

"I will be taking this to sequioa capital" Yea, good luck buddy. - jcapote
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/cpg/923516045.html

======
dbrush
Why is this so bad? The difference between what was said there and what is
said behind closed doors is... closed doors. Many people in this community, or
with similar goals to many in this community, talk that way. Perhaps many
people are less abstract and more practical, but the end game is still the
same.

Back when I was young and naive, a year or so ago, I'd talked with many about
wanting to meet with Sequoia. Since then I've met with Sequoia and become a
little less young.

~~~
DaniFong
Vagueness, name dropping, [cargo cult entrepreneurship], hubris, and absurd
sentences like 'If you have nothing better to do, let's change the world.' All
in the context of a world with enough information on starting web businesses
online to read past this level of naivety. All things hackers intend to
bristle at.

On the scale from savvy to clueless, this doesn't rate well. But the snarky
tone of the headline isn't any better. Sequoia isn't even spelled properly...

~~~
dbrush
I could more readily agree with what you're saying if a great resource like
Hacker News didn't consistently get high-ranked items with headlines like "10
Ways To Get Motivated To Change The World By Starting A Startup"

For what it's worth: the CraigsList poster is light years ahead of midwestern
Union workers are with their compulsions to invest in Quixtar and 'systems'
from Carleton Sheets.

But really, who is to judge? I think it's cool that this person is, at the
very least, pretending to try.

~~~
DaniFong
I think it's cool too. And I'd give them encouragement. And I'd try to resist
the urge to pat them on the head.

But as for why it's getting voted up, that's my assessment.

Honestly, I really dislike the self-consciously self-focused articles we've
been getting like our "10 Ways to Get Motivated..." articles. It's so...
contentless. I come here for "Hacker News," not "'Hacker News,' News."

------
dhouston
so the guy's a noob, big deal -- we've all been there.

he'll get a rude awakening soon enough, but i would imagine HN ought to
encourage starting somewhere rather than not trying at all?

</preach> :)

~~~
Alex3917
"so the guy's a noob, big deal -- we've all been there."

Good to hear I'm not the only one dumb enough to have done stuff like this in
the past.

------
bulgedeyes
Since when have the qualities of enthusiasm and naivety become so easily
interchangeable?

I’m sure that some of what has been posted is simply brutal honesty, and the
realities of this business are certain to mar what lofty expectations some may
have about entering it. But, like a marriage, it isn’t enough to deter and
corral me.

I have come to form an honest opinion about life. You are one of two people in
this world: The person who writes about others, and the person whom others
write about.

I’ll be honest, reading some of this did take me back a little, both because
of the message and what appears to be a brooding opinion about such
hopefulness that I displayed in my ad. In one sense, I am glad to see this at
the onset, so that I know it exists. I’ve faced countless obstacles in my
life, some seemingly insurmountable, but time and again I have overcome them.

Attached is my letter to my responders. Feel free to comment away.

All,

If you read about this posting on the Hacker’s Web Site, feel free to continue
reading, but I would prefer to work with people closer, for convenience
issues, of course. If you are still very interested in the project, be sure to
contact me with any questions.

Plenty of people have expressed an interest -- many more than I thought would,
so we’re off to a great start. Not everyone will be involved, though, but I
have been impressed by much of the stuff I’ve seen already.

I put out the initial ad with very few details about the project, hoping that
there would be people out there who still possess that entrepreneurial, heck-
let’s-do-this spirit. If I’ve gotten respondents who are looking for the next
great business proposition, with a low disposition for patience and computer
craftsmanship and those who are only searching for a complete by-the-books
partnership, you can just move on, there’s nothing for you here.

Like I told one respondent, I’m 28 years old and I’ve accomplished much more
than most would in 58. I would like to take advantage of what is left of my
youth to push the limits of my creativity and my ideas.

I have worked hard all my life. I got into Journalism -- and by extension
marketing -- at the age of 18 and have been doing it for 10 years; going from
submitting articles for free to publisher of a regional chain of newspapers.
I’m the guy who exposes the scammer every week through my work and the work of
my reporters.

