Tell HN: I quit my job Starting full-time on my startup on Monday.
14 comments
Maybe I have a bad habit of criticizing company names, but you should be aware of the word's definition if you aren't,
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actionable
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actionable
1. furnishing ground for a lawsuit.Heh, we're aware of that. Although the other definition works for us. "Relating to or being information that allows a decision to be made or action to be taken."
I'm also not sure how many people noticed but the name is IActionable not iActionable. It comes from the concept of Interfaces types which many object-oriented languages have.
I'm also not sure how many people noticed but the name is IActionable not iActionable. It comes from the concept of Interfaces types which many object-oriented languages have.
First of all, congratulations! There will be a lot of ups and downs, so just remember to enjoy the good times and hang in there and be persistent through the bad.
I have a couple suggestions for your landing page:
* The current overall payload is 382.1K. You could significantly reduce this and speed up the load time if you enable gzip compression on your web server. Seems like you're running this on IIS 6.0--there is a configuration option for HTTP compression buried somewhere in the submenus, I believe.
* The rounded corners have a white background, whereas the page background at the top is gray. This causes the top corners to have a very visible rectangular edge. The IE-6 friendly way to fix this is to change the background color for the top corners to match the background color of the top of the page. If you don't care about IE 6, you can simply give them transparent backgrounds.
Good luck!
I have a couple suggestions for your landing page:
* The current overall payload is 382.1K. You could significantly reduce this and speed up the load time if you enable gzip compression on your web server. Seems like you're running this on IIS 6.0--there is a configuration option for HTTP compression buried somewhere in the submenus, I believe.
* The rounded corners have a white background, whereas the page background at the top is gray. This causes the top corners to have a very visible rectangular edge. The IE-6 friendly way to fix this is to change the background color for the top corners to match the background color of the top of the page. If you don't care about IE 6, you can simply give them transparent backgrounds.
Good luck!
Also, the <title> is "Home Page" You should instead include the name of your company and a short description of what exactly you do.
Congrats! Welcome to the other side.
I once left a technology company to start my own business. Mostly, i got (almost whispered) "are you hiring?"
Good luck. I got the same reaction btw.
good luck, and let us know of the progress of your project. I did the samething as you and so far so good.
Tell me about it. I have 6.5 more hours of people here slowly becoming more and more terrified as they begin to realize they have no idea how to maintain the software they asked me to build.
I can't wait to be free.
(In case anyone didn't notice, I'm OP's co-founder)
I can't wait to be free.
(In case anyone didn't notice, I'm OP's co-founder)
I just got notice that I can leave whenever. What shall I do with all this new found freedom!? Maybe I'll stop by your work.
If I were in your shoes I'd try to have something to do tonight or after work. Just something non-work but good. Perhaps a romantic dinner with the wife or playing golf with a friend. Something to keep your general momentum going and relax a bit before you hit it hard again.
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
sounds like you're just being greedy?? did you choose to leave your coworkers behind with a heap of your code, or did they ask you to leave?
nothing wrong with leaving a company, but developers should at least leave their work maintainable.
nothing wrong with leaving a company, but developers should at least leave their work maintainable.
It's the responsibility of the company to ensure they are capable of coping with a coder leaving. I've worked for companies where they've just not given any time or thought to what happens if the coder leaves.
I agree, that companies should be prepared for developers to leave.
I maintain that developers and engineers should leave their work maintainable.
I know I'm going to get downvoted, but this needs to be said. With great programming power comes great programming responsibilities. And you and I know this power doesn't come from silicon or management.
We all bitch about crappy products, and fail to see the developers on the other leave their turd piles for management to "manage".
Or we bitch about crappy code left behind by the prior owners -- spitting at the sky playing musical chairs.
If you need to leave your job, at least offer to maintain your shit. Don't leave them trembling in fear. Save us greedy monkeys.
I maintain that developers and engineers should leave their work maintainable.
I know I'm going to get downvoted, but this needs to be said. With great programming power comes great programming responsibilities. And you and I know this power doesn't come from silicon or management.
We all bitch about crappy products, and fail to see the developers on the other leave their turd piles for management to "manage".
Or we bitch about crappy code left behind by the prior owners -- spitting at the sky playing musical chairs.
If you need to leave your job, at least offer to maintain your shit. Don't leave them trembling in fear. Save us greedy monkeys.
