3 ms·

Regular work is also frustrating if I'm not making something real. My point isn't that these factors don't matter. It's that money would stop me far sooner. If

Regular work is also frustrating if I'm not making something real. My point isn't that these factors don't matter. It's that money would stop me far sooner. If I'm making money from the enterprise, I won't quit out of frustration. That's what doesn't make sense to me.

lunaru 18y ago
Let me paint a picture for you: You've been slaving away for 6 months on a site you believe will change the world (because everyone believes their shit will change the world). You're finally ready to launch - you painstakingly paid attention to every little detail to make sure your site is perfect/viral/fills a need/etc. You're finally ready to take on all those users. And on day one, your traffic is crap (or, if your selling a product, you maybe make 1 sale if you're lucky). Ok, not bad you tell yourself. Things will pick up. 3 months later, your traffic is flat (or, if your selling a product, you've make 1% of the number of sales your business plan said you would). You don't think you'd freak out just a little bit? You don't think you'd have just a little bit of self-doubt in your site/product/idea to make you want to stop? I know Tipjoy is probably pretty successful, so it's hard to visualize, but trust me, it happens.
- tdavis 18y ago
  (because everyone believes their shit will change the world) I've never done anything that I felt would change the world. I just want to create something that makes finding tickets easier and more enjoyable. Somebody else can change the world.
  - ivankirigin 18y ago
    Tiny improvements do change things.
tptacek 18y ago
I'm pretty well married to software and enterprise security at this point, and if a week goes by where some loony unrelated idea doesn't force me to reconsider my field, I worry that I'm losing my inspiration. I totally buy the idea that temptation and grass-is-greener thinking is a major risk for a new project.
- ivankirigin 18y ago
  But failure is (close to) a self fulfilling prophecy for the next venture. If you leave a project early to start a new one, you need to think about the likelihood you'll see the new one to completion. Making the choice to leave a project makes it more likely you will in the future. That alone makes the grass not so greener. It works both ways too. Committing to stay makes the expected value of your current venture higher. I certainly have day dreams of building giant robot armies. But I would think about it in these terms before acting. Also, my statement was somewhat personal, as I can't support a venture on my own for long, and you can sustain a startup on venture if the space is just dead. So before I'd leave to go to the greener isles, I'd be forced to leave for lack of money.

lunaru 18y ago

Let me paint a picture for you: You've been slaving away for 6 months on a site you believe will change the world (because everyone believes their shit will change the world). You're finally ready to launch - you painstakingly paid attention to every little detail to make sure your site is perfect/viral/fills a need/etc. You're finally ready to take on all those users. And on day one, your traffic is crap (or, if your selling a product, you maybe make 1 sale if you're lucky). Ok, not bad you tell yourself. Things will pick up. 3 months later, your traffic is flat (or, if your selling a product, you've make 1% of the number of sales your business plan said you would). You don't think you'd freak out just a little bit? You don't think you'd have just a little bit of self-doubt in your site/product/idea to make you want to stop? I know Tipjoy is probably pretty successful, so it's hard to visualize, but trust me, it happens.

tdavis 18y ago
(because everyone believes their shit will change the world) I've never done anything that I felt would change the world. I just want to create something that makes finding tickets easier and more enjoyable. Somebody else can change the world.
- ivankirigin 18y ago
  Tiny improvements do change things.

tptacek 18y ago

I'm pretty well married to software and enterprise security at this point, and if a week goes by where some loony unrelated idea doesn't force me to reconsider my field, I worry that I'm losing my inspiration. I totally buy the idea that temptation and grass-is-greener thinking is a major risk for a new project.

ivankirigin 18y ago
But failure is (close to) a self fulfilling prophecy for the next venture. If you leave a project early to start a new one, you need to think about the likelihood you'll see the new one to completion. Making the choice to leave a project makes it more likely you will in the future. That alone makes the grass not so greener. It works both ways too. Committing to stay makes the expected value of your current venture higher. I certainly have day dreams of building giant robot armies. But I would think about it in these terms before acting. Also, my statement was somewhat personal, as I can't support a venture on my own for long, and you can sustain a startup on venture if the space is just dead. So before I'd leave to go to the greener isles, I'd be forced to leave for lack of money.