

Hustlers Wanted  - MediaSquirrel
http://www.metamorphblog.com/2011/01/speakertext-hustlers-wanted.html

======
randall
Hustler is the new 'non-technical ninja/rockstar.'

~~~
ABrandt
Except far more accurate IMHO. Alright sure you could be a rockstar developer
(you could be a rockstar anything I guess), but being a expert programmer has
nothing do with being a 'ninja'. They're just geeky terms that stuck.

A hustler, on the other hand, is exactly what business people must be in a
startup. Far from having a well defined role, you must do whatever it takes to
make it happen (whatever 'it' may be). Further, a hustler must operate outside
the status quo whether they're in a startup or on the streets. While most
programmers I know hate the ninja and rockstar labels, I find hustler to be
quite endearing.

~~~
moopark
I know that languages evolve naturally, and words get repurposed all the time,
but _hustler_? _Really?_.

hustler

    
    
      n 1: a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets
        2: a shrewd or __unscrupulous__ person who knows how to circumvent difficulties
    

It also happens to be the title of a porn magazine that would make Hugh Hefner
blush, while you won't often hear the term 'hustler' used in reference to a
female prostitute, you _will_ find it heavily used among gay men to refer to
male prostitutes.

Perhaps repurposing 'hustler' without negative connotations will work, but
this is a word with a lot of ugly baggage, and the first thing I thought of
when I saw it used in reference to startups: dishonest businessmen.

[Addendum] For completeness, a dip into the modern lexicon:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_(disambiguation)>

    
    
      Hustler is a monthly pornographic men's magazine
      and general brand of Larry Flynt Publications.
    
      Hustler or hustlers also commonly refers to:
        - A practitioner of confidence tricks
        - Someone who deceives others by hustling, usually in sports
        - An American hip hop slang word for a pimp,
          drug dealer or male prostitute

~~~
alexyim
You're missing one definition:

    
    
      an aggressively enterprising person; a go-getter
    

I think it depends on audience, but I hear this quite often in these circles.

~~~
moopark
I agree that it depends on your dictionary.

If a locally repurposed word like _hustler_ has a very strong meaning
_outside_ your circles, chances are good that when you start talking about
hustling in relation to business, a fair number of people are going to think
_swindler_ or worse.

It seems that a number of people like to use it as a self-description because
it _does_ have negative, edgy traits -- in the same sense of 'ninja'. Unlike
'ninja', however, 'hustler' can easily lie a bit too close to the truth.

------
far33d
Being lean is about getting maximum leverage, not keeping costs as low as
possible. This kind of hire is a great example.

------
rwhitman
When I was running my completely un-funded zero-revenue startup, college kids
would daily send me emails _begging_ me to give them a job doing non-technical
BS work, often for free.

Fortunately a non-technical rockstar (who is willing to work for dirt cheap)
is substantially easier to find a technical rockstar... I imagine now after
"The Social Network" social media startups almost have an entertainment
industry-like glamor at the moment, like breaking into the music business or
movies. Non-technical people often will work for free or dirt cheap for
_years_ to 'make it' in these fields.

Milk it.

------
gregpilling
As a senior hustler myself (in the hard working, making deals way) I would
suggest that they look at just hiring a part time bookkeeper and an office
assistant. It would cost less, not dilute equity, and they wouldn't have a
hustler doing bookkeeping. As someone who has had to fix bad bookkeeping, I
can assure you it is something you want to avoid. You could think of bad
bookkeeping like bad code - it can be 10x the work to fix it as it was to do
in the first place. But with bookkeeping you usually can't just pull it off
github and rewrite it. You have to fix live systems that change everyday.

------
nickpinkston
Haha - it's funny how much startups are the same... We're doing the same thing
and had the same (a non-engineer?!?) reservations. I must completely concur.

------
rokhayakebe
_OMG, if I didn’t have to do all this bullshit work, I’d so much more
productive_

I am not sure this is a line you want to add in a job post.

~~~
umtrey
If I were looking for this kind of person, I'd want them to know that
different people see tasks differently. Some people see simple design stuff as
"bullshit work" while others see having to parse through server logs as
"bullshit work."

This isn't an all-glamorous job. To portray it as such would be deceitful and
would attract a different kind of individual, who would ultimately be let
down.

