

The Drag Coefficient Scoring System: what size startup is right for you - jaf12duke
http://www.humbledmba.com/the-drag-coefficient-scoring-system-how-to-de

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brk
I have to say, this is utter garbage. Or, it's an interesting concept poorly
thought out and implemented.

You get "a point" for having a significant other or a serious relationship?
Well, what if your significant other (like my wife) is a very smart person you
can bounce ideas off of, and makes enough money on their own to pay all your
basic bills and living expenses (also canceling out your +1 for a mortgage
drag point)?

And you get 1 point for every 5 years after 20? Maybe make 30 the baseline
there, but really that whole calculation is just off. When I'm hiring someone
at a startup I tend to cringe at the 25-and-under crowd with startup stars in
their eyes and no experience. THEY are drag on the organization because the
majority of them don't know how to work independently and don't know what the
company is supposed to look like in 5 years, so they lack a lot of vision and
understanding (sorry if this offends anyone reading this, but I've always
advocated that people get some real-company experience BEFORE joining a
startup).

I can see how the kids thing might cramp things a bit (in theory I guess, I
don't have any kids, so no real experience there).

I also wouldn't recommend that someone rush into their next venture after
something else winds down or blows up (as the author of this article did).
That seems like a great formula for making poor decisions, fighting some
invisible ticking clock.

Ugh. I hope nobody actually takes this article too much to heart.

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dhimes
Yeah, but it's a cute way to kill time while awaiting Knuth's announcement.

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mahmud
Yep, same here waiting. To spice things up I decided to twiddle my thumbs
backwards and count in multiples of 14.

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cperciva
Based on people I've seen, I'd replace "1 point for every 5 years after the
age of 20" with "1 point for every 3 years in full-time employment". I think a
25 year old newly minted graduate who is used to living a "student lifestyle"
has far less drag than a 23 year old who has spent the last 3 years working
full-time and enjoying money.

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Jun8
I don't get why drag is so proportional to age. Yes, older people have more
drag (family, mortgage, etc.) but these factors are already accounted for. I
am 40, so get a drag factor of 4 points right there, but do not own a home.
Why should I get more drag than the 25 year-old mentioned in the article with
a mortgage?

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prodigal_erik
I'm also pushing 40, and part of my hesitation is the opportunity cost. Will I
seriously regret foregoing a year of market rate salary during my peak earning
years, when I only recently got a clue and started saving? I'm also less blasé
about doing without group health insurance than I used to be, just from
watching people age (and CORBA only lasts so long).

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cedsav
For what it's worth, I had a 'drag' score of 7 when I founded my startup.
Without a wife and a child to motivate me to try harder, and without 10+ years
of experience in technology, I would never have been able to accomplish half
of what I've done.

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atiw
Interesting. I would like to know more about your accomplishments. I am pretty
sure others here would agree. It's not every day that we find successful
examples,and the general consensus has been that people over 40 are "not
stupid enough". You can be a role model for us. At least to immigrants, it
should be pretty comforting, considering the fact that it takes almost 10
years fo asians (esp Chinese and Indians, I am not sure what the numbers are
like for others.) before they get a green card, and are free enough to move
from one company/ city to another, without risking getting deported from US.

I am 26, and my professor was quite clear. He said you have maybe a couple of
years when you can take all the risks and pursue your startup dream. (Yes, my
score is 1 and I am still close to failing. How about that...)

Would really appreciate sharing your accomplishments to inspire and give hope
to people, telling youngsters they have more time than they think they do, and
more experienced ones the push they might need to make that jump.

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cedsav
I started my business on my own (and that's one of the downside of starting
late, none of my friends where up for this kind of adventure, plus I'm an
expat, so the people I knew and trusted best were 4k miles away), so I did
everything myself: web development, graphic design, business, legal stuff,
etc.. I'm by no mean an expert in any of these domains, but it's all stuff
I've done at one point or another in my career. I build the thing, got
customers, and was lucky enough to find a few good people to help me run this
thing.

If you're going to wait before going on your own, just make sure you get the
most out of your job. Avoid boring and routine stuff, venture out of your
comfort zone, learn skills beyond your own specialty.

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atiw
I don't think that starting late would have been your issue. Most people tend
to avoid risks, and like to live easier life any given day. I am 26, and I
asked my friends to join my startup when I was 25, still no one seems to want
to take that risk. Also, location might be a big factor. Here in Dallas,
Texas, not many people want to jump into startups straight away. In my case,
the problem was also not so well defined, and there's not too many people
working on this. Except some BIG corps.

I am also doing everything myself, until this point at least. i do have a co
founder, but he is a busy man (Department head of CS form my university.)

