2 ms·

Ask HN: rate/review my LAST startup

2 points by scattered 18y ago

after 7 years of working myself into the ground and never really getting anywhere I'm giving up. I'm about to turn 30 and have nothing to show for it. I've sold all my business/marketing books as well as the laptop I used to code on and I'm left with just over 1000 (GBP). So here's the plan: I'm buying 1000 lottery tickets for the draw this wednesday. I'll update this post Wednesday night to let you all know how I got on.

noodle 18y ago
allow me to be the first to say that, if this is a serious post, don't do this.
- scattered 18y ago
  it is a serious post and I know the odds of a big win are practically non-existent, but then again so are the odds of the kind of payoff that many on HN have dreamt of at some stage in their life and it hasn't stopped them has it? certainly didn't stop me :) I'm going to start a teacher training course in September after which I'll hopefully start a career in teaching. Whilst I don't think I'll ever lose the entrepreneurial bug I don't think I'll ever be able to put in as much passion as energy as I have these past few years. In short, I've peaked, and this is just my idiosyncratic way of saying farewell to that part of my life.
  - noodle 18y ago
    why not, instead, use that money to make an angel investment in a small, needy startup? odds of success are probably higher and it would feed your own bug vicariously
- iamdave 18y ago
  Hey, it's a good way to test out the law of averages.
  - noodle 18y ago
    i'm not saying it doesn't accomplish anything, i just want to point out that he could do better things with the money.
ram1024 18y ago
do it! that way when you start over it will truly be from scratch. and if you win the lotto i can be all "yea, i believed in his dream." legendary and really. thirty is young. there are older people who haven't even started doing anything yet...
sokoloff 18y ago
At least wait until one of those mega-lotteries gets to an EV of a unit wager is over 1.0. (Yes, I'm willing to let slip the NPV discounting, and buy tickets when the "advertised amount" makes it a +EV wager.)
undertoad 18y ago
Well, if you've really made up your mind then it would be damn cool to see a post Wednesday night about your big win! Regardless of the outcome, I hope you'll be okay with yourself (actually I hope that for everybody). There are other things in life besides payoffs.
matt1 18y ago
karma: 2 Maybe if you had posted more on HN you would have had a more successful business career ;) Also, if this is serious and you are going to give up and play the lottery, this irrational decision making may be why you never found your success. Regardless, success isn't measured in dollars. Once you see that, you'll likely make more money and be more successful.

2 points by scattered 18y ago

noodle 18y ago

allow me to be the first to say that, if this is a serious post, don't do this.

scattered 18y ago
it is a serious post and I know the odds of a big win are practically non-existent, but then again so are the odds of the kind of payoff that many on HN have dreamt of at some stage in their life and it hasn't stopped them has it? certainly didn't stop me :) I'm going to start a teacher training course in September after which I'll hopefully start a career in teaching. Whilst I don't think I'll ever lose the entrepreneurial bug I don't think I'll ever be able to put in as much passion as energy as I have these past few years. In short, I've peaked, and this is just my idiosyncratic way of saying farewell to that part of my life.
- noodle 18y ago
  why not, instead, use that money to make an angel investment in a small, needy startup? odds of success are probably higher and it would feed your own bug vicariously
iamdave 18y ago
Hey, it's a good way to test out the law of averages.
- noodle 18y ago
  i'm not saying it doesn't accomplish anything, i just want to point out that he could do better things with the money.

ram1024 18y ago

do it! that way when you start over it will truly be from scratch. and if you win the lotto i can be all "yea, i believed in his dream." legendary and really. thirty is young. there are older people who haven't even started doing anything yet...

sokoloff 18y ago

At least wait until one of those mega-lotteries gets to an EV of a unit wager is over 1.0. (Yes, I'm willing to let slip the NPV discounting, and buy tickets when the "advertised amount" makes it a +EV wager.)

undertoad 18y ago

Well, if you've really made up your mind then it would be damn cool to see a post Wednesday night about your big win! Regardless of the outcome, I hope you'll be okay with yourself (actually I hope that for everybody). There are other things in life besides payoffs.

matt1 18y ago

karma: 2 Maybe if you had posted more on HN you would have had a more successful business career ;) Also, if this is serious and you are going to give up and play the lottery, this irrational decision making may be why you never found your success. Regardless, success isn't measured in dollars. Once you see that, you'll likely make more money and be more successful.