Last Year I Graduated College and Launched a Startup | Hacker News Reader

Last Year I Graduated College and Launched a Startup

blog.jasonshah.org

39 pointsjason_shah16 comments

I read this looking for a "unique personal story" which the title suggested, unfortunately I mostly found "boiler-plate advice".

edit: Some insightful comments though:

- "The first year after graduating from college is a uniquely challenging time.", I definitely struggled with this out of college. Still sometimes I envy those years and times surrounded by friends.

- "[look for] unique personal stories vs. giving condescending boiler-plate advice.", I hadn't been able to put into words what I hate about some talks and what I like about others, but this sums it up nicely.

Ouch. Sorry that was your experience with this post. I'm currently drafting a more detailed account with more color that you might find more up your alley.

My response was probably a little harsher than it should've been. I still found the advise an interesting read, just very disappointed not to find the story. Looking forward to your next post.

You were not harsh. It really was a boiler plate article. The title of the post did not match what I thought the article would contain (a unique personal story).

It is good feedback for the author. Don't be afraid to be honest.

It'd be interesting to hear about how you built your SAT site and the process of improving/selling it.

A good idea for another post (or series). I'll be drafting one soon and will post on HN.

Although your unique story would have been more interesting, I definitely agree with a lot of what you said.

I graduated college June 4 of last year, and have gone through a couple ideas already. I put serious effort into 2, one being an e-commerce startup I hope to launch this summer. I've definitely had to re-evaluate how much my time is worth over the past year, and that is one of the most important pieces of advice I give to my friends just graduating now.

I planned on working for ~6 months to pay down some debt (credit cards and student loans) and save some money to move to the city (NYC or SF). Ended up getting a great job teaching the computer class at an elementary school and running a staff development program for about 30 elementary school teachers. Its an hourly job, no salary, but I definitely end up working more than 40 hours each week. I'm so drained after dealing with young kids all day that it's incredibly hard to put in more work on a startup.

I really am only able to do it due to two things: first, thank god for breaks, vacation time my first year, and being a school days only employee. Second, finding a great co-founder that keeps me motivated and focused (and also happens to be my significant other - not always a great choice, but for us it's amazing... our third date turned into a three hour long brainstorming session for the e-commerce project I mentioned above).

While I see things working out great in the future, and I'm definitely getting a lot out of my current job (I definitely want to do an education focused startup, and I feel like this age group is impossible to learn about without working with them directly), it is very hard to manage work / life balance when it's really work (day job) / work (startup) / life balance. Getting into a routine, finding sufficient motivation and willpower, and realizing how valuable time is at this point in life is important before even thinking about being able to reasonably work on your own projects or startup.

First time I read the post, I found it to be a bit boler-plate. But then I re-read it, while thinking about the person who posted it.

You just graduated college. You havent lived that much. Still you had the guts to go out and get what you want. Due to the fact that your experience is limited, you can't seem to say anything us old-schoolers haven't heard or said before.

But you have something better than advice to talk about. You have the unique perspective of being a young twenty-something business person. Talk about that. Let us see the world through your eyes. Your frustrations, pains, and achievements. Tell us how you are sharpening your newly minted skills.

I wish you the very best of luck.

That "class is over, and now is the time to learn" is sick!

I just posted a similar story... but from the point of view of a current College undergrad:

http://blog.dillonhess.com/2012/dillons-summer-code/

"You will accumulate life debt the more you try to bullshit your way through. The embarrassment you think you will experience is nothing compared to outsized intellectual and experiential debt."

This is a true gem. Thanks for reminding me of that.

I wish I understood what that sentence is supposed to mean. "Life debt"? It seems to be in code, or shorthand, or jibberish.

What I take from it is say "I don't know" more often.

One can easily bullshit the first time through, but then there is no one to learn from, and you have to keep pretending you know something you don't.

Yes personal experience

A wise head on some young shoulders it seems is our Mr Shah.

Good luck at whatever comes after Yammer :-)

The way I understand it, it means missed days, opportunities and chances. Every day you try to trick the system (meaning life), it teaches you by taking away a day from you. Now it can take that day in a good way (you learnt something) or it can take that day in a bad way (you wasted a valuable 24 hours of your life that you'll never get back).

Sounds fine, but -- to me -- like many of the other points in the piece, it applies equally both before and after graduation from college. I think a lot of college kids fool themselves into thinking what they do during college doesn't matter; they'll start anew and turn over a new leaf when they graduate and "adult life begins". It doesn't work, those sorts of rationalizations are similar to New Year's Resolutions, which also don't work. Adult life doesn't start with a blank slate after college graduation; college kids are already living their lives and, to use the author's own term, amassing their own life debt.

great post Jason!

Enjoyed the post, Jason.

Along your comment of life after college being a uniquely challenging time, I wrote this post a few weeks back that seems relevant - http://zackshapiro.com/post/22010015010/9-things-i-wish-some...

I don't mean to take away any attention from your article, just thought it would be some good, direct advice for recent college grads.

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