I am also doing everything alone, that too on the side (I had to start doing a
job some 6 months after starting my startup, due to financial and immigrations
issues).

So, here I am , a 26 year old, immigrant startup founder, who doesn't know how
to get more people (or if I want more people). I am getting to know and learn
a lot more, and I am doing it very cheap. So successful or not, personally I
think I will gain a lot. My question really was due to the fact that I might
be failing soon enough, and more and more I see my friends and they all SEEM
to be enjoying more and relaxing more doign their regular jobs. So, I am more
afraid I might not be able to do more later on, and do any more startups if
this one fails.

Somewhere in my head, at least I know one person who did it in his 40s. Gives
me some level of confidence that it's not too late. Also, hearing all these
stats about younger guys doing it and succeeding, Zuck and the likes, doesn't
boost confidence either. Quite few times, I end up thinking, maybe this is it,
after I am old, I might not be able to do it, since not so many people seem to
be doing successful statups, or at least we don't hear about them much.

~~~
cedsav
what are you working on?

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smithbits
I'd subtract two points for every startup you've already worked in, especially
the failed ones. Every time you do a startup it does get easier. I've met a
few people in Silicon Valley who were shoulder deep in their thirties, with
kids, and working at their fourth or fifth startup.

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JoeAltmaier
Then I come out negative!

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spydez
He forgot at least one... In my case:

Medical Issues: +1 to +inf points, depending.

i.e., I have migraines, 5+ docs to see about them, lots of pills and meds to
buy, etc. Definitely getting good use out of my megacorp insurance plan &
psuedo-unlimited sick leave.

Ignoring the migraines, I only have 1 point in his system, but there's no way
I could do a startup right now... I had more sick hours than work hours last
week.

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johnrob
If you have a spouse (+1), subtract two points if she has a good enough job to
support both of you.

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jtbigwoo
The trouble with a spouse is the amount of time and attention he/she takes up
in your life. If your spouse is ok with not seeing you for long stretches then
I agree with you. If he/she demands a lot of quality and family time, then +1
is perfectly appropriate.

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brk
It's deeper than that. Taking time off, clearing your head, and enjoying other
parts of life can allow your mind to relax and will often lead to better
overall productivity.

Everybody has this idea that for a startup to be successful EVERYBODY must be
thinking/working only on that business for the 4 hours a day that they are not
asleep. I do not believe that argument.

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MicahWedemeyer
Nice to know that age and experience count against you, as does the potential
2nd income that a spouse brings in.

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kirpekar
Subtract 5 points if you studied fluid mechanics and know what a drag
coefficient really is.

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alttab
There's something about this approach I don't _want_ to grok. This would mean
that if you are young with little experience, you live in an apartment and
you're alone - you should be a founder, not a part of the "hiring wave" for a
more mature start up.

This also means that a more experienced, successful, and wealthy man with a
small family may too be old or have too many children to start his own
company. Logic should suggest that its the perfect time, when you have 25
years of experience under your belt.

Personally, there should only be two real indicators of any size start up you
take: 1) what do you feel you are capable of and 2) how far you are willing to
go (whatever your priorities may be).

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ww520
This formula is for someone who has relatively little money. Don't discount
the impact of built-up netegg or trust fund baby. People who have money don't
have the financial pressure to hold a job and can pursue things interested
them, like starting a company. And older people who have done well tend to
have a large netegg to enable them to strike out, which explain the surge of
entrepreneurship in 40's.

The formula is simple: incomings - expenses = netflow; if netflow > 0, you are
good to go, else if netegg/netflow > years-of-comfortable-living, you are good
to go; otherwise get a job.

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swombat
So how does the "5 points for every 5 years above 20" stack up against the
fact that most successful founders are in their 30s?

Seems like a 20-year-old's idealised conceptions of founding start-ups.

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skmurphy
There is a second peak of entrepreneurship for folks in their 40's that this
does not model accurately at all. Supportive spouse is a plus. Deep domain
knowledge and rich social networks are both a plus that come with age and work
experience. I agree with his advice to the newly minted MBA but I think his
rules of thumb break down for older entrepreneurs.

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atiw
Score 1, Still feel like I am close to failing. I hope I was in CA, but then
again, my problem was so peculiar, and so tough ( NP-Complete), it will
probably take more time to build than it might require doing other parts of
business. I certainly hope so. That making it work will pay off eventually. I
like to compare myself to Google guys. Only in that they tok close to three
years before the search engine was good enough to take investments. Of course,
I think they were smarter, so does that give me more years to work on. I hope
not..

:)

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jtbigwoo
A few more revisions: First kid: +2 Each additional kid after the first: +1
Single parent with weekday custody: +10

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dhimes
I score an 11. Damn.

