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What kind of person flies across the country to meet complete strangers, then ask those strangers to move with them to another state to start a business in a co

What kind of person flies across the country to meet complete strangers, then ask those strangers to move with them to another state to start a business in a completely new frontier. What's like the percentage of people who takes on that kind of wild Hail Mary pass and win it all? Also I am curious, as single-track minded Software Engineers, how do we protect ourselves from the super smart and super driven Bezos of the world? And I don't mean that in a negative way. I am genuinely curious how we can stay competitive when we're working with that type of personality.

switch11 6y ago
you can't software engineers are not very socially adept and can't read people who are predatory it's even worse with 'save the world' type software engineers * the only thing you can do is make sure you get some stock even then most predatory business side founders will make adjustments (the way Zuckerberg did) to take most of the stock for themselves also percentage of people who win taking that kind of Wild Hail MAry pass every startup is a wild Hail Mary pass So you will get some really crazy 'starting scenarios' Talk to anyone who started a successful company. There were always moments where chances of success went to 0.0001% and apart from the founder/founders/ a few employees who drank the Kool Aid, no one else thought there was any chance left
- vasco 6y ago
  > software engineers are not very socially adept and can't read people who are predatory There's no need to project this onto all software engineers, it works for a joke in big bang theory but even there they needed canned laughter.
- exdsq 6y ago
  Zuckerberg was a developer which kind of breaks this argument...
sokoloff 6y ago
I’ll take on faith you don’t mean it negatively, but then what does it even mean to protect ourselves from the Bezos of the world? He offers you a role and terms: you take it, you don’t, or you counter. That process converges on you working there or not. I don’t worship at the altar of Bezos (though I have overall respect for him and his accomplishments), but I don’t see anything beyond my ability to say no that’s needed to protect myself.
neffy 6y ago
Somebody who just finished working for Goldman Sachs...

switch11 6y ago

you can't software engineers are not very socially adept and can't read people who are predatory it's even worse with 'save the world' type software engineers * the only thing you can do is make sure you get some stock even then most predatory business side founders will make adjustments (the way Zuckerberg did) to take most of the stock for themselves also percentage of people who win taking that kind of Wild Hail MAry pass every startup is a wild Hail Mary pass So you will get some really crazy 'starting scenarios' Talk to anyone who started a successful company. There were always moments where chances of success went to 0.0001% and apart from the founder/founders/ a few employees who drank the Kool Aid, no one else thought there was any chance left

vasco 6y ago
> software engineers are not very socially adept and can't read people who are predatory There's no need to project this onto all software engineers, it works for a joke in big bang theory but even there they needed canned laughter.
exdsq 6y ago
Zuckerberg was a developer which kind of breaks this argument...

sokoloff 6y ago

I’ll take on faith you don’t mean it negatively, but then what does it even mean to protect ourselves from the Bezos of the world? He offers you a role and terms: you take it, you don’t, or you counter. That process converges on you working there or not. I don’t worship at the altar of Bezos (though I have overall respect for him and his accomplishments), but I don’t see anything beyond my ability to say no that’s needed to protect myself.

neffy 6y ago

Somebody who just finished working for Goldman Sachs...