Managing your time is important, but might be even more important to know how to manage it yourself. It's better to have the skill of knowing how to prioritize things than to just listen to what someone else says. Of course you can share your priorities with others to see if they are in line with project goals.
Interesting read. Moving away from your family is tough and you definitely are taking a chance if you quit your job or move to do the whole YC thing. However, it has been successful for one of the founders of Zenter who just found out they were expecting a baby the day he applied to YC.
Working on projects on the side is great, but if you're in a market with other competitors, you might watch them pass you by.
Anyone know how many YC founders quit their normal jobs after applying and accepting funding?
Not a bad idea, but how many users could you actually get to come to your office? This would definitely motivate your team. Seeing live people who actually use your product and express what they like about it is great. But in terms of user loyalty, I think there would be maybe 10-20 people who might actually make it down.
The most guaranteed payout would be getting a job at a big company... So if we were betting on success of a company versus the stake you hold, would that be the way to go?
Taking the position doesn't stop you from being a hardcore hacker. Do you ever code outside of work? Projects like these tend to be a lot more engaging, at least for me, because it's something you chose to do versus company needs.
Hackers like to build things, so I understand your concern for taking on the position. But it sounds like you still would have opportunity to write code, just that most of your time is spent elsewhere.
I wouldn't say grad school is a mistake. It's a good place to meet a lot of smart people that you could potentially partner with or even get technical advice from. Grad students that I know are geniuses.
Sitting on ideas only to see other people implement them and whiz by me. In hindsight, I've learned that I shouldn't wait and do what I need to do right now.
What if you know a good designer (css/html), but they have no programming experience? Would a partner that knows how to hack but currently lacks design skills be more effective?
I too have no design skills, but believe I can create at least a decent site if I tried. The hardest part is overcoming the fact that you probably can build a decent looking site if you tried.
Working more than 8/9 hours a day is all too common in this industry. Everyone is going above and beyond, so you might think you have to too. One Google HR rep has actually told me they expect you to do this.
I know people that work 60 hours a week at big companies. The article is true... Once you start consistently investing long hours of work, you'll be expected to continually do so.
So what's the balance between working hard enough to get recognized and having your own life too?
Why is it that people are most productive (at hacking) during night time hours? Even with no interruptions during the day, I find myself not as engaged as I would be during the night.
Also, I've read that taking short naps for about 20 minutes (any longer would make you groggy) helps improve learning potential and confidence.
Interesting. I remember their office being vandalized and the war with another site (YTMND?). eBaum does have a lot of stolen content, but guess who got the last laugh?
For me, a guaranteed paycheck is definitely a distraction. We've been formed our whole lives to believe that going to school and getting a job was the path to go. Slowly, I'm beginning to realize how to break free from that. If I go for a period of time without a steady income, so what?
Wow, I have younger cousins who spend every moment they get on Club Penguin. Not thinking much of the site and the games they provide at the time, I thought it was just another virtual kid's playground like Nick Jr. This does indicate a an interesting user population though. How young can we start embedding a brand into the minds of children (www.askforkids.com) ?
Maybe we could have a "sort by category" feature?