But I am asked if I am perhaps just a little wide-eyed? Sure as hell I am. But
has it paid off? Sure as hell it has.

There is a time and a place for material plans, for concrete designs and
implementations -- that is the entire reason for meeting, and NDAs. So I look
forward to it. No, I don’t claim to know the ins and outs of the industry, but
time and history have proven that convention limits you; let’s create our own
type of convention and not follow what has been done before us.

I have the detailed outlines of these plans ready, and, beyond that, am ready
to tweak and chisel away at until they’re perfect. But there are significant
twists to these concepts that, in my mind, at least, guarantee success.

At least the initial terms will focus on a few key areas: careful
implementation, a process outlined by frugality, and an experience that we
will introduce, but not tie up precious resources and man hours having to
maintain.

That is not a gate being closed to external ideas.

I began this search for ‘mad men’ and that is entirely what I am searching
for. I’m looking for Lennon. I’m looking for Allen. I’m looking for Lincoln,
for Gore. I’m looking for Gehrig, for Domingo, for my Whitman, my Thomas, my
Dylan. This will not be an individualistic project, not at all.

But I’d rather have a close-knit group of guys, a handful or less, with like-
minded ideals, than a squad full of geniuses with an elitist view of the
world. I’d rather have a rock band than a science lab.

I’m looking to contribute and to gain equal parts of what we’ll sow, and none
will do less than anyone else, or dedicate themselves less than anyone else.

I strive for excellence. And, yes, while others may have more experience in
the field of computers, what good is it without ambition and perseverance?
What good is it that a person was born with the ability to cure a disease, or
to pull readers to his site, if he simply unsure of where to start?

That is what I’m looking to bring here: an attention to detail and quality, an
unrelenting desire to see a project through to its completion. We may end up
on the cutting room floor, we may not. We may hit upon something truly great,
we may not. No guarantees, except that we will do our best and give it our
damnedest, are being made here.

You are entitled to your own interpretation of the world, and as such, this
letter. You can choose to take it as your clarion call, or your death knell.
But there is a reason you responded to my ad. Don’t forget that.

Having said that, I understand how someone could view this as naive. Having
the benefit of knowing the author’s full intent, I can say that there is not
an ounce of naivety in this letter.

But, if we could entertain naivety for just a second longer, I’d like to get
back to my earlier comment, "Let’s change the world."

Who’s in?

\- J. Zaragoza

------
wensing
The fact that he lives in Wellington or Boca Raton means he very well may know
someone at Sequoia Capital, or his father may have founded Nextel, etc. etc.
That wouldn't surprise me.

------
tptacek
Naive people on Craigslist. Film at 11.

~~~
fbbwsa
sexy 21 year old college co-ed looking for an older man to "show me the ropes"
if you know what I mean.

NSA.

------
auston
Hey how'd you find my _other_ job posting?

~~~
IsaacSchlueter
Hahahah, it's good to see you've got a sense of humor, Auston. :)

------
fbbwsa
On that note, what sort of compensation IS acceptable?

I'd join someone with a vision I believed in/thought would succeed for no
salary and all equity.

I wouldnt give up any $ salary for equity to work for a concept I didn't
believe in.

How much would it take for you to work for all salary and no equity? I feel
like the general consensus in the community seems to be that people
undervalue/underpay developers but despite all that I've never really had an
idea of what the asking price really is, except that its probably somewhere
between 50k and 150k

------
omarish
<http://groups.google.com/group/mi.jobs/msg/d81b6c1fa8f361fc>

~~~
hapless
"Your compensation will include meaningful equity ownership."

------
callmeed
I've never heard the term "from scratch to finish" before.

------
TrevorJ
This doesn't belong on HN. I don't really care to read stories about how other
people are supposedly naive or foolish. That's what Digg is for.

------
charlesju
I still want to meet with Sequoia, haha

------
vaksel
isn't the computer gigs craigslist for stuff along the lines of geek squad
etc? You know more to do with hardware than actual coding?

