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[Part 2] I've kept busy. I had dabbled in web and mobile development before but the bulk of my work --where most of my value in the business was found-- was in

[Part 2] I've kept busy. I had dabbled in web and mobile development before but the bulk of my work --where most of my value in the business was found-- was in high performance FPGA and embedded hardware and software development. I've developed entire product lines from scratch on my own. I am no stranger to hard work. Not wanting to remain idle I decided I needed to shift away from doing hardware --due to how capital intensive it is-- and focus on software. I jumped head first into web and mobile technologies did a few experimental websites and published a free iPhone app. Making money in the app store is hard. In the end, technology requires money. I've made a little money here and there, enough to pay for servers and have a few thousand laying around for judicious experiments. I told myself I would never touch my wife's income for my experiments and have stayed true to that over the last three years. During this time I've also logged hundreds of potential business ideas spanning the range from pure software to web, mobile, physical and hardware products. Most are admittedly bad. That's OK. I forced myself not to pre-judge anything. The other day I saw these guys on Shark Tank who sold over a million dollars in ugly sweaters. My prior self would have discounted that as a dumb product and a dumb idea. I try not to think that way any more. Lessons such as watching something like Instagram do what it did have taught me things I just didn't know. I have convinced myself I am not employable because of my past and my age. I never thought I'd say something like that in my life. A past of constant learning, accomplishments, entrepreneurship, hard work and, yes, success and failure. And no degree. I can't rightly describe what this feels like. [continued in part 3 due to 2000 character limit]

random_user 13y ago
[Part 3] During dinner last night my wife said she wants me to focus on finishing a Bachelors and then a Masters starting next year. She said she doesn't care if I don't work during that time. She feels this will be good for me mentally and that it will/might bring opportunities to the table at one point or another. If you ask me today I am absolutely convinced that a degree will be useless to me. I've tried to imply I had a degree in resumes just to see what would happen and it made zero difference. I've also seen countless articles, some of which on HN, highlighting the fact that older engineers are having one hell of a time finding work, credentials or not. I don't know. It could take five years to get to a Masters in, say, CS. I'll be 55 years old, not having held a job for eight years and looking for work. How is that going to help me? My current view is that my only way out is through entrepreneurship. I need to keep trying until I hit upon something that works. I know I have a few potentially good ones but I don't have enough money to launch them correctly. I have to boostrap from small ideas to larger ones. I tried a startup pitch competition. I the judges where real assholes to everyone, it was a regular "let's see who's dick is longest" fest. Not my scene. Regrettably. I also think a lot of VC's want young 20-somethings who will virtually kill themselves working. I can't neglect my family and simply can't live like that at this stage. Looking for thoughts, ideas, opinion. I am sure there's something I might be missing in my thought process. It'd sure be nice to go back to feeling like a productive member of society as well as to contribute to the financial well-being of my family. The kids are getting older. It isn't going to get any cheaper. Thanks! EDIT: Please reply to this comment so all three parts have a chance to stay together in the thread.
- jborden13 13y ago
  Don't make any 4+ year commitments if it's not something you truly want to do. "My current view is that my only way out is through entrepreneurship. I need to keep trying until I hit upon something that works. I know I have a few potentially good ones but I don't have enough money to launch them correctly. I have to boostrap from small ideas to larger ones." This seems to say it all - what you want to do/be. So do/be it. If you don't have enough money to launch it "correctly", the launch it "incorrectly" and work your way to "correct". I'm currently bootstrapping from small ideas to larger ones, and while it isn't exactly kush, it's doable. It takes awhile and isn't going to be the answer to "how do I make a quick buck?". I read somewhere that VC's on average fund people that are 40+, it's just not sexy and thus newsworthy (trying to find source). Also, if you have issues with people with larger than average ego, then you might need to avoid VC's as well... Edit: Also, vet your current good ideas. Talk to entrepreneurs, investors, business people, potential end users about them. Even ask the judges at the pitch competition individually their thoughts (even if there was some ego amongst them - individually they could be awesome).
- acesubido 13y ago
  Based on what I've read so far, you're in a really comfortable position, so don't shift specializations. Capitalize on your rich experience with embedded hardware and software development. At 50 I'm pretty sure you have a wealth of contacts from people in that field (people you consulted for, past work buddies, etc.) warm them up and make contact: you now have a client/referral list. Ask them how they're doing, take them out for coffee. Discuss what they're currently doing and what they need help with. Start with one tiny project. Ask your wife for a little help, ask her for some contacts. Talk to others in your field, take them out for breakfast or lunch, offer to speak in an event, you can offer consulting or training workshops. Go back to building a business, it's your best bet, and you've done it before. Outsource the bulk of your work into your other known contacts that can refer you to high-end consulting shops in the South-east asian or Indian region. Disclaimer: I'm from the Philippines. It's 2013, there's so much more tools for remote collaboration than it was a decade ago, you'll get a good english speaking/writing workforce for less than US salary rates. Don't study unless you really really want to. 4+ years is a lot of time. You could have made another business up and running at that amount of time. Don't shift specializations just because of current market trends. Who knows, hardware might boom in the next decade. Honestly, currently, the web itself and all mobile app stores are over-saturated with everyone trying to make a dent. The point is, no one can predict what is going to happen in the next 10 years, just stick with what you know and what you can do to answer a need from your contacts. If a specific "solution" you're offering picks up traction, "productize" it and put a little more focus on that, but don't bank the entire consulting shop for a product unless it dwarfs your consulting revenue by 3x-5x. Consulting cultivates client relationships, and business is all about building professional relationships that would earn you more money. I'm not 50, I'm only 26, the 50+ year old people I know end up in three ways: - Teaching (writing books with their knowledge, offering workshops, teaching in universities, etc.) - Retired - Business Again, I'm only 26. Take the input with a grain of salt.

