Poll: Startup grammar question
I've encountered a variety of grammatical formulations recently, and I'm wondering which people here prefer. Which of the following would you say?
I kan haz startupp? ~ because cats are not that clever & can't spell
Is that what we want as a community? I try to delete about half my comments right after I write them. The question I ask myself is, "Would anyone's life be seriously worse if they didn't read what I have to say?" I try to kill my own comments that don't fit that criteria.
A: I run my own business. It's an online start-up that helps architects to work better.
(practiced condensed answer, the result of introducing myself countless times)
I would have used: >helps architects work better
Usage:
"I started a company in 2006 to create software to make accounting painless for small business owners. We got rated top 10 small business software by Inc magazine!"
"A few months ago, I went in with one of my best mates to create a new kind of social network for pet owners. It's very cool, because even though it's a small niche area, we've been able to get to profitability very fast by making commissions on sales of pet training, tools, and you'd be surprised how lucrative advertising in the niche is."
"I've been working in small business since 2005 - I've taken a variety of projects and my main focus has changed a couple times, but I've always made it about making online business really appealing and aesthetic. People need gears and stuff to work well, y'know, but things sell much better if there's great presentation. It's been a joy working with designers, artists, photographers and linking them up with business owners."
And so on. I have no clue why adding timeframe makes things go over so much better, but it's really been quite big in my experience. Add a time, even if it's only a couple months ago, and it goes from being a whimsical thing to a real, legitimate tangible thing. Don't forget the cool fact - that's what people remember and talk about.
"I work in accounting."
"My background is in management information systems."
"I work at a small company coding software."
I don't care for simply "I have a startup", because it stimulates discussion and you get the same questions all the time - what specifically do you do, what field, how long, profitable?, etc. Might as well knock half of those out right away if you want to talk about it.
And if you don't want to talk about it, you're going to need to give someone a specific answer, so when someone's wife asks "What's cperciva do?", your new friend can say, "Oh, he builds computers or something like that."
"I run an Internet company that does XYZ for consumers/businesses".
Startup means something specific within the technology community that I think is potentially lost on those outside of it.
Hay it's fun handing out business cards and seeing double takes - there has to be some reward to working for nothing at the moment. I must admit it felt a bit silly at first, but I preferred it to CEO, Managing Director has a solidity to it I like, which counteracts the nebulousness of IT/Web stuff a bit. Owner / Chief Architect were others I tossed up. MD seemed to be the best.
Source: A mentor of mine who runs one of the most profitable architecture firms in the Middle East.
Vlad: "I make stuff people might want to pay for that also helps me increase my technical aptitude, channel my creativity, practice self-control, develop a track record, learn by doing, and allow my users to be an important part of each iteration."
long pause
Cute girl: "Cool. Well, I'll see you around."
Just give in and say you are starting up a web 2.0 powered widget syndication platform for the next-gen WebOS.
(more like jumped off the corporate cliff into the scary, vast unknown)
Easier for people to wrap their heads around.
What I like about using the word "start-up" is getting people thinking about start-ups. That is a good thing.