4 ms·

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing. Losing $50k and a college friend may seem like a lot but I think it is at the beginning of your career. But good that y

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing. Losing $50k and a college friend may seem like a lot but I think it is at the beginning of your career. But good that your learn these lessons before you have a $$$ home, a wife and kids -- then losing it all is a lot more serious. I would not be surprised the hard nootropics played more of a role than you give it credit for in taking you down such a path. Hyperfocus drugs and anxiety-inducing drugs are not conducive to globally optimal decision making in a diverse and rich environment that is critical for running a successful business.

HappyTypist 9y ago
There is a nootropics curve: do the light stuff and you'll probably come out ahead, do the hard stuff (e.g. adderall, aka meth) and you ... are literally doing meth.
taneq 9y ago
I still don't get why he was taking nootropics when he wasn't doing anything technical. In fact I'm not entirely sure what he was doing, at all. He seemed to want to "start a startup" without knowing what he was building, for whom, to solve what problem, or what kind of value he was aiming to create. The biggest red flag to me was that they tried start a startup to which (as far as I could tell) neither founder brought any actual useful skills. You can get away with that sometimes if you have huge funding and can work the hype machine, but not as a pair of self-funded kids. (As an aside, point 8 'Go Lean' is basically saying "push your risks/costs onto others, exploit your workers, better yet partner with someone who has skills so they can do the work for you." I've met guys who (try to) work like that and they're leeches.)
brusch64 9y ago
The nootropics angle was disturbing for me. If you take so much (and I guess this can be a slippery slope) that you get anxiety problems then those substances are a problem for you.

4 ms·

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing. Losing $50k and a college friend may seem like a lot but I think it is at the beginning of your career. But good that y

by bhouston 9y ago

HappyTypist 9y ago
There is a nootropics curve: do the light stuff and you'll probably come out ahead, do the hard stuff (e.g. adderall, aka meth) and you ... are literally doing meth.
taneq 9y ago
I still don't get why he was taking nootropics when he wasn't doing anything technical. In fact I'm not entirely sure what he was doing, at all. He seemed to want to "start a startup" without knowing what he was building, for whom, to solve what problem, or what kind of value he was aiming to create. The biggest red flag to me was that they tried start a startup to which (as far as I could tell) neither founder brought any actual useful skills. You can get away with that sometimes if you have huge funding and can work the hype machine, but not as a pair of self-funded kids. (As an aside, point 8 'Go Lean' is basically saying "push your risks/costs onto others, exploit your workers, better yet partner with someone who has skills so they can do the work for you." I've met guys who (try to) work like that and they're leeches.)
brusch64 9y ago
The nootropics angle was disturbing for me. If you take so much (and I guess this can be a slippery slope) that you get anxiety problems then those substances are a problem for you.