
Last Year I Graduated College and Launched a Startup - jason_shah
http://blog.jasonshah.org/post/23611548670/last-year-i-graduated-college-and-launched-a-startup
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kapitalx
I read this looking for a "unique personal story" which the title suggested,
unfortunately I mostly found "boiler-plate advice".

edit: Some insightful comments though:

\- "The first year after graduating from college is a uniquely challenging
time.", I definitely struggled with this out of college. Still sometimes I
envy those years and times surrounded by friends.

\- "[look for] unique personal stories vs. giving condescending boiler-plate
advice.", I hadn't been able to put into words what I hate about some talks
and what I like about others, but this sums it up nicely.

~~~
jason_shah
Ouch. Sorry that was your experience with this post. I'm currently drafting a
more detailed account with more color that you might find more up your alley.

~~~
kapitalx
My response was probably a little harsher than it should've been. I still
found the advise an interesting read, just very disappointed not to find the
story. Looking forward to your next post.

~~~
Caligula
You were not harsh. It really was a boiler plate article. The title of the
post did not match what I thought the article would contain (a unique personal
story).

It is good feedback for the author. Don't be afraid to be honest.

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IJD
Although your unique story would have been more interesting, I definitely
agree with a lot of what you said.

I graduated college June 4 of last year, and have gone through a couple ideas
already. I put serious effort into 2, one being an e-commerce startup I hope
to launch this summer. I've definitely had to re-evaluate how much my time is
worth over the past year, and that is one of the most important pieces of
advice I give to my friends just graduating now.

I planned on working for ~6 months to pay down some debt (credit cards and
student loans) and save some money to move to the city (NYC or SF). Ended up
getting a great job teaching the computer class at an elementary school and
running a staff development program for about 30 elementary school teachers.
Its an hourly job, no salary, but I definitely end up working more than 40
hours each week. I'm so drained after dealing with young kids all day that
it's incredibly hard to put in more work on a startup.

I really am only able to do it due to two things: first, thank god for breaks,
vacation time my first year, and being a school days only employee. Second,
finding a great co-founder that keeps me motivated and focused (and also
happens to be my significant other - not always a great choice, but for us
it's amazing... our third date turned into a three hour long brainstorming
session for the e-commerce project I mentioned above).

While I see things working out great in the future, and I'm definitely getting
a lot out of my current job (I definitely want to do an education focused
startup, and I feel like this age group is impossible to learn about without
working with them directly), it is very hard to manage work / life balance
when it's really work (day job) / work (startup) / life balance. Getting into
a routine, finding sufficient motivation and willpower, and realizing how
valuable time is at this point in life is important before even thinking about
being able to reasonably work on your own projects or startup.

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rmATinnovafy
First time I read the post, I found it to be a bit boler-plate. But then I re-
read it, while thinking about the person who posted it.

You just graduated college. You havent lived that much. Still you had the guts
to go out and get what you want. Due to the fact that your experience is
limited, you can't seem to say anything us old-schoolers haven't heard or said
before.

But you have something better than advice to talk about. You have the unique
perspective of being a young twenty-something business person. Talk about
that. Let us see the world through your eyes. Your frustrations, pains, and
achievements. Tell us how you are sharpening your newly minted skills.

I wish you the very best of luck.

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DillonHess
That "class is over, and now is the time to learn" is sick!

I just posted a similar story... but from the point of view of a current
College undergrad:

<http://blog.dillonhess.com/2012/dillons-summer-code/>

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freshfey
"You will accumulate life debt the more you try to bullshit your way through.
The embarrassment you think you will experience is nothing compared to
outsized intellectual and experiential debt."

This is a true gem. Thanks for reminding me of that.

~~~
hesitz
I wish I understood what that sentence is supposed to mean. "Life debt"? It
seems to be in code, or shorthand, or jibberish.

~~~
freshfey
The way I understand it, it means missed days, opportunities and chances.
Every day you try to trick the system (meaning life), it teaches you by taking
away a day from you. Now it can take that day in a good way (you learnt
something) or it can take that day in a bad way (you wasted a valuable 24
hours of your life that you'll never get back).

~~~
hesitz
Sounds fine, but -- to me -- like many of the other points in the piece, it
applies equally both before and after graduation from college. I think a lot
of college kids fool themselves into thinking what they do during college
doesn't matter; they'll start anew and turn over a new leaf when they graduate
and "adult life begins". It doesn't work, those sorts of rationalizations are
similar to New Year's Resolutions, which also don't work. Adult life doesn't
start with a blank slate after college graduation; college kids are already
living their lives and, to use the author's own term, amassing their own life
debt.

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iamvictorious
great post Jason!

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zashapiro
Enjoyed the post, Jason.

Along your comment of life after college being a uniquely challenging time, I
wrote this post a few weeks back that seems relevant -
[http://zackshapiro.com/post/22010015010/9-things-i-wish-
some...](http://zackshapiro.com/post/22010015010/9-things-i-wish-someone-had-
told-me-about-life-after)

I don't mean to take away any attention from your article, just thought it
would be some good, direct advice for recent college grads.

