5 ms·

I was in the happy position of finding a job (post being a failed academic) doing stuff at the intersection of architecture and algorithms (high-speed regex imp

I was in the happy position of finding a job (post being a failed academic) doing stuff at the intersection of architecture and algorithms (high-speed regex implementation) and getting to to this for 11 years straight (2 years as a researcher, 5 years as a startup CTO, 4 years as a Principal Engineer at Intel). Got a decent if not ginormous exit too, which was nice. Also got to IMO change the industry - Hyperscan (github.com/intel/hyperscan) is used in a lot of places. This nice run has come to an end for me and my team and it's made me realize that getting to work on nifty, complex algorithms and do real CS is not the default. To say the least. I'd like to try to figure out how to do it again: the "algorithms startup" is a fun thing to do. You aren't going to be raking it in as having the 'nice library to do task X' doesn't allow you to capture huge amounts of value relative to the people selling boxen/UI/SAAS/etc. that wraps up your library. But you can work on a decent scale. I am thinking about blogging about this; generally I've been sticking to tech stuff on branchfree.org so far but having done this successfully once makes me wonder if it could be done again.

solarkraft 8y ago
> I am thinking about blogging about this I'd probably read it.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  Me too.
  - glangdale 8y ago
    Well - thanks, guys. If you bookmark https://branchfree.org/ https://branchfree.org/ perhaps eventually I'll stop wibbling on about bits-to-indexes and pattern match algorithms and SIMD long enough to post some experiences and some thoughts on the modestly profitable world of the algorithmic startup, from an "expert" who is batting a massive 1 out of 1.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      Good luck! And don't forget to submit those posts to HN when you write them!
      - glangdale 8y ago
        ... and done. Submitted to HN, and on my blog at https://branchfree.org/2018/06/12/some-opinions-about-algorithms-startups-from-a-sample-size-of-approximately-1/ https://branchfree.org/2018/06/12/some-opinions-about-algori...
- siscia 8y ago
  I would read as well, please write about it!
senatorobama 8y ago
Ah! Inspiration. I'm a Sydney-sider and though I'm relatively satisfied in my current position, I'm having a difficult time finding the next job that could satisfy my computer engineering background. Software engineering has become a byword for web development/Java, (or selling your soul to work in HFT...) Where would you like to work next?
- glangdale 8y ago
  Sydney is a relatively bleak place for getting a good selection of tech jobs. There are the obvious BigCos, then... not much. I may have to Make My Own Fun - another startup?
  - nojvek 8y ago
    You could do your own startup but it’s really hard to do it in Sydney because even though the economy is doing well you don’t get the funding. What I mean by that is just not seed but all the stages required to be a behemoth. US has it. They live and breathe tech. 5 largest companies by market cap are all Tech. They eat other tech companies for billions of dollars. Everyone and their dog in SV has a startup on the side. There are conferences on how to invest in startups. Some people just exclusively invest in startups. It’s crazy. Sydney also has a tech brain drain. I lived in Sydney for 10 years and most of my friends moved out here too. Just better opportunities. Sydney is such a nice place to build a startup though. Sucks that the ecosystem isn’t there. Vancouver has a similar problem too.
    - glangdale 8y ago
      There's definitely way more opportunity in SV - obviously. And the tech brain drain is both overseas and to the disproportionately huge local players - Google HQ in the valley is one player among many big names; Google Sydney is an insane behemoth hoovering up the talent. It is a nice place to live, though, and the Atlassian guys proved it's not impossible to build a pretty kick-ass startup here. There's also a pretty decent pipeline of smart people around. Part of my hope is that you can do smaller-scale stuff here without the Go Huge Or Go Home mentality of SV. What would be interesting is to work on things that interest me, make some money and influence the field. I don't think SV is mandatory for that.
rsp1984 8y ago
I am thinking about blogging about this; Yes, please do.
vthallam 8y ago
> but having done this successfully once makes me wonder if it could be done again I think it's all about the motivation and setting your expectations that you won't make it every time.
gm-conspiracy 8y ago
This sounds like Starbucks, coffee and coffee beans.

solarkraft 8y ago

> I am thinking about blogging about this I'd probably read it.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
Me too.
- glangdale 8y ago
  Well - thanks, guys. If you bookmark https://branchfree.org/ https://branchfree.org/ perhaps eventually I'll stop wibbling on about bits-to-indexes and pattern match algorithms and SIMD long enough to post some experiences and some thoughts on the modestly profitable world of the algorithmic startup, from an "expert" who is batting a massive 1 out of 1.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    Good luck! And don't forget to submit those posts to HN when you write them!
    - glangdale 8y ago
      ... and done. Submitted to HN, and on my blog at https://branchfree.org/2018/06/12/some-opinions-about-algorithms-startups-from-a-sample-size-of-approximately-1/ https://branchfree.org/2018/06/12/some-opinions-about-algori...
siscia 8y ago
I would read as well, please write about it!

senatorobama 8y ago

Ah! Inspiration. I'm a Sydney-sider and though I'm relatively satisfied in my current position, I'm having a difficult time finding the next job that could satisfy my computer engineering background. Software engineering has become a byword for web development/Java, (or selling your soul to work in HFT...) Where would you like to work next?

glangdale 8y ago
Sydney is a relatively bleak place for getting a good selection of tech jobs. There are the obvious BigCos, then... not much. I may have to Make My Own Fun - another startup?
- nojvek 8y ago
  You could do your own startup but it’s really hard to do it in Sydney because even though the economy is doing well you don’t get the funding. What I mean by that is just not seed but all the stages required to be a behemoth. US has it. They live and breathe tech. 5 largest companies by market cap are all Tech. They eat other tech companies for billions of dollars. Everyone and their dog in SV has a startup on the side. There are conferences on how to invest in startups. Some people just exclusively invest in startups. It’s crazy. Sydney also has a tech brain drain. I lived in Sydney for 10 years and most of my friends moved out here too. Just better opportunities. Sydney is such a nice place to build a startup though. Sucks that the ecosystem isn’t there. Vancouver has a similar problem too.
  - glangdale 8y ago
    There's definitely way more opportunity in SV - obviously. And the tech brain drain is both overseas and to the disproportionately huge local players - Google HQ in the valley is one player among many big names; Google Sydney is an insane behemoth hoovering up the talent. It is a nice place to live, though, and the Atlassian guys proved it's not impossible to build a pretty kick-ass startup here. There's also a pretty decent pipeline of smart people around. Part of my hope is that you can do smaller-scale stuff here without the Go Huge Or Go Home mentality of SV. What would be interesting is to work on things that interest me, make some money and influence the field. I don't think SV is mandatory for that.

rsp1984 8y ago

I am thinking about blogging about this; Yes, please do.

vthallam 8y ago

> but having done this successfully once makes me wonder if it could be done again I think it's all about the motivation and setting your expectations that you won't make it every time.

gm-conspiracy 8y ago

This sounds like Starbucks, coffee and coffee beans.