
My 32-year-old co-founder has a brain tumor - ychw
http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/11/my-32-year-old-co-founder-has-a-brain-tumor-seriously/
======
kmfrk
While I really don't like the framing of the story, it brings up an important
point way too many people in the tech and start-up bubble forget: some things
are just out of your control, and bad luck is a real thing that happens to
good people.

Managing your life and start-up is not something trivially easy you can pin-
point with life hacks and inspirational catchphrases. Some people don't manage
to achieve something, because they just didn't have the luck of the draw. And
we shouldn't blame them for that.

I see this very rambling article as a founder dealing with something innately
absurd, and if there is something a self-proclaimed hacker doesn't like, it's
a deprivation of control and micromanagement. To some, it's cognitive
dissonance at work. And regardless of the tone of the article, I am very
grateful that the author chose to deal with this in public.

And don't tell me the American health care system doesn't get in the way of
earning a decent living, as an employer and employee. While this article is
penned in a way I don't like that much, the tech press need to get out of
their bubble and write more articles about how real problems affect real
people, some of whom work at start-ups, and that being an entrepreneurs
doesn't render you immune to those problems.

It's only a matter of time before someone posts on Medium about "hacking their
cancer" or some bullshit, but it'd be great if we took more time to understand
that issues like health, health care costs, discrimination, harassment,
suicidal ideation, and other problems are things that get in the way, not just
of start-ups, but a dignified existence as a human being.

~~~
colmvp
"And don't tell me the American health care system doesn't get in the way of
earning a decent living, as an employer and employee."

As a person who has been rejected for having a pre-existing condition, this
statement rings true.

I need medicine for a condition I was born with, fuck me right?

~~~
bdcravens
In the US, you have options. I have Cystic Fibrosis. My state offers a "high
risk pool" for those denied. Also, as part of the Affordable Care Act,
preexisting condition insurance was made available for a very reasonable price
(enrollment was closed after a period of time, however). Next year, all
limitations for preexisting conditions are eliminated: (except if you already
have an individual plan you pay for, you'd have to get a new one):

[https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-a-pre-existing-
hea...](https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-a-pre-existing-health-
condition/)

~~~
thomasfoster96
Have you heard much about the Disability Care scheme being rolled out here in
Australia?

------
mynameisme
Pretty gross that you're using your friend's brain tumor to pimp your startup.

~~~
mbuss
Agreed. Hard to believe someone would do this.

~~~
yummyfajitas
If I had a brain tumor I'd want my friend/cofounder to use it to pimp _our_
startup. If she can move _our_ business forward while I'm ill, that's
wonderful for both of us.

~~~
coldtea
> _If I had a brain tumor I 'd want my friend/cofounder to use it to pimp our
> startup._

Even if my ill friend/cofounder "wanted" that (which amounts to "was ok with
it"), I still wouldn't do it. Being human is more important than pimping a
company for the big cash out.

~~~
true_religion
I think that implying that people not following your viewport are not 'human'
is a pretty far leap...

------
terabytest
You kind of make it sound as if his brain tumor is more of an annoyance to you
and your company than to him.

~~~
chasing
I agree. Seems like the response went no deeper than: "Hire some (possibly
unpaid, illegal) interns! Stop having time-consuming meetings!"

What about the truly hard questions this might bring up? How do you plan for
the possible long-term absence of a founder without ruining their hope of
beating their disease? What happens to the equity of a founder who passes? Is
this something you need to discuss with them, along the lines of a will, to
get straightened out? How do you deal with employees who might also be
experiencing emotional grief over the situation? Are there situations where
you need to slow the growth of the company so people can deal with their
personal reactions to a situation like this? How do you cope with the dual
emotional roller-coasters of running a start-up and having a friend on death's
door?

Any of these would be interesting questions to hear responses to. Instead,
this article chooses to take the shallowest route possible and actually treat
the horror of cancer more like your co-founder got the flu and was out for a
week or two...

------
frik
The co-founder with the tumor has his own blog, read this as well:

[http://ronniecastro.me/40-percent-chance-tumor-
grows/](http://ronniecastro.me/40-percent-chance-tumor-grows/) (incl. photos).

Good luck

~~~
victorhn
And here is a donation page (i found the link on the blogpost
[http://ronniecastro.me/well-fuck-you-lifewise-and-fuck-
you-c...](http://ronniecastro.me/well-fuck-you-lifewise-and-fuck-you-cancer/))

[https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/yrv2/we-love-
ron](https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/yrv2/we-love-ron)

~~~
biot
It seems odd that there's a donation page for a guy who had a $60M exit
previously, assuming I understood the article.

------
w3pm
The intern bit is disturbing to me. The trouble is, he can't actually believe
this is the best decision for these kids to make. He himself started a
business while still in school; he didn't slave away for someone else as "low
cost" labor. His own experience tells him that the best "career stepping
stone" is to create things, with friends, for yourselves. Any truly "wicked
smart" kids shouldn't be making this decision and he's not doing them any
favors by encouraging it.

