3 ms·

you don't ask to be treated differently, you demonstrate that you're worth being treated differently. an attitude like "its not my fault, i'm just a developer"

you don't ask to be treated differently, you demonstrate that you're worth being treated differently. an attitude like "its not my fault, i'm just a developer" isn't helping. Damn right. A kick in the pants for which I thank you. CEO said he didn't intend on having me attend investor meetings because blah, blah I was too green. I figured I'd work hard for 6 months and change his mind. Never happened. At the time, I didn't see the need to go to investor meetings, didn't see that they'd be a good use of my time. But now, with a CEO who meets with customers and investors alone, he actually can call all the shots unquestioned because he's the only one with knowledge of what they need. He was actually honest with me, before I even started, that he didn't think I was true co-founder material... by saying that he'd not be bringing me in on investor meetings. I was just naive and thought I could "prove myself". And I only got to double-digit equity because of going on deferred cash for so many months (far more than he thought it'd take to get VC). I just let myself deny it, figuring I'd win him over with 12 months of hard work. It never happened, and now my attitude is weak, my work ethic has become mediocre, and I just need to change everything: circumstances and attitude.

dustingetz 16y ago
hi! so, yeah, you were never a founder, it was a sugar title. I don't think I'd ever co with someone where there wasn't an equal balance of value and credibility. HN sometimes has an attitude of "oh, you aren't a founder? you suck" but that isn't true at all. If you do have the itch to take on founder challenges, don't let this stop you from trying again, in a domain where you are credible and with a balanced founding team. Or, stop worrying about it now, put yourself in places where you will pick up these skills from mentors, you will wake up in a few years with the skills and credibility to found a company of this magnitude.

dustingetz 16y ago

hi! so, yeah, you were never a founder, it was a sugar title. I don't think I'd ever co with someone where there wasn't an equal balance of value and credibility. HN sometimes has an attitude of "oh, you aren't a founder? you suck" but that isn't true at all. If you do have the itch to take on founder challenges, don't let this stop you from trying again, in a domain where you are credible and with a balanced founding team. Or, stop worrying about it now, put yourself in places where you will pick up these skills from mentors, you will wake up in a few years with the skills and credibility to found a company of this magnitude.