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I Quit My Day Job. Thanks.
- vijayr 17y agoThat is Patrick (patio11) of Bingo Card Creator.
- icey 17y agoWow, congrats Patrick!
- runevault 17y agoAwesome! Been wondering when you'd get to that point, since you've been growing BCC at such a steady pace, with what seems like a limited time thanks to your day job. Also, your comments about the way things are in the Japanese workforce make me glad I don't work over there ;-)
- bluedanieru 17y agoYou shouldn't feel that way. Labor protection is much, much stronger in Japan than the US, or many other first-world nations, for that matter. Having said that he's right to point out that the social contract is generally more important, however if you're being taken advantage of the law is on your side. As for self-employment I can't imagine it's much harder, if for no other reason than health insurance/care is cheap and easy to come by, but I don't have any direct experience there. Seems to be a fair bit of self-employed IT folks in Tokyo though, particularly among non-Japanese.
- po 17y agoI just quit my day job and moved to Japan (Tokyo specifically) and I have to say: the option to buy healthcare is pretty nice. It's priced according to your previous year's tax return, so those who can pay more, do so. I have also found a very healthy tech community here, although the bridge between the locals and the foreigners is somewhat weak. Also, new stories on HN are on the US cycle so I'm usually commenting when people are asleep. I feel like the comment fairy.
- nandemo 17y agoLabor protection is much, much stronger in Japan than the US, or many other first-world nations, for that matter. It's not that simple. Although permanent employees can't be fired easily, dispatched workers and temps are a significant (and growing) proportion of the workforce and may be fired at will. We don't have long vacations like in some European countries, nor do we have "sick days" (lots of national holidays, though). Some companies put a cap on overtime pay (not on overtime work), some smaller ones don't pay it at all. And so on. You're right about the law being on the worker's side. Most people won't sue, though. As for self-employment I can't imagine it's much harder, I think it's not hard bureaucracy-wise, except for potential visa problems. I wonder how Patrick will deal with that (I once had an offer to work as contractor but had to reject in part because of visa headaches). Many translators are self-employed. But I don't know anyone working in IT that is self-employed, probably because most Japanese companies don't like to hire individual IT contractors. Or maybe my sample is too small.
- abstractbill 17y agoNice, congrats on making the jump Patrick, I've really enjoyed your BCC posts.
- alanthonyc 17y agoAwesome news! Glad to hear you are doing what you want to do.
- smanek 17y agoCongrats Patrick! For entirely selfish reasons, I hope you start consulting for AdWords/marketing/optimization stuff :-D (If you do, please contact me! (email in profile)). BCC seems like a great way for you to have learned a lot, but I hope you find a new product that is really worthy of you! Incidentally, is it normal for a company to want you to stick around for 6+ months? I usually give 2 weeks notice, but offer to stay for 4 if needed ...
- Tuna-Fish 17y agoIt depends a lot on the job culture. When you are downsized in the US, a security guard escorts you to the door. In Germany, an engineer I know was fired last year (business reasons). He will continue working until june.
- notauser 17y agoThe UK varies - if you get fired they tend to escort you out under guard. If you leave they work you to the last second of your notice and hope you can be persuaded to stay late and finish 'just one more thing'.
- astine 17y ago"When you are downsized in the US, a security guard escorts you to the door." Not when I was downsized. I got a month's grace-period and everyone said goodbye when I left.
- ahi 17y agomight labor regulations have something to do with this? German corps might have an incentive to keep him working while he looks for a job rather than having to pay some kind of severance/unemployment? I never really understood the rationale behind laying someone off then escorting them out the door. Presumably its so they don't damage the company in some way because they're pissed. But a major reason people are pissed is because their employer just fucked them over. People can handle being fired for business reasons if it doesn't throw them right out on the street. People can handle "I'm sorry, but we can't afford you past April. Let me know if you need a reference or need to take time for an interview." Apparently, HR is never taught common decency.
- billybob 17y agoWould be nice if the link showed this was from DISCUSS.joelonsoftware.com... My first reaction was "Joel quit his day job!?!"
- revorad 17y agoCongrats Patrick!
