http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html Becoming an Entrepreneur, by Matt Mireles Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-736 What I’d Do If I was Charlie O’Donnell « The Metamorphosis Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:07:51 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-736 [...] Here’s the thing: NYC has plentiful BD talent and legions of world class designers, but the city needs more hackers. They’re out there in (godforsaken) cities like Boston and Pittsburgh, just looking for [...] [...] Here’s the thing: NYC has plentiful BD talent and legions of world class designers, but the city needs more hackers. They’re out there in (godforsaken) cities like Boston and Pittsburgh, just looking for [...]

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-128 Matt Mireles Wed, 12 May 2010 04:05:39 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-128 Totally agree about the biz guys treating technical talent like commodity slave monkeys. Not all, but enough to fuck up the average. Totally agree about the biz guys treating technical talent like commodity slave monkeys. Not all, but enough to fuck up the average.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-898 Matt Mireles Wed, 12 May 2010 04:05:00 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-898 Totally agree about the biz guys treating technical talent like commodity slave monkeys. Not all, but enough to fuck up the average. Totally agree about the biz guys treating technical talent like commodity slave monkeys. Not all, but enough to fuck up the average.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-127 iregisteredjustsoicouldbitchatyou Tue, 11 May 2010 23:08:53 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-127 I'm with Scott on this one, especially the experience of engineers being treated like line cooks by founders who couldn't boil a technical egg. A lot of the startups I see in NYC are either me-too ("This month's super-trendy site, but for X!") companies where the odds of a worthwhile exit seem very long or penny-ante ideas that are just too small in scope for me to devote 16 hours a day. It's true that the networking is weak, and the higher education institutions in the area don't do a good job of integrating with the companies/incubators that do exist, but the idea that people in NYC don't know that you *might* make a good chunk of change from stock options is just ridiculous. What NYC needs is more entrepreneurial engineers and more technical VCs, not more stock option hype. It's a special kind of sinking feeling when the money people who invested in the first round start flogging their who cares buzzword investments ("You should take a look at heykewwl.biz, they have some great viral social networking technology that makes it easy to create an iPhone app for your site") and you realize they have no idea what they're doing. I’m with Scott on this one, especially the experience of engineers being treated like line cooks by founders who couldn’t boil a technical egg. A lot of the startups I see in NYC are either me-too (“This month’s super-trendy site, but for X!”) companies where the odds of a worthwhile exit seem very long or penny-ante ideas that are just too small in scope for me to devote 16 hours a day.
It’s true that the networking is weak, and the higher education institutions in the area don’t do a good job of integrating with the companies/incubators that do exist, but the idea that people in NYC don’t know that you *might* make a good chunk of change from stock options is just ridiculous.
What NYC needs is more entrepreneurial engineers and more technical VCs, not more stock option hype. It’s a special kind of sinking feeling when the money people who invested in the first round start flogging their who cares buzzword investments (“You should take a look at heykewwl.biz, they have some great viral social networking technology that makes it easy to create an iPhone app for your site”) and you realize they have no idea what they’re doing.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-897 iregisteredjustsoicouldbitchat Tue, 11 May 2010 23:08:00 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-897 I'm with Scott on this one, especially the experience of engineers being treated like line cooks by founders who couldn't boil a technical egg. A lot of the startups I see in NYC are either me-too ("This month's super-trendy site, but for X!") companies where the odds of a worthwhile exit seem very long or penny-ante ideas that are just too small in scope for me to devote 16 hours a day. It's true that the networking is weak, and the higher education institutions in the area don't do a good job of integrating with the companies/incubators that do exist, but the idea that people in NYC don't know that you *might* make a good chunk of change from stock options is just ridiculous. What NYC needs is more entrepreneurial engineers and more technical VCs, not more stock option hype. It's a special kind of sinking feeling when the money people who invested in the first round start flogging their who cares buzzword investments ("You should take a look at heykewwl.biz, they have some great viral social networking technology that makes it easy to create an iPhone app for your site") and you realize they have no idea what they're doing. I’m with Scott on this one, especially the experience of engineers being treated like line cooks by founders who couldn’t boil a technical egg. A lot of the startups I see in NYC are either me-too (“This month’s super-trendy site, but for X!”) companies where the odds of a worthwhile exit seem very long or penny-ante ideas that are just too small in scope for me to devote 16 hours a day.
