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> I left San Francisco with no savings, a wife and two kids, for a job in Ann Arbor. 4 years later I founded the company I'm at now (which we sold last year.)

by kyro 13y ago

> I left San Francisco with no savings, a wife and two kids, for a job in Ann Arbor. 4 years later I founded the company I'm at now (which we sold last year.) Have you ever written about this period of your life? Having a family and the time/energy/freedom to play the startup game seem so mutually exclusive to me, although I do admit that's mostly my gut speaking out of fear of aging and settling down. I'd really love to hear more about how you managed it all.

tptacek 13y ago
I'm sure I have, somewhere in the 422482 comments I've written on HN. Candidly: operating a startup has many times been a drag on my family, but only when I was Doing It Wrong. The biggest myth in startups is that you have to live and breathe them to make them work. That's bullshit. Lots of people live and breathe stupid companies that come to nothing, and lots of people do a disciplined 9-5 that gets more done in 8 hours than the founder who lives at his desk gets done in a week. It helps not to look at it as a game. Matasano is a business, growing steadily, with a serious team and serious management. It isn't something that might pivot after some networking meetup thingy tomorrow, or if Facebook buys the wrong company next week. I'd read a lot of 'patio11 if you're interested in this stuff too.
- e12e 13y ago
  Hah, I'm glad you dropped the Matasano name in there, I didn't realize you where the one replying "upstream". Another plus for Matasano in my book -- I generally thought all you guys where typical SV over-performers without family, friends and other things to create "drag" on your business ;-)
cylinder 13y ago
Just keep in mind that outside of the SV/tech startup sphere most entrepreneurship happens with founders in their 40s-50s. These are people who work the corporate life for a couple of decades, build extensive field knowledge and connections, then spot an opportunity and leverage their resources to take the plunge.

by kyro 13y ago

tptacek 13y ago

I'm sure I have, somewhere in the 422482 comments I've written on HN. Candidly: operating a startup has many times been a drag on my family, but only when I was Doing It Wrong. The biggest myth in startups is that you have to live and breathe them to make them work. That's bullshit. Lots of people live and breathe stupid companies that come to nothing, and lots of people do a disciplined 9-5 that gets more done in 8 hours than the founder who lives at his desk gets done in a week. It helps not to look at it as a game. Matasano is a business, growing steadily, with a serious team and serious management. It isn't something that might pivot after some networking meetup thingy tomorrow, or if Facebook buys the wrong company next week. I'd read a lot of 'patio11 if you're interested in this stuff too.

e12e 13y ago
Hah, I'm glad you dropped the Matasano name in there, I didn't realize you where the one replying "upstream". Another plus for Matasano in my book -- I generally thought all you guys where typical SV over-performers without family, friends and other things to create "drag" on your business ;-)

cylinder 13y ago

Just keep in mind that outside of the SV/tech startup sphere most entrepreneurship happens with founders in their 40s-50s. These are people who work the corporate life for a couple of decades, build extensive field knowledge and connections, then spot an opportunity and leverage their resources to take the plunge.