- dpapathanasiou 17y agoCongratulations and good luck! Are you staying in Japan?
- iamelgringo 17y agoCongrats, Patrick!
- bigsassy 17y agoI know this doesn't add to the conversation, but Congratulations Patrick!
- staunch 17y agoI reject this announcement as invalid, for having not been done on HN. Scoff Really though, he hinted before, so this is good news. I can't wait to see what his sales charts start doing, once he's been full-time for a few months.
- mahmud 17y agoYeah, discuss.joelonsoftware.com is for shareware developers.
- Elepsis 17y agoA category which Bingo Card Creator fits into pretty handily.
- patio11 17y agoThis is sort of an aside, but I will never describe my software as shareware within earshot of a customer. (I sometimes use the word as a shortcut for "I sell B2C software over the Internet" around other developers.) I think shareware is an outmoded name, an outmoded distribution model, and has connotations that I do not want for my business. Everyone selling software as a product has a "try before you buy" option these days. You can download an evaluation version of Microsoft Office. In that respect, shareware has conquered its rude conquerors. But do I really want my customers sharing my software? No. I have a website, it is the authoritative place for it. I don't depend on viral distribution of my software, like classical shareware distributors did many many years ago when passing copies of executables to your friends was likely to result in a good user experience. My customers (largely non-technical folks) may not understand what shareware means and, to the extent they have any impression of the word, it is probably negative. For example, they might think it is "software I don't have to pay for" or "cruddy software which is going to give my Google a virus." I don't want my customers thinking they don't have to pay for my cruddy software which is going to give their Google a virus. I want them thinking "I have a problem and paying Patrick is the fastest way to solve it." Branding myself as shareware does not get me any closer to that objective.
- 17y ago
- bbuffone 17y agoDid he get a recoding contract? "Will single founders please stand up?"
- samh 17y agohttp://www.samonsoftware.com/?p=361 http://www.samonsoftware.com/?p=361
- ryanwaggoner 17y agoI've been waiting for this for a long time. Congrats to Patrick!
- gommm 17y agoCongratulation Patrick! I second John Clark's comment on the business of software forum. You should see if you can negotiate some freelance work with your ex-employer, that's what I did with the company I used to work for in Japan and it worked very well. And, if you can justify a certain amount of revenue each months like this it can help renew your visa in Japan.
- maxklein 17y agoYou know what the comments remind me of? The scene in the TV series "The Corner" when one of the female addicts finally decides to quit and go off into rehab, and how all the other addicts encouraged her and were happy for her, while themselves remaining stuck in their drug moor. You should watch that show, by the way.
- yanilkr 17y agoSo did Rob Glaser.
- kpanghmc 17y agoNot trying to be rude, but who is Patrick McKenzie? From what I've gathered, he created an app called Bingo Card Creator and blogs about it. I haven't had a chance to peruse his entire blog, but I'm assuming that his posts are pretty solid to justify this being news?
- icey 17y agoPatrick == patio11 (which is mentioned in the top comment in this thread). Most of us know him from his activity in comment threads here. He has written a lot of about the process of building a MicroISV on his blog, and he's a pretty smart guy to boot.
- vijayr 17y agoHis blog is a joy to read, and one can learn lots from it. But more importantly, he is always willing to help - just take a look at YC and BoS forums, he is always sharing his knowledge, giving advice etc. Well deserved. Congrats Patrick.
- qeorge 17y agoCongratulations Patrick. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Best of luck with everything.
- growingconcern 17y agoI don't understand why this post has the #1 spot
- jmatt 17y agoAs vijayr put it That is Patrick (patio11) of Bingo Card Creator. He's an active member of the community. See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1050982 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1050982
- rokhayakebe 17y agoI am sure Patio11 will go own to do great things. I often find myself saying "Damn this guy is smart" after reading his opinions on just about anything. Good luck Pat.
- keeptrying 17y agoCongrats Patrick. I'm planning to do the same soon, maybe in about 4 momth. The whole process of planning for it does feel like running off of a cliff for me. You have been a source of inspiration !!
- paraschopra 17y agoCongrats Patrick! Excited to hear whats next.
- Arun2009 17y agoFree at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, you're free at last!