

Ask YC: Seeking advice for future unemployee in the context of start-ups. - j2d2

I will be leaving my job around December and am not entirely sure what I want to do next. I am considering maybe something start-up related. I live in NYC. I'm 28. I am considering grad school as a way to expand my mind until the right idea hits. I simply want something exciting and figure this is the place to ask.<p>Edit: This is a first shot at the question. I found out this morning that I'm employed until Dec. My first thought was, "I wonder what the people on YC would do next." I heard Grad school takes up most peoples time so I figured Grad school vs. Start-up was expected. Some comments below indicate otherwise. Do VC's have any inhibitions towards funding someone my age? I'm the type who can spend money but can just as easily go three months on ramen and barely washed clothes.
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oldgregg
It totally depends on your situation, but this is what I did:

1) Slashed expenses. I traded the '03 bimmer for a '96 Minivan, pawned off the
bachelor pad, moved in with some friends. Upside: total freedom. Downside:
Asking a girl out when you drive a minivan sucks. Then again it's really good
at filtering out materialistic women and I've gotten a lot closer to women who
care about big ideas instead of impressing their other materialistic friends.
This was incredibly painful to do. It was only AFTER I got rid of my stuff
that I realized how much bondage I was in and how much I was buying into the
same consumer bullshit that I pretended to hate.

2) Stopped moonlighting. I saved up some money and have resisted every urge to
accept contract work. That just makes you lazy. As much as it stresses me out
I create as much financial pressure on myself that I HAVE to make this startup
profitable as quickly as possible.

3) Picked one idea. I'm an idea person. I have too many of them. Idea's are
not the problem, it's commitment and focus. So just pick your best idea and
don't think about anything else. Limit brainstorming unless it relates to how
you are going to reach profitability.

4) Got a friend to go hardcore with me. When you are a subversive little
jackass trying to do a startup that nobody gives a rip about it's easy to get
discouraged. I don't think I could be doing this without a friend who is
drinking the kool-aid.

5) Read founders at work. On a daily basis I'm flooded with uncertainty about
direction and focus. Knowing that everyone is on the same rollercoaster
between im-a-genius and im-an-idiot is really helpful.

I just sent out the first two invoices this morning... woo!

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bluelu
Congratulations on the first invoices!

I know, it's pretty hard to work on something alone. Sometimes you feel great,
but sometimes you simply feel discouarged. A friend is also quitting hist job
now, but he still has to prove that he has the skills to join me, as he once
remarked he already wants 50% equity from the start. (Idea, prototype, first
to quit etc nautrally all come from me :-))

Oooh god, please let cofounders rain! ;)

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maxklein
Move to Shenzhen. Doing that just blew my mind - I thought I was a person, but
alone in Shenzhen for 4 weeks just permanently changed me.

You know how people talk about discovering yourself? I thought it was a myth,
but when you go to a country alone and don't know the language, it really
changes you.

I'm more focused now, more determined, more careful and by God, the money is
just rolling in.

~~~
oldgregg
Why shenzhen? I spent some time in India and it was awe inspiring on one level
but it was also depressing having to deal with such overwhelming incompetency.

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maxklein
That's the difference, is it not? Many people go and they think people are
incompetent. I go and I see that people are not working optimally, and I
figure out a way to make them work optimally.

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babul
As mentioned, for tailored and considered answers, you need to provide more
details about your background and constraints. We will also nned to look at
your motivations as doing a startup may not be what you are looking for as for
simple excitement you can do many other things to achieve this e.g. travel,
extreme sports/experiences, new job in new area

Erstwhile, as a generalisitic answer from someone having been in a similar
situation I would say try and implement a few ideas in your spare time. See
which ones you enjoy and which ones take off. Often the elements of business
you least consider are the most fun and vice versa. Perhaps try and do so
consulting work at other places, if possible, to build your exposure to
business in general if you have not worked at many places.

Once you have been exposed to more activity and have experienced mre things
you will often find yourself in a better position to determine what is right
for you and the problem, if any, you want to tackle in your business/startup.

Business/startup for the sake of it may not be the answer. We cannot know
until we find out more about your sceanario.

This may sound very soft and general advice, but I hope it helps and if you
can elaborate further I am sure I and the many others here will try and give
sound advice to the best of our ability.

Thanks.

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len
I would take a look at the constraints you have in place and those that you
can and/or want to change. Resources are the natural place to start the
assessment.

Provide some more information as to your current (as well as past) work
experience, education, interests, etc. and I am sure the community can be more
concrete with suggestions.

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j2d2
_Provide some more information as to your current (as well as past) work
experience, education, interests, etc. and I am sure the community can be more
concrete with suggestions._

That's a good idea. I'll probably post another Ask YC with more specifics.

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vaksel
Why not do both? Go to grad school while at the same time working on your
start up. You never realize how much free time you have at school until you
leave it.

And don't worry about coming up with a genius idea, most startup ideas aren't
genius. Its usually just another social network or travel site

I would also recommend you to move outside of NYC, since you are most likely
paying 3-4 times in rent compared to outside of the city. Like everyone said
your goal now is to cut your costs dramatically.

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wallflower
You might be able to negotiate a leave of absence (since you're walking away
anyway) <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=184979>

Or have you considered grad school abroad at a suitable university (ideally,
where the academics meet your rigor and exchange rate is favorable)?

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vikas5678
I actually like the grad school idea. Being in a nice relaxed college
atmosphere while working on interesting problems would be perfect. All you
would need is to not lose sight of what you got there for in the first place.

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aichcon
Make sure you save up a lot of cash if you're going to be staying in NYC!

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coffeemug
Could you put your email in your profile (or shoot me one)?

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ideas101
you have many options - something exciting can come from anywhere and anytime,
you dont need to join school or new job ... also if u can afford and survive
financially then couple of months of vacation/traveling can re-juvenile you
completely with may be something more creative and exciting for you.

