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In todays market where developers are commoditized “resources” it’s only logical for the “ninjas” or “superstars” who repeatedly see their role being perceived

In todays market where developers are commoditized “resources” it’s only logical for the “ninjas” or “superstars” who repeatedly see their role being perceived as “working bees” who don’t want to fall into this management / worker dichotomy or choose serving a “management” queen.. to rebel and redefine the work as they see fit, a good enough business where work is done and is more aligned with the interests of the working class, so no VCs and no conforming to top to bottom hierarchies.. just work

unixhero 5y ago
You have precisely described me. One man army, taking projects in megacorps. I answer to no one.
- andruby 5y ago
  I applaud your devotion! At what point do you start to answer “to your customers” though? This sometimes holds me back from rebelling. Exchanging 1 boss for a 100 customers that all have expectations.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - ipaddr 5y ago
    You pick your customers and who you want to support. Pick wisely..
  - unixhero 5y ago
    You exchange the relationship from boss to customer and business partner. You divide your customer facing work unto three categories: DELIVERY, MANAGEMENT, STEERING The relationship must be strong and you must have a working relationship, can never be caustic. Make sure that you are making the customer shine, always. Be a trusted advisor when you can. Say yes a lot, but setting expectations and saying no is also okay and important. Risk tolerance and thick skin is key. The financial reward is sky high.
bob33212 5y ago
Reaching 1B valuation would require hiring a lot of people, but building a startup that normally cost 15M to build in less than a year is very doable.
- djoldman 5y ago
  You might be surprised. Instagram was bought for 1B and had 13 employees at that time. "Instagram launched 10 years ago. By the time it was bought by Facebook in 2012, it only had 13 employees — including founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger."
  - azinman2 5y ago
    That’s a very, very rare story.
    - wombatpm 5y ago
      Hence the unicorn designation. If it was common every 10 year old girl would have one
      - azinman2 5y ago
        There are many startups that have reached unicorn (1B) valuation by this point. Very very few of those have less than 20 employees.
        carom 5y ago
        Is that a necessary condition though or due to the environment? A security company I worked for got acquired and in a relatively short time they went from 100 to 300 to 600 quickly in preparation for the acquisition. I am not sure those people were required for the valuation or if they were part of the standard game plan of a sale.
    - mandeepj 5y ago
      Not really that rare. Have you heard about Whatsapp, AppDynamics, LinkedIn acquisitions?
c-smile 5y ago
Yeah, exactly. I left Software Architect / UI position at big corp when management had ordered to use then-hot Angular on large web app. Without investigation, acceptance testing, etc. Just unconditional directive. I had Sciter[1] prototype at that moment - used as self-teaching tool to understand how browsers work. Since then I am almost solo (one or two contractors sometimes) on the project. ~10 years of non-disturbed (literally) flight. [1] https://sciter.com https://sciter.com

unixhero 5y ago

You have precisely described me. One man army, taking projects in megacorps. I answer to no one.

andruby 5y ago
I applaud your devotion! At what point do you start to answer “to your customers” though? This sometimes holds me back from rebelling. Exchanging 1 boss for a 100 customers that all have expectations.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- ipaddr 5y ago
  You pick your customers and who you want to support. Pick wisely..
- unixhero 5y ago
  You exchange the relationship from boss to customer and business partner. You divide your customer facing work unto three categories: DELIVERY, MANAGEMENT, STEERING The relationship must be strong and you must have a working relationship, can never be caustic. Make sure that you are making the customer shine, always. Be a trusted advisor when you can. Say yes a lot, but setting expectations and saying no is also okay and important. Risk tolerance and thick skin is key. The financial reward is sky high.

bob33212 5y ago

Reaching 1B valuation would require hiring a lot of people, but building a startup that normally cost 15M to build in less than a year is very doable.

djoldman 5y ago
You might be surprised. Instagram was bought for 1B and had 13 employees at that time. "Instagram launched 10 years ago. By the time it was bought by Facebook in 2012, it only had 13 employees — including founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger."
- azinman2 5y ago
  That’s a very, very rare story.
  - wombatpm 5y ago
    Hence the unicorn designation. If it was common every 10 year old girl would have one
    - azinman2 5y ago
      There are many startups that have reached unicorn (1B) valuation by this point. Very very few of those have less than 20 employees.
      - carom 5y ago
        Is that a necessary condition though or due to the environment? A security company I worked for got acquired and in a relatively short time they went from 100 to 300 to 600 quickly in preparation for the acquisition. I am not sure those people were required for the valuation or if they were part of the standard game plan of a sale.
  - mandeepj 5y ago
    Not really that rare. Have you heard about Whatsapp, AppDynamics, LinkedIn acquisitions?

c-smile 5y ago

Yeah, exactly. I left Software Architect / UI position at big corp when management had ordered to use then-hot Angular on large web app. Without investigation, acceptance testing, etc. Just unconditional directive. I had Sciter[1] prototype at that moment - used as self-teaching tool to understand how browsers work. Since then I am almost solo (one or two contractors sometimes) on the project. ~10 years of non-disturbed (literally) flight. [1] https://sciter.com https://sciter.com