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Ask HN: Choosing Between Opportunities

Just a quick ask of advice. Over winter break I've gotten two projects that've gone swimmingly well: - fun-ish ed tech startup w/ traction. (50k LOI, likely to have 200k end of next month) - Project I am super, super confident about & excited to work on. Decent customer feedback so far my goal is to break into silicon valley so I can work on my own projects for a living with the smartest people. I have two years of college left. Winter break is ending and I have to pick between these two. Help. How do I decide?

precedentmorsel 3y ago
For context, I own ~15% of the ed tech thing as a co-founder joining in.
- codingdave 3y ago
  That is good context - that sounds like an implicit commitment to be working on that project. If a co-founder of mine bailed because they found something that sounds more fun, that doesn't seem like a good working relationship and would discourage me from ever working with them again.
  - precedentmorsel 3y ago
    which is why I'm asking before I sign papers
    - codingdave 3y ago
      Ah, I may have misunderstood - you are saying you would get a 15% co-founder stake, not that you already have 15%? In that case, no worries, you are good on either project.
      - precedentmorsel 3y ago
        thanks
- winterplace 3y ago
  What is your experience level? How long have they been doing it and is that 50k ARR 200k ARR? 15% seems low.
bhag2066 3y ago
"The regret minimization framework is a decision-making technique that was popularized by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The idea is to imagine yourself in the future, looking back at your current decision, and ask yourself which option would cause you the least regret." I think Bezos imagines himself as an 80-year-old when looking back.
james-revisoai 3y ago
What's the Ed Tech startup? 50k-200k LOI* in January would be unusual for an EdTech startup given the timing of semesters and university/locality/school contract signing periods.. is there more to the story, a distribution channel, or hyper-local focus? I'm the technical founder of Revision.ai, feel free to email for a chat or advice. An AI Ed Tech startup made widely available in 2019 with traction. I had a similar choice at one point. *(Letters of Intent? For seats? or is this MAU?)
- precedentmorsel 3y ago
  Thanks for the offer; how can I email you? I sent a LinkedIn. Hyperlocality + COVID-related policy windows are accelerating our timing

precedentmorsel 3y ago

For context, I own ~15% of the ed tech thing as a co-founder joining in.

codingdave 3y ago
That is good context - that sounds like an implicit commitment to be working on that project. If a co-founder of mine bailed because they found something that sounds more fun, that doesn't seem like a good working relationship and would discourage me from ever working with them again.
- precedentmorsel 3y ago
  which is why I'm asking before I sign papers
  - codingdave 3y ago
    Ah, I may have misunderstood - you are saying you would get a 15% co-founder stake, not that you already have 15%? In that case, no worries, you are good on either project.
    - precedentmorsel 3y ago
      thanks
winterplace 3y ago
What is your experience level? How long have they been doing it and is that 50k ARR 200k ARR? 15% seems low.

bhag2066 3y ago

"The regret minimization framework is a decision-making technique that was popularized by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The idea is to imagine yourself in the future, looking back at your current decision, and ask yourself which option would cause you the least regret." I think Bezos imagines himself as an 80-year-old when looking back.

james-revisoai 3y ago

What's the Ed Tech startup? 50k-200k LOI* in January would be unusual for an EdTech startup given the timing of semesters and university/locality/school contract signing periods.. is there more to the story, a distribution channel, or hyper-local focus? I'm the technical founder of Revision.ai, feel free to email for a chat or advice. An AI Ed Tech startup made widely available in 2019 with traction. I had a similar choice at one point. *(Letters of Intent? For seats? or is this MAU?)

precedentmorsel 3y ago
Thanks for the offer; how can I email you? I sent a LinkedIn. Hyperlocality + COVID-related policy windows are accelerating our timing