what's actually happened, it's depressing.

Re: Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup

#60

Post by jonathanjaeger »

First off, I agree with much of what you said. I think there is a way to be insanely devoted to your craft and still maintain your relationships. Sure, you might not be the social butterfly who goes to parties every night, but if you can't maintain some small semblance of a life, what's the point? Unless you're some entrepreneur martyr..

"A startup is just a means to an end. Consider the end, and don’t seek to revel in the means."

-I disagree with this. The journey is often the most exciting, exhilarating part. Creating something from nothing is what I want to live for.

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