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> deep down I know I'll never be as good/desirable as someone with a CS degree. I stopped working to write this comment--that's how important it is to me that
by ericabiz 13y ago
> deep down I know I'll never be as good/desirable as someone with a CS degree.
I stopped working to write this comment--that's how important it is to me that you know this is a belief that will only hold you back.
I could cite any one of thousands of articles that talk about dropouts who made it, but I suspect you know about those articles and it hasn't affected your belief.
So I'll just say this: If I had graduated with a degree, I would have never been able to bootstrap a tech company when I was 20 and sell it for over a million dollars when I was 26.
Don't look at yourself through the eyes of others, because you'll always find yourself wanting. I'm sitting here about to launch my new company (we're doing final testing of our new website right now.) I have no idea whether our site (which is kind of wacky) will convert. I don't know if we'll get any sales. And I've got everything riding on this company--I've put all my chips in.
There's enough in this world that will kick your ass. People haven't believed in my companies for the past 13 years I've been running them. People have laughed in my face, investors have turned me down over and over again, customers have quit, money has been lost (and, on a brighter note, much money has been made!)
Sometimes the only thing you can count on is your internal belief that you WILL make it, no matter what. That's what got me through my last company during its darkest hours. That's what's getting me through now. Enough people will throw shit in your face. Don't be one of them. You are better than that.
The world is full of possibilities. Don't count yourself out. Jennifer sure didn't. ;)
- jenniferDewalt 13y agoThis is so true. Coding is about more than typing some things into a text editor. Even if you don't have a CS degree or a ton of experience you can bring a lot to the table from good UX decisions to fresh perspectives to contagious hustle and drive.
- carrotleads 13y agoNow if this is true, that takes lots of balls... I mean the whole "-I've put all my chips in." burn the boats outlook. I quit my job to work on my startup ideas but have difficulty throwing all my savings in. Wife & kids is my excuse.
- ericabiz 13y ago> Now if this is true, that takes lots of balls... Yep, it really is. Not only have I turned down several huge income opportunities to work on MarketVibe, but I'd also sell just about everything I have to see this product come to market. We have a true game-changer of a product, and it's something I really believe in. We also have the right team to build it--I'm a target customer for this product, which is one reason I know the market needs it so badly. And it's a nice money-maker (SaaS). But yeah. If I had to sell my car tomorrow to finance the startup, I'd do it with zero second thoughts. I'm in this 100%. Otherwise, why run a startup at all?
- carrotleads 13y agoI heard of someone in australia doing something similar its called Newsmaven but you seem to adding a dynamic conversion form too. and props for having the balls to go all in. My argument is that all my savings and assets is not mine. I share it with my family. I can/should only risk my part of the savings/assets even though I have the right to act unilaterally. Some of my problem is having a savings habit and not being a spendy type of guy. Its an asset as well as I need to learn to loosen up and spend on lot more needed stuff to make our carrotleads product a success.
- MicroBerto 13y agoJust wanted to say that I found this comment to be crazy motivating for me this morning. Please hit us up when you launch (or contact me personally if you don't want to post it yourself). Thanks! Edit: Cool, didn't realize you're in Austin! Gonna ping you
- stickperson 13y agoThanks for the motivation. Like others have said, it takes a lot of guts to do what you're doing.