It’s true that the networking is weak, and the higher education institutions in the area don’t do a good job of integrating with the companies/incubators that do exist, but the idea that people in NYC don’t know that you *might* make a good chunk of change from stock options is just ridiculous.
What NYC needs is more entrepreneurial engineers and more technical VCs, not more stock option hype. It’s a special kind of sinking feeling when the money people who invested in the first round start flogging their who cares buzzword investments (“You should take a look at heykewwl.biz, they have some great viral social networking technology that makes it easy to create an iPhone app for your site”) and you realize they have no idea what they’re doing.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-126 scott Tue, 11 May 2010 20:25:12 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-126 This is coming from the perspective of a mid 30's engineer with a nest egg who has worked at startups in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. Over the years I've dealt with NYC clients and business partners. At one point I seriously considered relocating to New York. My conclusion was that it was not a good fit unless I had additional reasons such as family or a girlfriend. 1) Why should I want to live in New York City in a no- or low- income situation? * Manhattan is very expensive to live in, even in the cheap parts. Some parts of San Francisco are also pretty expensive, but there's also cheaper areas within a reasonable commute. Furthermore, shared housing options in the San Francisco bay area are vastly superior to Manhattan alternatives. Los Angeles has even better cheaper housing options. * Most things that NYC has to recommend itself as a place to live are nightlife-related and require at least a moderate income. San Francisco, on the other hand, has a plethora of free outdoor activities that are nearby. * The comparison you draw to actors and actresses simply doesn't follow. If you want to act you have to go to New York or Los Angeles. If you want to be an entrepreneurial engineer, NY is not high up on your list. 2) Why should I want to work for a startup in New York City? * In my experience, businesspeople from New York and the East Coast tend to treat engineers like peons. On the West Coast they're treated like equal partners and are empowered to help shape a product. The gap between "founders" is much greater in the East. * Wall Street already provides interesting technical challenges as well as extremely good pay, why not work there instead if you're in New York? 3) Why should I want to work for YOUR startup? * Statements like "most people in NYC don't understand the value of stock options" make you sound pretty sketchy. I lived through the bubble burst and I know that stock options are worth exactly nil from the perspective of my financial planning. I also know that unless you're also an investor or founder, options in a successful startup can be diluted into almost nothing at the last minute just before an acquisition is made. Most engineers with a few years of experience and perspective are more savvy than you think about topics like this. This is coming from the perspective of a mid 30′s engineer with a nest egg who has worked at startups in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. Over the years I’ve dealt with NYC clients and business partners. At one point I seriously considered relocating to New York. My conclusion was that it was not a good fit unless I had additional reasons such as family or a girlfriend.
1) Why should I want to live in New York City in a no- or low- income situation?
* Manhattan is very expensive to live in, even in the cheap parts. Some parts of San Francisco are also pretty expensive, but there’s also cheaper areas within a reasonable commute. Furthermore, shared housing options in the San Francisco bay area are vastly superior to Manhattan alternatives. Los Angeles has even better cheaper housing options.
* Most things that NYC has to recommend itself as a place to live are nightlife-related and require at least a moderate income. San Francisco, on the other hand, has a plethora of free outdoor activities that are nearby.
* The comparison you draw to actors and actresses simply doesn’t follow. If you want to act you have to go to New York or Los Angeles. If you want to be an entrepreneurial engineer, NY is not high up on your list.
2) Why should I want to work for a startup in New York City?
* In my experience, businesspeople from New York and the East Coast tend to treat engineers like peons. On the West Coast they’re treated like equal partners and are empowered to help shape a product. The gap between “founders” is much greater in the East.
* Wall Street already provides interesting technical challenges as well as extremely good pay, why not work there instead if you’re in New York?
3) Why should I want to work for YOUR startup?
* Statements like “most people in NYC don’t understand the value of stock options” make you sound pretty sketchy. I lived through the bubble burst and I know that stock options are worth exactly nil from the perspective of my financial planning. I also know that unless you’re also an investor or founder, options in a successful startup can be diluted into almost nothing at the last minute just before an acquisition is made. Most engineers with a few years of experience and perspective are more savvy than you think about topics like this.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-896 scott Tue, 11 May 2010 20:25:00 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-896 This is coming from the perspective of a mid 30's engineer with a nest egg who has worked at startups in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. Over the years I've dealt with NYC clients and business partners. At one point I seriously considered relocating to New York. My conclusion was that it was not a good fit unless I had additional reasons such as family or a girlfriend. 