I don't think anyone disagrees with your fundamental point- they object at your assumption that ryanelkins acted irresponsibly and left behind unmaintable code, or that a developer has written unmaintainble code if users, managers, and/or devs trembling in fear when that particular dev leaves.
It's a two way street- I do my best to leave behind a maintainable code base and a documented data center, but the company being left has to do its due diligence as well.
It's a two way street- I do my best to leave behind a maintainable code base and a documented data center, but the company being left has to do its due diligence as well.
I totally agree. I perhaps should have clarified. It's not unmaintainable due to the code, its unmaintainable due to the lack of people capable of maintaining it. This is largely due to hiring me as the sole .NET developer (where their other devs who are primarily PHP devs felt somewhat comfortable with C#) and then deciding that I should be the sole Java developer instead (yeah, I was REAL happy about that), in case they ever want to put these apps on Linux machines or something else.
Now, C# and Java are pretty close syntactically so hopefully they'll be OK. There is a huge difference in libraries and core API structure as well as deployment though, so it's not just an easy step to take. Having marginal .NET skills does not translate to marginal Java skills though. We do have a brand new Java dev, but it's really asking alot to put all of this on their shoulders with just a few months out of college.
Now, C# and Java are pretty close syntactically so hopefully they'll be OK. There is a huge difference in libraries and core API structure as well as deployment though, so it's not just an easy step to take. Having marginal .NET skills does not translate to marginal Java skills though. We do have a brand new Java dev, but it's really asking alot to put all of this on their shoulders with just a few months out of college.
Also a pretty big opportunity for him if he can pull it off.
>If you need to leave your job, at least offer to maintain your shit.
Isn't that the same as keeping your job but deciding you don't want to be paid for it? Typing up a polished design doc for your successor would be the best thing to do, anything more would be paid consultant work.
Isn't that the same as keeping your job but deciding you don't want to be paid for it? Typing up a polished design doc for your successor would be the best thing to do, anything more would be paid consultant work.
I agree, typing up a polished design doc should be enough. That's not something you can throw together on your last day though. You get a polished design doc by maintaining the doc and your software simultaneously.
No, it's not like you're working full time. Anyone can offer to help out a couple hours a week after they leave. It's not just good service, but it's also the most intelligent thing we can do: the original writer of software is by far in the best position to maintain it. If we all did this, we'd all benefit.
No, it's not like you're working full time. Anyone can offer to help out a couple hours a week after they leave. It's not just good service, but it's also the most intelligent thing we can do: the original writer of software is by far in the best position to maintain it. If we all did this, we'd all benefit.
* With great programming power comes great programming responsibilities. *
Life is not a comic book turned into a movie. Companies have no responsibility to employ people. People have no responsibilities to support former employers. If the employer says "That's fine, leave" then just leave. It's a financial decision they made signaling that it is time for you to move on.
Life is not a comic book turned into a movie. Companies have no responsibility to employ people. People have no responsibilities to support former employers. If the employer says "That's fine, leave" then just leave. It's a financial decision they made signaling that it is time for you to move on.
Comic books are life turned into parables.
Anyways, you're right. If the employer tells you to leave, you're not obligated to do anything besides leave.
Anyways, you're right. If the employer tells you to leave, you're not obligated to do anything besides leave.
Being maintainable doesn't mean anyone can maintain it. Their needs to be a certain level of quality to the person doing the maintaining as well. =)
The primary problem is that I've been developing in Java and everyone else is a PHP developer. They did recently hire another Java developer but they are right out of school and are going to struggle with having to be the sole person responsible for some large and rather critical applications.
There is nothing in the post that even remotely implies he is leaving his coworkers with a heap of unmaintainable code.
Good luck! I'll be especially interested to see what BoomStartup is like as you go through their program.
We definitely took a chance being one of the first companies in the program. But after meeting many of the mentors and investors we were confident that their intentions were good and they will do all that they can to help us succeed. Its also exciting to work along-side other startups at the same time.
Congrats on taking the plunge.
Monday eh? 9am sharp? Does your startup already have a defined work week and business hours? :)
Monday eh? 9am sharp? Does your startup already have a defined work week and business hours? :)
Heh, not quite. We do have to show up on Monday at 10am for the official kickoff of the program. We have some office space assigned to us as well as some mentorship classes scheduled throughout the 3 months.
Of course, we'll most likely work way more hours for our own company. I already have a hard time stopping myself from coding every night.
Of course, we'll most likely work way more hours for our own company. I already have a hard time stopping myself from coding every night.
