Hacker News Reader

Comment by JoeCortopassi | Hacker News Reader

Zero friends in the business (besides the people I work with). Getting into programming came out of the blue for me.

Edit: For reference, here is a little weekend iPhone project I just started - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF1KcbNjZ7Y

View on HN

Seriously? You're in freakin' LA (or near enough to count - from your LinkedIn) - get your ass out of your house and in the streets. Go to Santa Monica. Go to CoLoft. Go to LASW (la.startupweekend.org). Go to any number of the numerous meetups out here. Get GOOD and get FOCUSED. You, my man, have no excuses! Not trying to be hard, but am being real. I would have thought you were from some remote area or something, but rather, you're right in the middle of the hot spot. Be seen.

Aye. Listen to this guy.

Honestly didn't know LA was a big scene. It's a good 2 hour drive to get out there from where I live (Temecula/Murrieta) area, but if it's as strong of a scene as it sounds like, maybe I need to start going out there.

Joe - there is a ton of opportunity near you - San Diego, Orange County, LA...I suggested Santa Monica because it's a hot spot of hot spots right now - at least for start-up oriented people. I mentioned CoLoft, because the owners are fantastic and have a lot of great events going on. Go to them and check it out. They have a website - get involved in a meeting or two. I know the drive is long, but it will ultimately be worth it. You may have to endure it for a few months, maybe not so long. The investment of time, if you can get from point a to point b, is worth it.

I looked at your iPhone app (via YouTube). Why is this not released yet? What's holding it up? It's a basic app, but it demonstrates you can write an iPhone app - and that market is REALLY hot, EVERYWHERE. You should be able to get remote gigs as a contractor pretty easily. Your best bet is to release it and then promote yourself. Release it and then post back here that you released it. You'll get good feedback (like: left align the categories, right align the totals, or something like that).

You really do have a lot of opportunity all around you. I was a bit insensitive in my prior post. For all I know you CAN'T get out of the house. Shame on me for that. If you need help, let me know. I will not hold your hand and give you every single detail, but I will provide enough info or suggestions to get you moving in the right direction so that you can get in front of the opportunities if you're willing and able.

Don't even sweat the comments, I didn't take it as offensive at all. If anything it was super encouraging. I guess I kind of assumed that I was missing out by not being in the Silicon Valley area, but it sounds like I have more opportunity than I thought.

The iPhone app is close to being done, but I feel like it's missing a few things to be a true MVP (ability to export data). It's honestly just been a weekend project (<10 hours), that I made to help my wife and some of her friends. Sounds like I need to get it up ASAP though, if for no other reason than a resume builder that shows ability.

Appreciate all the feedback. It's hard learning in a vacuum, and it can be refreshing to get a fresh perspective.

Finished the app, and it's on the app store:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/follow-my-money/id471808412?l...

It's not a "big" scene, but it's a decent one. We're located in Orange County, and there are quite a few media-focused tech shops in LA proper.

You are at a bit of a disadvantage in that employers who require ass-in-seat time will necessitate driving the hell that is known as the 91. Perhaps you should consider making the short move toward the coast. Not all the way, bit a tad closer couldn't hurt.

As for your skillset, your preferred web stack has a high impedance mismatch from what we use, but we're always happy to talk to smart people. Contact info is in my profile.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com