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I think this article would actually make you a pretty awesome person rather than not a douche. That said it seems a little self-depreciating. One thing I've al

by sh1mmer 18y ago

I think this article would actually make you a pretty awesome person rather than not a douche. That said it seems a little self-depreciating. One thing I've always loved about start-up culture is that you are encouraged to remember your own worth and what you can achieve. Just don't rub it in anyone else's face. Use it to show that they can do the same.

strlen 18y ago
"Remember your own worth" and "be humble" aren't mutually exclusive (but not to the extent of faux humbleness, que the Golda Meir quote). Also a mark of pretty much every start-up is that you'll see people doing work that they (or others) may feel is "below them". I was recently in a start-up, where the person who both had the most fun and commanded the most respect had an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford, but ended-up doing (almost exclusively) "business operations": from securing office space, to purchasing food for the fridge, doing financial work and even running the dishwasher. pg also mentioned how RTM (now a tenured MIT professor) was a sysadmin at Viaweb. (I've realized I've also missed several opportunities in that way: specifically being asked to do sysadmin/operations and web development work for early stage start-ups in favour of doing more "hard core" development elsewhere; but it's a tough learning curve).
- pxlpshr 18y ago
  Heck ya, you spend soo much time thinking and working on the business that remedial tasks are a great way to a) get out of the office and b) feel like you've made some progress by accomplishing small (but relatively important) goals. Things like finding office space is very important to creating an enjoyable and productive environment. In my last startup, 5 of us lived and worked out of our investors house so we had weekly maid service. Doing this dishes is definitely not a task anyone wanted to do. :)

by sh1mmer 18y ago

strlen 18y ago

"Remember your own worth" and "be humble" aren't mutually exclusive (but not to the extent of faux humbleness, que the Golda Meir quote). Also a mark of pretty much every start-up is that you'll see people doing work that they (or others) may feel is "below them". I was recently in a start-up, where the person who both had the most fun and commanded the most respect had an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford, but ended-up doing (almost exclusively) "business operations": from securing office space, to purchasing food for the fridge, doing financial work and even running the dishwasher. pg also mentioned how RTM (now a tenured MIT professor) was a sysadmin at Viaweb. (I've realized I've also missed several opportunities in that way: specifically being asked to do sysadmin/operations and web development work for early stage start-ups in favour of doing more "hard core" development elsewhere; but it's a tough learning curve).

pxlpshr 18y ago
Heck ya, you spend soo much time thinking and working on the business that remedial tasks are a great way to a) get out of the office and b) feel like you've made some progress by accomplishing small (but relatively important) goals. Things like finding office space is very important to creating an enjoyable and productive environment. In my last startup, 5 of us lived and worked out of our investors house so we had weekly maid service. Doing this dishes is definitely not a task anyone wanted to do. :)