Some tips from someone who did this many years ago.
1. Start every day at the same time. Be reasonable. 10 AM is acceptable. But be consistent.
2. Make sure you give yourself time away from your company. Yes, you'll love it and want to work late nights. However, giving yourself a 2 hour break to go out, have a nice dinner with your co-founder, and maybe have a beer or two will do wonders. Even if you end up talking about business.
3. Dress smart. Keep yourself groomed properly. It sounds silly, but really, you are your company. If you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of your company.
4. Stay focused. You know what drives you. At least at the start, build stuff you want to build. Don't let other people deter you. You'll have a lot of "If it only did this..." comments. That's rubbish. Don't get me wrong. If the idea is good and you want to take it on, do so! But don't feel obligated. The good deals always came because of the work I wanted to do, not from some "If you build this, I'll buy" comment.
1. Start every day at the same time. Be reasonable. 10 AM is acceptable. But be consistent.
2. Make sure you give yourself time away from your company. Yes, you'll love it and want to work late nights. However, giving yourself a 2 hour break to go out, have a nice dinner with your co-founder, and maybe have a beer or two will do wonders. Even if you end up talking about business.
3. Dress smart. Keep yourself groomed properly. It sounds silly, but really, you are your company. If you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of your company.
4. Stay focused. You know what drives you. At least at the start, build stuff you want to build. Don't let other people deter you. You'll have a lot of "If it only did this..." comments. That's rubbish. Don't get me wrong. If the idea is good and you want to take it on, do so! But don't feel obligated. The good deals always came because of the work I wanted to do, not from some "If you build this, I'll buy" comment.
Thanks for the tips! Ryan and I are both married with young kids so we will definitely have to learn to budget our time wisely to make sure we keep the wives happy :)
from my perspective I feel more like I'm late to a marathon that I have been jealously watching others run for years
Naaa. Those were other marathons. Your marathon starts Monday.
The marathon analogy seems especially appropriate. No need to be jealous or worry about the competition. Just participate and finish. Best wishes!
Naaa. Those were other marathons. Your marathon starts Monday.
The marathon analogy seems especially appropriate. No need to be jealous or worry about the competition. Just participate and finish. Best wishes!
It starts today at 5:00 to be more precise. Startups tend to be a 7-day a week sort of obsession from my experience:)
Congratulations!!!
That's exactly the feedback I got from my former coworkers as well - 95% were very happy, and had the "well, at least someone is getting out of here for the better things" attitude.
Keep in mind though - you'll have to be working much harder than you ever did at your day job ;))
Good luck!
That's exactly the feedback I got from my former coworkers as well - 95% were very happy, and had the "well, at least someone is getting out of here for the better things" attitude.
Keep in mind though - you'll have to be working much harder than you ever did at your day job ;))
Good luck!
I got the exact same response when I left my job a few weeks earlier. I was pleasantly surprised with the overwhelming positive response and support almost from everyone (friends, acquaintances, (ex)co-workers etc). I am based near Delhi, India and entrepreneurship is not exactly a very hot thing here (compared to US).
All the best to the OP and you as well!
All the best to the OP and you as well!
Congratulations! Don't give up. Just keep trying.
Super, congratulations and all the best of luck and energy to you.
If you can spare the time, keep a notebook of what you experience, online or offline doesn't matter much. Later when you look back you'll be surprised how much use that can have.
If you can spare the time, keep a notebook of what you experience, online or offline doesn't matter much. Later when you look back you'll be surprised how much use that can have.
Was just planning an achievements system for my website and was thinking that there really should be a service that makes this easy. Looks like that's exactly what you're working on.
One thought I wanted to share was on my experience letting my coworkers know that I am leaving. I was definitely not prepared for the responses I received. When people first heard I was leaving almost everyone jokingly responded with "Traitor! Who are you leaving us for? Is it more money?!". But once I explained that I'm doing my own thing the attitude change was amazing. I wasn't told "You're crazy!" but instead I was congratulated and applauded as if I had broken free from some captor and were cheering me to run as fast and as far as I can. I was also reminded over and over again to remember them as if I was supposed to return and free them. Perhaps one day :)
Of course, from my perspective I feel more like I'm late to a marathon that I have been jealously watching others run for years. The feedback we received from our 'Review our Site' posts as well as everyone's experiences that were shared here have definitely helped us get to where we are today.
Thank you Hacker News - Here we go!