quickpost

This game reminds me of some employee stock option negotiations I've been on the lessor end of...

Seconded on Strava. Having such a nice tool to record my cycling makes me want to go cycling more often.

Thanks for asking the question I was embarrassed to ask - now I'm even more impressed with his accomplishment!

That's pretty slick - thanks for sharing! Going to have to try using that on the next project.

Wordpress + the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin can do this pretty easily for even a non-technical user. Although doing detailed code customization on the backend is a bit of a mess.

If you want a lot of logic / custom code, I'd use django-cms!

Congrats Rob! Enjoyed following his various posts and presentations about HitTail.

I suspect this is the listing for the sale on FE International:

http://feinternational.com/buy-a-website/5262-saas-keyword-t...

I'd also be curious if Google's recent updates ("not provided" keywords in analytics, etc.) have impacted the ability to make this an effective product in the long run.

Great writeup - I recently had the opportunity to join a startup as an early employee and ended up turning it down (by way of asking for "too much equity"). Every time I read comments like this, it only reinforces my decision.

Great list of stuff and makes think I need to do more of that, with the only possible exception being the prescription drugs.

How did Zoloft have such a great impact on you? Can you describe what you felt like off of it vs on it and how it changes you in a positive way? I'm very curious (and curious to know if it would benefit me long term).

I feel like the lofty valuations of very early-stage companies these days really creates an unfair dynamic for early employees. I've seen people claiming $5MM valuations for fancy powerpoint slides and no product, which seems really high to me.

The founders then recruit people and give out equity based on these sky-high valuations despite no product or real offerings. Early employees end up sacrificing significant pay in exchange for equity that is priced far higher than it actually should be.

That's awesome. I hope I'm still learning new things when I'm 63 or 77!

I couldn't agree more and appreciate your honest take on being an early employee at a startup. The equity mismatch between early employee and founder really doesn't make much sense to me and despite being interested in startups, it's really hard for me to overcome the inherent unfairness in the situation.

If you're a solid contributor, consulting with defined engagements and clear compensation schemes seems a far better exchange of time for money than a low salary with options that may or may not be worth anything, ever.

I've been struggling with a decision about whether to leave consulting and join a startup as an early employee under similar terms. After reading your post and many of the comments within, I have been able to trust my gut a lot more confidently and stick with owning 100% of my own small operation. So at the very least take solace in the fact that your post helped others out in making better startup decisions!

Can you email me which company this is? I have also had similar issues occasionally and am wondering if it's the same.

Looks like he was an angel investor in a lot of BIG startups, so not too surprising:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman#Pre-YC_angel_invest...

I'm a freelance developer and I hire people to do small, well defined jobs for me all the time from these sites (data entry, ms word to clean html conversions, etc.).

I've used elance extensively and I'm very, VERY disappointed with how the "transition" to upwork has gone. It is bordering on unusable and has added a lot of difficulty to what should be a straightforward transaction. What a disaster.

So yes, I would agree that there needs to be another competitor that is straightforward to use and definitely an opportunity here. I feel like Metcalfe's Law / network effects of the existing sites might be difficult to overcome, but its worth a shot!

Duplicate of: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9969637

Seconded Dan Carlin's Hardcore History. It is awesome. He is an amazing storyteller and makes history come to life in a way that is fascinating and very approachable.

I've walked many, many miles with Dan Carlin in my ear.

I feel similarly and hearing someone else say it out loud eloquently and comprehensively made me feel a bit better. Thanks.

Seconded! I really enjoyed it - fun hard scifi and almost like two different books (and sets of characters) in one!

Do you have any suggestions for what approach someone who's "deeply technical" should take to move into something like technical presales or enterprise sales in general?

It's a potential career transition that definitely interests me, I'm just not sure where to start. Getting to talk (& teach?) potential customers along with tying pay directly to performance are both very appealing elements of the field. Any additional advice appreciated! Thanks!

Ya, vim bindings help a lot too. I even use VIM to do everything in the browser (vimium), and that helps cut down on mouse usage a ton.

I use the Microsoft Natural keyboard, and this is how I solve the mouse distance problem for myself:

http://i.imgur.com/3OMpedd.jpg

I just remove the numpad keys, and then tape my ergo trackball down to it. Works like a charm and allows me to keep my wrists in neutral position at all times.

I've definitely struggled off and on with RSI over the years and this book has been really helpful in keeping me limber:

http://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Carpal-Syndrome-Repetitive-...

The other thing that's helped me is going to the gym and doing light wrist curls (and reverse wrist curls) at least once a week.

That is a great sentiment - thanks for sharing. I needed that.

Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing. One man may find happiness in supporting a wife and children. Another may find it in robbing banks. Still another may labor mightily for years in pursuing pure research with no discernible result. Note the individual and subjective nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Contrariwise, if you are looking for shorter hours and longer vacations and early retirement, you are in the wrong job. Perhaps you need to take up bank robbing. Or geeking in a sideshow. Or even politics. 

-Robert A. Heinlein

Agreed... let someone try it out by themselves. A screencast of someone using it would also be useful (think laracasts style screencast or similar). Being a user of this product really appeals to me (aligns with some stuff I already do), but the marketing is a bit light to convert me.

Good call - that makes total sense! They get confirmation of the identity of the inquiry / lead before you can contact the owner directly.

Good one! Just added to my .vimrc. Thanks!

Legos, bar none. I loved legos as a kid and I recently rediscovered a large stash of them my Mom kept for me all these years. Now my 3 year old daughter and I play "little legos" every chance we get. Love those little legos - especially the vintage ones that require imagination. Not a big "lego kits" guy... like to create my own stuff.

Cool stuff... I'd like to try it out, but I'm afraid I'll get sucked into it and wake up 5 years later wonder how the time went by so fast.

Those are great resources - thanks for sharing!