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> This seems like sheer dumb luck. For every one of him (or you, if you're reading this) there's a lot of people who thrash and struggle. I went through 80+ job applications before I got one offer last search, and that's less than I thought I would need Author here. There was definitely luck involved (the luckiest part imo was that Teespring was an incredible company to work at and I had no idea when I reached out), but I think cold emails are a surprisingly effective tool that are underutilized for some reason.

I sent two emails, one to the CEO of Teespring and one to the CEO of Y Combinator at the time (Sam Altman). Both replied (though sama politely declined my request to be his summer intern haha) so getting a response from high profile entrepreneurs is definitely possible without much luck.

That's totally fair, and congrats on that working! I don't want to take away at all from what you've accomplished!

It's very interesting looking at how you - a successful newcomer - view silicon valley compared to the way I see it - as somebody who grew up there and left.

The other interesting bit is how you got here. It looks like you've been coding and elbows deep in computers forever. I'd hazard a guess that also helped you over folks like me who are quite a bit less certain of where we want to go

You’re right that’s an interesting contrast. Can you share why you ended up leaving? I’m curious about your perspective.

I started coding when I was 13 and started wanting to build companies around the same time so I think that focus of desire definitely benefited me. I strongly believe finding what you want to focus on is more valuable than how early you start. Greg Brockman (founder of OpenAI) didn’t start coding until he went to college, and there are numerous examples of people in tech, art, and other fields discovering their focus later in life and succeeding.

I left twice, both times personal. Once for college, once a bit over a year ago.

Tech permeates the area, and the expectations surrounding it can be harsh. The expectations put on kids can be too much, and I hated it. And honestly, I really didn't like the people I went to high school with or the people in my hometown much. I needed something new and different, an entirely different sort of culture to grow out of this tech and real estate focused town. So I went to Minnesota.

After college, I came back since I couldn't find work, and I got to know a lot of the better parts a bit outside my hometown. First Fridays in San Jose and Del Valle park in Livermore are two. I got a tech support job I didn't like and a bike mechanic gig on the side that I loved. What really got me to leave was getting a job in Seattle. I was prepared to stay a few more years because of the sheer number of jobs, but the area just wasn't one I could settle in long-term. There were too many bad associations for me personally.

I'm not going to say Seattle is better for everybody, but it's new to me. And I'm better equipped to find people I enjoy hanging out with, to put myself in situations that work well for me.

i read some disparaging comments below that just say "privilege." I hope you aren't discouraged, even with privilege, not many could have done what you have done at a young age, kudos to you and keep going.

Not at all! I expected disparaging comments and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how encouraging many of the comments are. Thank you for your kind words as well :)

Appreciate you looping back on this. I’m personally curious whether there was something about the wording that got you the reply.

If it was full of “Silicon Valley” culture, for example.

> Silicon Valley doesn't care about your background

This is both true and false at the same time. We were able to go through YC without much background (Bottomless.com YC W19), however the post-YC fundraise was a bit more of a slog. It turns out analysts for major VCs will look up the founders on LinkedIn before bringing you in for a conversation.

Regardless, it's only been a minor headwind. We still raised post YC based on results.

Feels like the other thing people do is conflate Silicon Valley the place (in my mind, the Valley of the Heart's Delight) with Silicon Valley the idea, the tech center

There are many tech-y people who move there because it's more open, and it almost feels self-perpetuating. But the rest of the people aren't always that way. My dad grew up around there, he remembers highway 85 as the orchards behind his backyard. I remember the Netflix HQ as a gardening nursery. There are still little farms dotted around, hidden in places people don't normally notice as they zoom by.

It feels like tech transplants sometimes forget that or aren't even aware of it. Tech permeates the whole area, you can't escape it. But there's a lot more to be experienced around if you're willing to search it out. It might be helpful to tone the shop talk down a bit too

the oddly shaped food box isn't about the novelty of oddly shaped food. it's about making you feel like your money is doing good. Look! We aren't wasting! We eat the avocados with the brown spots!