random_user 13y ago

[Part 3] During dinner last night my wife said she wants me to focus on finishing a Bachelors and then a Masters starting next year. She said she doesn't care if I don't work during that time. She feels this will be good for me mentally and that it will/might bring opportunities to the table at one point or another. If you ask me today I am absolutely convinced that a degree will be useless to me. I've tried to imply I had a degree in resumes just to see what would happen and it made zero difference. I've also seen countless articles, some of which on HN, highlighting the fact that older engineers are having one hell of a time finding work, credentials or not. I don't know. It could take five years to get to a Masters in, say, CS. I'll be 55 years old, not having held a job for eight years and looking for work. How is that going to help me? My current view is that my only way out is through entrepreneurship. I need to keep trying until I hit upon something that works. I know I have a few potentially good ones but I don't have enough money to launch them correctly. I have to boostrap from small ideas to larger ones. I tried a startup pitch competition. I the judges where real assholes to everyone, it was a regular "let's see who's dick is longest" fest. Not my scene. Regrettably. I also think a lot of VC's want young 20-somethings who will virtually kill themselves working. I can't neglect my family and simply can't live like that at this stage. Looking for thoughts, ideas, opinion. I am sure there's something I might be missing in my thought process. It'd sure be nice to go back to feeling like a productive member of society as well as to contribute to the financial well-being of my family. The kids are getting older. It isn't going to get any cheaper. Thanks! EDIT: Please reply to this comment so all three parts have a chance to stay together in the thread.

jborden13 13y ago
Don't make any 4+ year commitments if it's not something you truly want to do. "My current view is that my only way out is through entrepreneurship. I need to keep trying until I hit upon something that works. I know I have a few potentially good ones but I don't have enough money to launch them correctly. I have to boostrap from small ideas to larger ones." This seems to say it all - what you want to do/be. So do/be it. If you don't have enough money to launch it "correctly", the launch it "incorrectly" and work your way to "correct". I'm currently bootstrapping from small ideas to larger ones, and while it isn't exactly kush, it's doable. It takes awhile and isn't going to be the answer to "how do I make a quick buck?". I read somewhere that VC's on average fund people that are 40+, it's just not sexy and thus newsworthy (trying to find source). Also, if you have issues with people with larger than average ego, then you might need to avoid VC's as well... Edit: Also, vet your current good ideas. Talk to entrepreneurs, investors, business people, potential end users about them. Even ask the judges at the pitch competition individually their thoughts (even if there was some ego amongst them - individually they could be awesome).
acesubido 13y ago
Based on what I've read so far, you're in a really comfortable position, so don't shift specializations. Capitalize on your rich experience with embedded hardware and software development. At 50 I'm pretty sure you have a wealth of contacts from people in that field (people you consulted for, past work buddies, etc.) warm them up and make contact: you now have a client/referral list. Ask them how they're doing, take them out for coffee. Discuss what they're currently doing and what they need help with. Start with one tiny project. Ask your wife for a little help, ask her for some contacts. Talk to others in your field, take them out for breakfast or lunch, offer to speak in an event, you can offer consulting or training workshops. Go back to building a business, it's your best bet, and you've done it before. Outsource the bulk of your work into your other known contacts that can refer you to high-end consulting shops in the South-east asian or Indian region. Disclaimer: I'm from the Philippines. It's 2013, there's so much more tools for remote collaboration than it was a decade ago, you'll get a good english speaking/writing workforce for less than US salary rates. Don't study unless you really really want to. 4+ years is a lot of time. You could have made another business up and running at that amount of time. Don't shift specializations just because of current market trends. Who knows, hardware might boom in the next decade. Honestly, currently, the web itself and all mobile app stores are over-saturated with everyone trying to make a dent. The point is, no one can predict what is going to happen in the next 10 years, just stick with what you know and what you can do to answer a need from your contacts. If a specific "solution" you're offering picks up traction, "productize" it and put a little more focus on that, but don't bank the entire consulting shop for a product unless it dwarfs your consulting revenue by 3x-5x. Consulting cultivates client relationships, and business is all about building professional relationships that would earn you more money. I'm not 50, I'm only 26, the 50+ year old people I know end up in three ways: - Teaching (writing books with their knowledge, offering workshops, teaching in universities, etc.) - Retired - Business Again, I'm only 26. Take the input with a grain of salt.