6 ms·

I encourage you to work on one or more of your ideas sooner rather than later, even while working full-time. You seem to be at the stage in your life where you

I encourage you to work on one or more of your ideas sooner rather than later, even while working full-time. You seem to be at the stage in your life where you could pursue the YCombinator program (or similar programs). This is one way to fund your ideas without going the self-funded route. You seem to have the skills that you'll always be able to get jobs at Yahoo or elsewhere. You don't really have much to lose.

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
You don't really have much to lose. Thanks. But that non-trivial pile of RSUs is really very non-trivial :)
- bigbang 18y ago
  Every year you will be getting RSUs or retention bonuses. At some point you should make the call rite. Im in same position as you.
  - IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
    True that. You do have to call it quits at some point. But why not wait until it's enough to actually coast on for a while?
    - cypress-hill 18y ago
      Hi, troll
ajross 18y ago
Actually, my reading was he (like me) was well past the stage of life where YC funding would be helpful. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but a first round YC bet is something like "cost of living for two college students for a summer". To an established professional with a stable job, this is noise: most of us could fund such a company for three months right out of our bank accounts. The benefit to doing the YC thing is the exposure to sources for later funding rounds, and the networking that comes with being part of the community. The money isn't the draw for anyone but a brand new graduate. It's just there to make sure no one starves while working on the project.
- IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
  If the choices are: 1) get funding, and do it now, and give up even 1% of my company, or 2) wait a year or two, and do it on my own dime, but own it 100%, I'm leaning towards #2.
  - webwright 18y ago
    That seems like a truly bizarre "hoarding" mentality. What about a co-founder? What about an employee? No stock options for anyone? I think a better attitude would be: "I will give up equity only if it raises the likelihood and magnitude of success". Some of your comments after your post see to indicate that you feel that it's easy to get funded (it's not) and that you have to give up "creative control" of your business when you take funding (you don't). Getting the right investors gives you a HUGE advantage (if growth/exits figure into your plans-- maybe they don't).
    - IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
      It's not that it's "easy" to get funding compared with, say, getting a cheeseburger. But it's far from impossible. And I think that I could do it. That being said, it might be impossible. And not relying on it would be a safer position. The point is, if it's easy enough to avoid, why not just save up the money, and then do it? I certainly don't mind sharing creative control with fellow creators. In fact, it's absolutely necessary, and almost always a profitable move. Two people are more than twice as productive as one, by a significant measure. YC doesn't take a huge cut, and the folks behind it are smart enough to know that the best investments do the best when they're mostly left alone. Growth figures into my plans, but less than other factors. The way I see it, I'm in this for the love of creating things, and the paycheck is so that rent and feeding don't get in the way. At Yahoo, I have less say in what happens, and it's frustrating to see the wrong decisions get made. Being able to say "I told you so" rings hollow after a while. (To be fair, Yahoo is a lot less awful than a lot of other companies, and overall, a great place to work. I highly recommend it.) In any transaction, it makes sense to put yourself in the best position possible. Selling 5% of a 10 million dollar company is better than selling 10% of a 5 million dollar company; same $$, half the price.

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago

You don't really have much to lose. Thanks. But that non-trivial pile of RSUs is really very non-trivial :)

bigbang 18y ago
Every year you will be getting RSUs or retention bonuses. At some point you should make the call rite. Im in same position as you.
- IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
  True that. You do have to call it quits at some point. But why not wait until it's enough to actually coast on for a while?
  - cypress-hill 18y ago
    Hi, troll

ajross 18y ago

Actually, my reading was he (like me) was well past the stage of life where YC funding would be helpful. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but a first round YC bet is something like "cost of living for two college students for a summer". To an established professional with a stable job, this is noise: most of us could fund such a company for three months right out of our bank accounts. The benefit to doing the YC thing is the exposure to sources for later funding rounds, and the networking that comes with being part of the community. The money isn't the draw for anyone but a brand new graduate. It's just there to make sure no one starves while working on the project.

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
If the choices are: 1) get funding, and do it now, and give up even 1% of my company, or 2) wait a year or two, and do it on my own dime, but own it 100%, I'm leaning towards #2.
- webwright 18y ago
  That seems like a truly bizarre "hoarding" mentality. What about a co-founder? What about an employee? No stock options for anyone? I think a better attitude would be: "I will give up equity only if it raises the likelihood and magnitude of success". Some of your comments after your post see to indicate that you feel that it's easy to get funded (it's not) and that you have to give up "creative control" of your business when you take funding (you don't). Getting the right investors gives you a HUGE advantage (if growth/exits figure into your plans-- maybe they don't).
  - IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
    It's not that it's "easy" to get funding compared with, say, getting a cheeseburger. But it's far from impossible. And I think that I could do it. That being said, it might be impossible. And not relying on it would be a safer position. The point is, if it's easy enough to avoid, why not just save up the money, and then do it? I certainly don't mind sharing creative control with fellow creators. In fact, it's absolutely necessary, and almost always a profitable move. Two people are more than twice as productive as one, by a significant measure. YC doesn't take a huge cut, and the folks behind it are smart enough to know that the best investments do the best when they're mostly left alone. Growth figures into my plans, but less than other factors. The way I see it, I'm in this for the love of creating things, and the paycheck is so that rent and feeding don't get in the way. At Yahoo, I have less say in what happens, and it's frustrating to see the wrong decisions get made. Being able to say "I told you so" rings hollow after a while. (To be fair, Yahoo is a lot less awful than a lot of other companies, and overall, a great place to work. I highly recommend it.) In any transaction, it makes sense to put yourself in the best position possible. Selling 5% of a 10 million dollar company is better than selling 10% of a 5 million dollar company; same $$, half the price.