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| I don't know why this bothers me, but i hate when i lose pens. they're cheap and disposable but i love them.
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| in order to get something that you've never had, you have to try something that you've never done.
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| ...am I the only one who works best during twilight. Since I can remember I've always enjoyed the peacefulness of the night and found it to be the ideal environment to get real work done, whether that be cleaning my room or working on an idea. Even when I try to go to sleep I usually lay there for hours brainstorming or thinking up new ideas. Is it just me or does everyone do that? When I get a really good idea I'll roll out of bed and jot down some notes so I won't forget it the next day (that happened twice last night). During daytime hours I prefer human interaction instead of sitting behind a computer screen. I like meeting people (not meetings) and building and strengthening personal relationships. Meeting friends for dinner or drinks is good. I also enjoy meeting old coworkers or fellow entrepreneurs for coffee to brainstorm. I may make several phone calls to coordinate such things or to research something. However, I find I am easily distracted from true productivity during the day. Daytime and evening hours are also particularly "busy" these days because of the NBA playoffs, "Heroes", and "Lost". But after midnight my mindset transforms. Part of me feels guilty for not getting anything done during the day and I enter urgent-mode. But the silence and darkness are also highly conducive to my working habits. I don't listen to music. I don't turn on overhead lights. Just my computer, a desk lamp, and a stack of plain white paper.
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| ****EDIT*****
MY NEW RECORD IS 92.23!!!! BEAT THAT!!!
http://flightsimx.cyclops.amnesia.com.au/
My record is 82m.
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| I haven't been very active on xanga, primarily because I haven't had much good news to report. Didn't get into business school (again), got laid off at Knight Ridder, and my condo has been on the market for nearly 2 months, but no bites yet. Ok, enough pity and whinny bullshit. When it rains, it pours, and the opposite is also true. Nothing in this world that is worth having is easy to get.
During the past month I shopped the market a bit. Interviewed with the usual suspects; Yahoo, Google, Ebay, and a few startups but I realized that those positions wouldn't make me happy. In the end, I think I've finally realized that I was born an entrepreneur, not an "individual contributor" or middle-management peon. I think executives at big companies have enough influence to "make a difference" but that could take half a lifetime to achieve. Instead, my choice is to make an impact from the grassroots. I am going to try very very hard to start a company during the next year of my life. I am going to do it fulltime. I will have little to no income so I will be living lean and you may not see me out much.
There were a number of factors that influenced my decision.
1. I can collect unemployment for a year, which doesn't amount to much, but it will cover my basic living expenses.
2. After I sell the condo, Darryl graciously offered me a place to stay in Redwood City for very low rent.
3. I'm young (kinda), so I theoretically still have the energy to do a startup.
4. I'm single. No wife, no kids, no pets. Just me.
5. I'm hungry.
This may seem like an unneeded risk to most, since the % of "successful" startups is probably under 5%. But, it's a risk that I can afford to take right now. If not now then when? If I try hard enough I'm certain I'll find another job. And I'll do well and probably be promoted in a few years. Maybe I'll even reapply to business school and get in next time. I also might meet a nice girl, get married, buy a house, and maybe even have a kid or two. I might be 30, 35, or even 40 by then. If the itch to do a startup ever returns I'll have accumulated too many liabilities. "Honey, is it ok if I quit my job to try out this crazy idea for the next 2-5 years?" I don't think so.
But right now I'm lean (and mean). In reality what's the worst that could happen? I fail. What exactly would "failure" entail in this case? I think failure would mean that after a year I realize that the product I'm building has no monetizeable potential. People might use it, but I evenually need to have paying customers. In the business world they call this "economic value added." Wikipedia defines it as "Net Operating Profit After Taxes(or NOPAT)less the cost of capital, equity as well as debt." It basically means getting people to buy something for a price that is greater than the amount required to produce it. If I fail, I would have to stop being a fulltime entrepreneur and get a 9-5er again. I'll probably also burn a bit of my savings, but not much. I know how to live cheaply, I was a college student for 4 yrs.
But, there's tons of upside to this so-called failure.
-Renewed technical knowledge. I'll be coding again for a year straight and I should be pretty darn proficient in lots of new nerdy toys.
-Tested work ethic. Since I will be working for myself, I'm gonna try damn hard. No more trying to start something part-time. Steady paychecks are too comforting and dissolve entrepreneurial drive. This is my livelyhood!
-New contacts. It's only been a few weeks since I started my new lifestyle but I've put myself out there and I'm beginning to meet the "right" people. Those being VC's, other 20-something entrepreneurs, and engineers.
The final straw in my decision-making process came after consulting some old coworkers and mentors from KR. They all have comfy new jobs in big tech companies in the Bay Area. When I told them my plan to take a year off to start something I sensed a slight jealousy. They are all in their mid 30's to early 40's complete with spouse and babies at home. They told me they wished they had the opportunity to do something that risky and told me to run with this opportunity. Believe me, I'm gonna try.
For a moment, let's discuss the potential of a successful startup, even at levels well below Google, Myspace, or YouTube. If it works and people will actually pay for this thing that I create, then I'll be living my dream. Running a business that you create from the ground up is one of the most rewarding feelings. I felt it at Hue for a few months before I got run out. As is common with many Silicon Valley startups, acquisition is also a possibility. A modest price for any consumer internet company worth purchasing is upwards of $5 million. If my equity is half or even 1/3 of that I'm a millionaire. I know a million can't buy you much these days, but it's enough to ensure that I'll never, ever have to work at a 9-5er again. If I had $1,000,000 cash-money sitting in the bank right now I could live off the interest if I wanted. More realistically I'd purchase a few cash cows like 7-Elevens or gas stations and try my hand at another crazy idea. Or maybe try angel investing, or go to business school, or travel the world.
In short, I want to live my life. Too few people really know what that means.
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