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I really appreciate you for sharing your story, thank you. As someone hoping to found a company in the next 5-10 years, this is my nightmare scenario as well. I

I really appreciate you for sharing your story, thank you. As someone hoping to found a company in the next 5-10 years, this is my nightmare scenario as well. I'm glad it all worked out for everyone in the end, and it sounds like your employees really trusted and cared for you add much as you did them. I'm only a couple of years into my career, so I knew but never fully understood how bad the dot com (and 08) recessions were. Kinda scary to hear stories like this, then think of my current job at a mid-size startup. I think we have enough cash for a bit, but it seems like things can change so quickly. It seems like you have a lot of wisdom about situations like this, for better or worse hah.. do you have any advice for a younger dev right now? I already have a lot of savings, but I'm really interested in your opinions about how to reduce the impacts of the impending recession on my career goals, and to come out ahead when it's all over.

jbkiv 7y ago
My best advice for you today is to be super frugal. Don't buy the fancy car, don't buy the condo, don't sign a long lease. A low burn for yourself will lower your stress and will offer you a lot of options. If you like your job and the company stay put and work more if you can. Your leadership will be struggling at some point to survive. Your CEO/Founder will feel very, very lonely. Go meet with him/her, tell him how you feel and offer help. Even if the company collapses you will end up working with a lot of the same folks down the road. You will create memories and will bond with other folks in a less superficial way. As they say this is fucking hard. More than you can imagine. Ben Horowitz wrote a good book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. In his case, it ended well, but most likely it will not end well for a lot of people. Be sympathetic. Empathy is important. This is too late to be cynical or overly critical Good luck.

jbkiv 7y ago

My best advice for you today is to be super frugal. Don't buy the fancy car, don't buy the condo, don't sign a long lease. A low burn for yourself will lower your stress and will offer you a lot of options. If you like your job and the company stay put and work more if you can. Your leadership will be struggling at some point to survive. Your CEO/Founder will feel very, very lonely. Go meet with him/her, tell him how you feel and offer help. Even if the company collapses you will end up working with a lot of the same folks down the road. You will create memories and will bond with other folks in a less superficial way. As they say this is fucking hard. More than you can imagine. Ben Horowitz wrote a good book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. In his case, it ended well, but most likely it will not end well for a lot of people. Be sympathetic. Empathy is important. This is too late to be cynical or overly critical Good luck.