4 ms·

You Can Meet Your Heroes

15 points by goldvine 13y ago

mscottmcbee 13y ago
I'm gonna be pedantic and bring up this line: > Don’t leave out the smiley. People dig smileys. :-) Am I the only one that gets put off by that? I always see it as either disingenuous, passive aggressive, or creepy. I feel even weirder when people use ";-)" or something similar.
- goldvine 13y ago
  :-(
joelle 13y ago
"Your product is short-term, the relationships you build are long-term." - Love this <3
- goldvine 13y ago
  Thank you!
thetrumanshow 13y ago
And, take heart fellow awkward nerds. I've set the bar incredibly low for social contact by using gimmicky means of reaching out to my own heros. It was the only time when I regretted that they actually read and replied to what I sent. Just be genuine.
- goldvine 13y ago
  It's liberating once you realize they are actual human people who often want to help - as long as they feel that their help won't be wasted...
ryangilbert 13y ago
Awesome article Matt! I found the same to be similar when writing Founders (an eBook with ~20 entrepreneurs @ http://founders.cc http://founders.cc). Pretty much everyone in this industry is willing to help out if you reach out to them.
- goldvine 13y ago
  It's really mind-blowing. Whenever I talk to people outside of the industry...their first comments are: 1. Won't people steal your idea 2. Why are your competitors talking to you on the phone etc. I think the Internet is just so big that people are more comfortable sharing. Which is really cool :-) I hadn't come across Founders before, gonna' take a peek :-) Thanks!
dabent 13y ago
There are so many ways to do this. Go to Startup School* (where I met pg, Ron Conway and more), Startup Riot (where I met Andrew Warner) or a conference like PyCon, where I met other startup people, including some YC founders. For all the money involved, the startup world is surprisingly open. *https://news.ycombinator.com/susapply https://news.ycombinator.com/susapply
- goldvine 13y ago
  Absolutely, conferences would be great places to break the ice. But if you've ever been to a tech conf. you know that most of the people in the room are terrified of talking to others. I was for a while and still am. Where I've been able to thrive is online where I can craft my message perfectly. And after the first person said yes, I've realized how easy it is. It is a truly slippery slope. The possibilities are definitely endless - and the industry is like no other :-)
NhanH 13y ago
I saw a small clip of Steve Jobs talking about the same thing [1]. One of the advices that surprised me most the first time I've heard it. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI
- goldvine 13y ago
  That's incredible

15 points by goldvine 13y ago

I'm gonna be pedantic and bring up this line: > Don’t leave out the smiley. People dig smileys. :-) Am I the only one that gets put off by that? I always see it as either disingenuous, passive aggressive, or creepy. I feel even weirder when people use ";-)" or something similar.

goldvine 13y ago
:-(

joelle 13y ago

"Your product is short-term, the relationships you build are long-term." - Love this <3

goldvine 13y ago
Thank you!

thetrumanshow 13y ago

And, take heart fellow awkward nerds. I've set the bar incredibly low for social contact by using gimmicky means of reaching out to my own heros. It was the only time when I regretted that they actually read and replied to what I sent. Just be genuine.

goldvine 13y ago
It's liberating once you realize they are actual human people who often want to help - as long as they feel that their help won't be wasted...

ryangilbert 13y ago

Awesome article Matt! I found the same to be similar when writing Founders (an eBook with ~20 entrepreneurs @ http://founders.cc http://founders.cc). Pretty much everyone in this industry is willing to help out if you reach out to them.

goldvine 13y ago
It's really mind-blowing. Whenever I talk to people outside of the industry...their first comments are: 1. Won't people steal your idea 2. Why are your competitors talking to you on the phone etc. I think the Internet is just so big that people are more comfortable sharing. Which is really cool :-) I hadn't come across Founders before, gonna' take a peek :-) Thanks!

dabent 13y ago

There are so many ways to do this. Go to Startup School* (where I met pg, Ron Conway and more), Startup Riot (where I met Andrew Warner) or a conference like PyCon, where I met other startup people, including some YC founders. For all the money involved, the startup world is surprisingly open. *https://news.ycombinator.com/susapply https://news.ycombinator.com/susapply

goldvine 13y ago
Absolutely, conferences would be great places to break the ice. But if you've ever been to a tech conf. you know that most of the people in the room are terrified of talking to others. I was for a while and still am. Where I've been able to thrive is online where I can craft my message perfectly. And after the first person said yes, I've realized how easy it is. It is a truly slippery slope. The possibilities are definitely endless - and the industry is like no other :-)

NhanH 13y ago

I saw a small clip of Steve Jobs talking about the same thing [1]. One of the advices that surprised me most the first time I've heard it. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkTf0LmDqKI

goldvine 13y ago
That's incredible