1) Why should I want to live in New York City in a no- or low- income situation? * Manhattan is very expensive to live in, even in the cheap parts. Some parts of San Francisco are also pretty expensive, but there's also cheaper areas within a reasonable commute. Furthermore, shared housing options in the San Francisco bay area are vastly superior to Manhattan alternatives. Los Angeles has even better cheaper housing options. * Most things that NYC has to recommend itself as a place to live are nightlife-related and require at least a moderate income. San Francisco, on the other hand, has a plethora of free outdoor activities that are nearby. * The comparison you draw to actors and actresses simply doesn't follow. If you want to act you have to go to New York or Los Angeles. If you want to be an entrepreneurial engineer, NY is not high up on your list. 2) Why should I want to work for a startup in New York City? * In my experience, businesspeople from New York and the East Coast tend to treat engineers like peons. On the West Coast they're treated like equal partners and are empowered to help shape a product. The gap between "founders" is much greater in the East. * Wall Street already provides interesting technical challenges as well as extremely good pay, why not work there instead if you're in New York? 3) Why should I want to work for YOUR startup? * Statements like "most people in NYC don't understand the value of stock options" make you sound pretty sketchy. I lived through the bubble burst and I know that stock options are worth exactly nil from the perspective of my financial planning. I also know that unless you're also an investor or founder, options in a successful startup can be diluted into almost nothing at the last minute just before an acquisition is made. Most engineers with a few years of experience and perspective are more savvy than you think about topics like this. This is coming from the perspective of a mid 30′s engineer with a nest egg who has worked at startups in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. Over the years I’ve dealt with NYC clients and business partners. At one point I seriously considered relocating to New York. My conclusion was that it was not a good fit unless I had additional reasons such as family or a girlfriend.
1) Why should I want to live in New York City in a no- or low- income situation?
* Manhattan is very expensive to live in, even in the cheap parts. Some parts of San Francisco are also pretty expensive, but there’s also cheaper areas within a reasonable commute. Furthermore, shared housing options in the San Francisco bay area are vastly superior to Manhattan alternatives. Los Angeles has even better cheaper housing options.
* Most things that NYC has to recommend itself as a place to live are nightlife-related and require at least a moderate income. San Francisco, on the other hand, has a plethora of free outdoor activities that are nearby.
* The comparison you draw to actors and actresses simply doesn’t follow. If you want to act you have to go to New York or Los Angeles. If you want to be an entrepreneurial engineer, NY is not high up on your list.
2) Why should I want to work for a startup in New York City?
* In my experience, businesspeople from New York and the East Coast tend to treat engineers like peons. On the West Coast they’re treated like equal partners and are empowered to help shape a product. The gap between “founders” is much greater in the East.
* Wall Street already provides interesting technical challenges as well as extremely good pay, why not work there instead if you’re in New York?
3) Why should I want to work for YOUR startup?
* Statements like “most people in NYC don’t understand the value of stock options” make you sound pretty sketchy. I lived through the bubble burst and I know that stock options are worth exactly nil from the perspective of my financial planning. I also know that unless you’re also an investor or founder, options in a successful startup can be diluted into almost nothing at the last minute just before an acquisition is made. Most engineers with a few years of experience and perspective are more savvy than you think about topics like this.

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-125 Matt Mireles Tue, 11 May 2010 19:05:52 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-125 Obviously, there are people like you out there in the ecosystem who are savvy. But what fraction of the community would you say you represent? ?ignificant percent? Any ideas on how to solve for this? Obviously, there are people like you out there in the ecosystem who are savvy. But what fraction of the community would you say you represent? ?ignificant percent?
Any ideas on how to solve for this?

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-895 Matt Mireles Tue, 11 May 2010 19:05:00 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-895 Obviously, there are people like you out there in the ecosystem who are savvy. But what fraction of the community would you say you represent? ?ignificant percent? Any ideas on how to solve for this? Obviously, there are people like you out there in the ecosystem who are savvy. But what fraction of the community would you say you represent? ?ignificant percent?
Any ideas on how to solve for this?

]]> http://www.metamorphblog.com/2010/05/founders-without-hackers.html#comment-124 Matt Mireles Tue, 11 May 2010 19:03:01 +0000 http://www.metamorphblog.com/?p=15#comment-124 Well, i think the idea is that you build a MVP working part-time and bootstrapping, then try to sell it and make it big post launch. Well, i think the idea is that you build a MVP working part-time and bootstrapping, then try to sell it and make it big post launch.

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