In my own experience, offering a fairly-paid internship (ie, what they would
be making as a junior full-time employee), of a few months, is a great way to
evaluate a potential hire down the road. Do I expect useful work to come out
of these few months and build a business plan around it? Not really, and I
believe it's dishonest to do so.

~~~
alistairSH
I'll give the benefit of the doubt, and assume "low cost labor" is something
close to "first year employee wages".

And, not every smart kid is cut out for starting a business. I wasn't. Too
risk averse. I like to build software, I'm pretty good at it, but much prefer
the comfort of a salary.

------
mililani
I'm 39 and dealing with my own cancer struggles. It's tough. Reading about
someone else around my age deal with it helps, though.

~~~
dome82
Wish you to get well soon!

------
bdcravens
I don't have cancer, though I've lost those close to me.

I do have a (currently) incurable disease. (I do have an extremely mild case,
I must admiit) Many my age with CF are too busy taking medicine and staying
alive to do much with a career. Others are on the verge of needing
transplants. Others still have been gone a long time. I pray of course for the
best, but one day, it might get me.

I have things I'm passionate about. My hope would be that those around me help
me fulfill my visions and goals in life, through my struggles and recovery. As
the article is written, this wasn't something the cofounder was forced into,
but something he jumped into with plenty of options and I'll presume they are
passionate about.

------
reeses
I'd recommend that commenters simmer down on the emotional intensity and put
away the torches and pitchforks.

This is relevant to any startup. Yes, brain cancer is an extreme case, but
just as it's important to select the right cofounder, having something
unexpected or unplanned happen to your cofounder is a situation that has to be
handled.

It could be something as awful as brain cancer[1], as joyous as a new baby or
as horrifying as discovering that the new baby has a hole in his heart, or
something that is both positive and negative, such as falling in love with
someone who wants or needs to move away from your business location.

Key man insurance can help, but notes on experiences such as this are helpful
as well. It's easy to pile onto the author as an insensitive schmuck because
you are not in that position. We can't directly relate to his situation, so we
can judge all we like without fear of hypocrisy.

However, at some point, if you are lucky enough to grow a company and you are
responsible for the livelihood of your employees, a key member of the team
will have an 'availability-limiting event' that will force you to make tough
decisions.

Having articles such as this help. Not all the advice is immediately useful
("hire a bunch of interns") but dropping meetings and intensifying focus is
good. Keeping in mind,"How should I handle this so that I don't leave this in
a mess for X?" is good as well, because it assumes that X will be back.

If this happens to you, know that you have google/duckduck/bing fodder to look
for help in your moment of panic. Know that while it's one thing to think,"I
have cancer and I have to figure out what to do with my startup," for which
you can find a number of bits of advice, it's another to be affected as a
partner. Know also that you should make sure that you cross-train enough with
your cofounder so that neither of you is trying to do a brain dump to the
other in the back of an ambulance while your loved ones are terrified.

Finally, I would find it hard to believe that the author posted this without
his partner's consent. It sounds as if they've gotten through the immediate
crisis with the tumor and he is probably at least partially re-involved with
the company.[2]

Take posts such as this at face value. Have compassion.

[1] _Fuck_ cancer.

[2] Chemo is a bastard; see: [1]

~~~
zrail
Chemo really is an awful thing to put a body through. Toward the end of my
treatment I was able to scroll through email once a day before having to go
back to bed. I wrote about my recent and ongoing experiences with cancer on my
blog awhile back [1]. Your footnotes are a a pretty accurate summation.

[1]: [https://www.petekeen.net/cancer](https://www.petekeen.net/cancer)

~~~
reeses
That page was a tough read so I laughed out loud when I got to this point.

"While Emily was visiting family I had started to develop some pain in my
groin. I attributed it to over-use while she was away, but we were pretty
concerned nonetheless."

Strength to you, your family, and your soon-to-be in-laws.

~~~
zrail
Thanks. We're gonna need it.

------
badclient
The part about hiring a bunch of interns sounds weird. Were they getting paid?

------
thomasfoster96
Unfortunately, I've known a few great people, people I was very close to, to
lose a few of what could have been some really productive years due to these
sorts of things. Brain tumours are reasonably rare but they are also
unpredictable and turn up at any moment.

Anyway, at least in Australia we have Medicare for everyone, which should soon
cover trips to the dentist, as well as the DisabilityCare scheme that's
rolling out for people who have acquired or were born with a disability. Oh,
and madatory superannnuation.

Ya'll welcome to move here. You'll probably like it here.

------
rambojohnson
the "seriously?" bit irritated me for some reason. yes, it's serious. yes,
life is bigger than your startup.

