4 ms·

Please feel free to regale us with tales of that experience!

graycat 12y ago
You mean the time FedEx towed one of its airplanes to the other side of a hanger to keep it out of sight of a sheriff with a lock and a chain sent to lock down the airplane as collateral for unpaid fuel bills? You mean when some angry union people showed up objecting to FedEx pilots handling packages? You mean the time two barrels of liquids in the shop got confused and maybe some bad stuff got pumped by mistake into the hydraulic systems of some unknown number of airplanes? The time I used the differential equation y'(t) = k y(t) ( b - y(t) ) to please our two representatives of Board Member General Dynamics, have them unpack their bags and stay after all, and, thus, saved the company? The time after midnight in my office I was practicing violin and, as I left, noticed that Fred, in the next office, had been working late? The time at a top employee basketball game, in the locker room with Fred I asked him if he would do it again and got his answer, a more colorful version of investors don't like risk. The time Fred, in the Dassault DA-20 Fanjet Falcon he saved as the company executive jet, was flying, kept finding airports closed, kept flying, and finally landed but flamed out from no fuel on the runway -- cutting it close. How the planning had said that we could fly the airplanes half full and print money but actually flew the airplanes packed solid, doubled the rates, and still were losing money -- not good planning. How Fred wanted to have containers to fit the inside of the plane, like regarding the inside of the cargo part of the plane as a big sausage and cutting it into a few identical slices. Then have ball rollers on the floor of the plane for moving the containers. Then to move the containers on/off the plane, have a truck with a platform in front, about the right size for one container, able to be raised and lowered with hydraulics, drive up, next to the opening for the cargo door, and on/off the containers. Well, Fred described all this on the phone to a guy in CA who got a truck chassis, did the welding and hydraulics, and drove the thing, chassis, no body, to Memphis. Actually, at least as a prototype, it was okay. And the basic idea was important in production. Still, that the thing had been designed in a phone conversation upset some on the Board. There were a lot of such war stories. But, in total the experience was a good lesson in doing a startup.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Incredible. Sounds like quite the ride. Congratulations on having such an experience.
- HCIdivision17 12y ago
  As an engineer, programmer, and human being I would be thrilled to hear these sorts of war stories. If you've a book or lecture series, I'm all ears (err, eyes, as the case goes). This is a great, fascinating look - thanks for continuing to weigh in! (And, incidentally, cruel to just skim over this stuff; some of this is Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman material :)
  - alanfalcon 12y ago
    Agree with the aside: if you want more detail view his comment history and you'll see at least some of these stories spelled out in more detail—though still less detail than I want.
- astrojams 12y ago
  Please share more - these are fantastic!
- saryant 12y ago
  You should write a book.
- karanbhangui 12y ago
  As others have said, please write a book if you have the time and interest. This stuff is so fascinating and an amazing way to learn how businesses are really built from the inside.
  - Gurkenmaster 12y ago
    I recommend reading this story about a audio hardware startup: http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of...

You mean the time FedEx towed one of its airplanes to the other side of a hanger to keep it out of sight of a sheriff with a lock and a chain sent to lock down the airplane as collateral for unpaid fuel bills? You mean when some angry union people showed up objecting to FedEx pilots handling packages? You mean the time two barrels of liquids in the shop got confused and maybe some bad stuff got pumped by mistake into the hydraulic systems of some unknown number of airplanes? The time I used the differential equation y'(t) = k y(t) ( b - y(t) ) to please our two representatives of Board Member General Dynamics, have them unpack their bags and stay after all, and, thus, saved the company? The time after midnight in my office I was practicing violin and, as I left, noticed that Fred, in the next office, had been working late? The time at a top employee basketball game, in the locker room with Fred I asked him if he would do it again and got his answer, a more colorful version of investors don't like risk. The time Fred, in the Dassault DA-20 Fanjet Falcon he saved as the company executive jet, was flying, kept finding airports closed, kept flying, and finally landed but flamed out from no fuel on the runway -- cutting it close. How the planning had said that we could fly the airplanes half full and print money but actually flew the airplanes packed solid, doubled the rates, and still were losing money -- not good planning. How Fred wanted to have containers to fit the inside of the plane, like regarding the inside of the cargo part of the plane as a big sausage and cutting it into a few identical slices. Then have ball rollers on the floor of the plane for moving the containers. Then to move the containers on/off the plane, have a truck with a platform in front, about the right size for one container, able to be raised and lowered with hydraulics, drive up, next to the opening for the cargo door, and on/off the containers. Well, Fred described all this on the phone to a guy in CA who got a truck chassis, did the welding and hydraulics, and drove the thing, chassis, no body, to Memphis. Actually, at least as a prototype, it was okay. And the basic idea was important in production. Still, that the thing had been designed in a phone conversation upset some on the Board. There were a lot of such war stories. But, in total the experience was a good lesson in doing a startup.

toomuchtodo 12y ago
Incredible. Sounds like quite the ride. Congratulations on having such an experience.
HCIdivision17 12y ago
As an engineer, programmer, and human being I would be thrilled to hear these sorts of war stories. If you've a book or lecture series, I'm all ears (err, eyes, as the case goes). This is a great, fascinating look - thanks for continuing to weigh in! (And, incidentally, cruel to just skim over this stuff; some of this is Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman material :)
- alanfalcon 12y ago
  Agree with the aside: if you want more detail view his comment history and you'll see at least some of these stories spelled out in more detail—though still less detail than I want.
astrojams 12y ago
Please share more - these are fantastic!
saryant 12y ago
You should write a book.
karanbhangui 12y ago
As others have said, please write a book if you have the time and interest. This stuff is so fascinating and an amazing way to learn how businesses are really built from the inside.
- Gurkenmaster 12y ago
  I recommend reading this story about a audio hardware startup: http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of...