kcsavvy · HackerTrans

I think you should be open to the idea that your competitors are not competing with you in the way you think they are. They may be fighting (and winning) elsewhere. Fundraising, customer acquisition, specific use cases, communities, niches, etc. Also, they might be losing. From the outside every company wants to look successful - raising money, hiring, growing, etc. The real story is almost never told, so you can’t assume much from the outside.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

I started and sold a company in the industry, and agree that macro level analysis misses this. In the us healthcare as a “product” has an AWFUL customer experience. On so many levels. And the worse it gets the more people want to “burn it all down”, despite the fact that it might not be as dire as we think when we do the high level analysis. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

I built and sold a yc-backed startup that used a BaaS vendor years ago.

Even then, the inside scoop was that Synapse is poorly built and operated. Among the fintechs in YC Synapse has been known as a no-go for a while.

There were a lot of flags - compelling media hit pieces, churning customers, departing execs, etc.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

Agree with you that the overall sentiment is surprisingly negative (especially when I have been really enjoying using gpt as a lightweight tutor), but AI girlfriends are going to happen and could have huge social and cultural impacts that are worth exploring now. Especially given the birth rate difficulties western nations face.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

Users should have access to their own data. Whether it’s a university coursework app or anything else.

These students should be applauded. They are making studying easier. How are universities, of all places, so inept at making basic common sense decisions?

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

Would like to see pgvector included. If I can keep data in pg… I will.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

I think the stereotypical calm company is one with strong financial performance in a stable industry that is somewhat insulated from swings in the macro economy. Think large regional players in insurance, healthcare, finance, banking, etc. It’s large enough to have “professional” managers and a big customer base (so one customer having a problem is not a hair-on-fire emergency).

In my experience you tend to find many more penny pinching owners in the world of small businesses, not at a 1000-person regional life insurance company.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

Calm companies exist everywhere. In fact, calm companies probably outnumber “frenzied” companies 10x.

They are the quiet, stable, regional, unsexy businesses that have been around for 40 years. I have a friend who is an SWE at a large regional insurance broker. Very calm work indeed.

They just don’t pay SV wages.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

Lots of people dislike their first jobs, which is totally reasonable because you don’t know what you like and what to look for. So congrats on realizing quickly what you don’t like. Over the course of a career, that’s progress.

You could change careers, but if you like tech and coding maybe try changing environments first. There are certain things you don’t like about your current work environment, and you can probably find a new place where those things are not present.

kcsavvy

2 年前議論

I think it would be unwise to tax away a financial ecosystem that has driven innovation for the world and funded one of the nation’s largest growth industries in exchange for marginally increasing infrastructure spending.

kcsavvy

3 年前議論

The session playback looks useful - I find this is missing from many DD alternatives I have seen.

kcsavvy

3 年前議論

Elements of this story indicate a founder who simply lost control of their company, which is their job as a founder. I don’t think the VC is the villain here.

They raised at an inflated valuation and seemingly received a favorable multiple (100-10x “7-figure” revenue). The fact that they rode out the company to 0 means they had board control and were never fired. So they are ultimately responsible for every decision they made. Including over-hiring and not firing their clueless VPs.

I say this as a founder of a yc-backed company that was acquired. I know the pressures of short-sided VCs. I also know that the job of a founder is to pick which advice you follow.

kcsavvy

3 年前議論

True

kcsavvy

3 年前議論

Build something more impressive than you would work on while employed and it’s probably a plus. Following your interests (if you have the privilege to do so) can result in some really cool / impressive work to show off later.

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