511–520 of 559 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about it do you find scary?
You as a network are starting putting hands into matters that are under control or direct influence of politics, very big corporations, state-driven industries and even geopolitics: AI, energy, medicine, automation, food, space and so on. It is not dropbox anymore. In 20-30 years, your boost may lead to the disruption of human society as it is organised now.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you can get very efficient at it or you find the activity a source of leisure, then cooking your own food is a great cost savings. However, for someone in the tech industry the opportunity cost of not investing in themselves (i.e. coding, reading about code, meeting people, etc) for the same amount of time they are cooking (grocery shopping, food prep, cooking, cleaning, etc) usually isn't worth it. To me cooking…
Is this Soylent advocacy just a running joke? I can't imagine eating all my meals via a plain, liquid, meal-replacement.
One pleasant side effect of the "blandness" is that it has made me really enjoy the meals that I do eat. I've noticed that the flavors pop a lot more. So now I have the best of both worlds.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think - based on his posting history, which dates back all the way to the beginning of HN - that Colin knows exactly where his company is going. He has very specific opinions about how security should be done, the expertise to back that up, and a customer base that's (mostly) on board with those choices. Tarsnap's used by a number of prominent companies and individuals here, notably Stripe [1], patio11, and stevekl…
You're talking about where his company is. I'm not saying he's not already doing great - he says it himself above. My point is, if you're creative, directions to grow your company are not scarce. Resources to do-so are. If he is actually flush with cash, and doesn't know what to do with it, that's a fundamental problem.
I have lines out the door for the limited hours I'm open, even after raising prices three times. All my employees are well paid, including profit sharing and benefits.
Sushi Combinator wants to give me big multiples of annual earnings to take a minority stake in the business, but in exchange he wants me to try to increase revenue dramatically. Any of the ways I can think of doing so I believe, even if successful, will leave me less happy than running the business I have now.
Should I take the money?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
None of our current programs sound like a good fit. We're considering doing something for later-stage companies that might be a good fit, though we haven't sorted out details about the bay area for example. If it does end up as a 'go', we'd probably do it next year. It's also possible in future iterations of the fellowship we'll be open to companies that are further along. Hope we figure something out at some point!
Thanks for coming back and replying! Sorry I was a bit late with my question. Great to hear that there may be routes opening up in the future -- I'll keep my eyes open.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It seems to me that people who want slower growth and less personal risk are inherently a little less "collaborative". Could you please expand on this? I am in the same vein as cperciva but it doesn't have any relationship with collaboration. Sometimes you have a relatively successful company where more capital and fast growth would cause more harm than good BUT because right now you can't see a path for growth.
It wasn't a very important comment, but I would say that there are some people who get a "high" from collaborating with many people on problems (working really hard with a small team), and some people who get a "high" from learning things on their own and applying them, with the help of experts. One person you could take as an example is the Pinboard founder. If you read all his blog posts, I wouldn't call him a "col…
I will reply anyway! I don't know the details about Tarsnap but in my case I work with a co-founder and several employees. We work collaboratively.
In this context we don't have the potential for higher overall growth because the specific niches where we do business are not growing enough. In the past we tried some new areas with great expectations but they never took off. This doesn't mean that we would not prefer a more favorable market sector if we "discover" it in the future.
I think you mentioned somewhere that you are aiming for early-career researchers, not so much for established group leaders. Being an early-career researcher myself (postdoc), my first thought was that your program could easily turn out to be a trap. At first, it looks like a fantastic opportunity because freedom and independence, etc. However, I'm sure that you are looking for high risk / high reward projects. So th…
(disclaimer: I am a programmer who works for startups, but I've always admired scientists and researchers and have often contemplated a career switch to biotech.) How can an entire discipline that is supposedly based on rational evidence-finding be such a cliquey clusterfuck? You're basically saying that if you don't follow the community rules, which more or less boil down to "hazing," you'll be excommunicated. Sound…
Having worked in research academia, as a hospital medical tech, as a technical support bloke, and now several years across several different companies doing devops, I call hogwash. The software/startup world is replete with bullshit, more than anywhere else. Not to mention the huge amounts of time spent "chasing the shiny", where new tools are used because of fashion rather than merit. And network effects are just as strong in the startup world as in academia or medicine.
Occasionally a bedroom-based programmer can strike it lucky, but that's not the bulk of the startup world.
> Don't the laws of nature exist everywhere? Why can't anyone "do science," then?
Everyone can 'do science'. Youtube is filled with people doing science with everyday items. It's just that most human-scale stuff is low-hanging fruit and has now been 'done'. The edges of science where we're progressing with new knowledge need more expensive tools to observe them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for coming back and replying! Sorry I was a bit late with my question. Great to hear that there may be routes opening up in the future -- I'll keep my eyes open.
Have you thought about going the Private Equity route? I perform software/IT diligence for PE firm's targets and it sounds like you would fit that typical mold.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The best things you can do there are meet great potential cofounders, and get better at writing software. Also don't get sucked into living an expensive lifestyle when you get that high-paying job--this has killed many people's once-promising futures.
Which begs the question - how does one avoid living an expensive lifestyle in the bay/SF?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you can get very efficient at it or you find the activity a source of leisure, then cooking your own food is a great cost savings. However, for someone in the tech industry the opportunity cost of not investing in themselves (i.e. coding, reading about code, meeting people, etc) for the same amount of time they are cooking (grocery shopping, food prep, cooking, cleaning, etc) usually isn't worth it. To me cooking…
Is this Soylent advocacy just a running joke? I can't imagine eating all my meals via a plain, liquid, meal-replacement.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're talking about where his company is. I'm not saying he's not already doing great - he says it himself above. My point is, if you're creative, directions to grow your company are not scarce. Resources to do-so are. If he is actually flush with cash, and doesn't know what to do with it, that's a fundamental problem.
Let's say I have a fantastic sushi bar. I'm the main sushi chef and after a multi-year on and off frustrating search I finally found an assistant / apprentice. We have also have a waiter and a cleaner / busser. I have lines out the door for the limited hours I'm open, even after raising prices three times. All my employees are well paid, including profit sharing and benefits. Sushi Combinator wants to give me big mul…
Though, to entertain your analogy: Why not develop the next-level sushi fish? One that not only dazzles your exclusive audience in texture and taste, but is a delight to work with and more satisfying to cut.
> Should I take the money?
If you want to do big things, then yes.
If your happiness relies on staying a sushi chef, you are a sushi chef, not an entrepreneur.