2D

Ok this may sound stupid but I think there are a lack of words you can satisfactorarily substitute in for swear words. I know this as I gave them up for lent.

Also many people (example A: PG) with good vocabs still choose to use them.

I'm also married to my cofounder and the experience is a lot like yours... Startup families are very tight:) Some people say "startup is a contact sport" but we prefer "startup is a team sport". Keep being grateful and good luck!

We work 6 days a week with sabbath off No fixed hours but try and keep sleep, exercise and weekly update meetings regular. As most people say we either work "all the time" or "not at all". I like it no matter how hard. My partner suffers because the uncertainty eats at him a bit. We're at that stage where people think we are a) nuts to leave high paying jobs or b) deluded that we can actually do this ourselves... So the family/social support is kind of 50/50 which impacts lifestyle a lot. Example: we get free rent at home and our friends have preordered because I think they worry for us and want it to work. I noticed I have less tolerance/ time for mates other than my closest friends who know me best and accept that sometimes the only time to chat is via Skype while waiting at an airport.

Overall, and I'm embarrassed to say this but this is the best lifestyle I could ever imagine. To be successful while living free like this feels almost like its unfairly good, though I'm not sure yet if I'll ever experience that.

We try and do volunteer stuff as when you're a founder it's so easy to be self centred. This helps us look outward and be less wingy bitches when the shit hits the fan.

Dude these things are like celebrity marriages, they never last. That said here's my tip for self improvement accountability: https://www.lift.do

My husband has been balding since I met him at age 18, 12 years ago. I always thought it made his face and in particular eyes/cheekbones stand out. That said, I know that he never appreciates my teasing... As a women who has worked in the most superficial of industries (fashion) I can tell you that you are only ever as confident or sexy as you feel. And the great thing about hackers is that these people generally care more about what you can do than your physicality. I think you should take the same "failure as a pathway to learning" approach to networking as you do to other challenges. Some people won't like you. Some people are superficial and boring. Count yourself lucky they will screen themselves out.:)

My 3D modeller is colourblind. His day job is working for a big mother of a sourcing company that has no idea about this challenge. We work together by using codes for colours. It forces me to be very specific on designs and I think it makes him a better modeller because he sees form first.

Fyi apparently mark zuckerberg is colourblind too, hense blue logo. Good luck amigo!

Thanks Sam. For me the note on how you stay personally organised and the last answer I.e 'wait till it's working' were little insights that may make a big difference. Ta!

The name makes it look more like HN for Australia. But what's in a name anyway...

I think you should work on something that benefits someone else. Then when you get into the workforce you will remember how good that felt and are more likely to make a habit of it. Traveling would probably count actually as it makes you see things from others perspectives and realize how lucky you are.

It strikes me, as do a few other posts and comments from YC that this is an incredibly American centric view of the world. I've heard PG say "just consider moving here" but without a visa as a startup that's very difficult.

I think he is very sincere in his motivation to learn Chinese and its brave to get up there because to us he sounds pretty foreign. People laughed because it's endearing to listen to, not really funny. To me languages are a lot like programming in that if you can get enough to hack around the problem you are half way there. Honestly its not about the $, because if you speak Chinese it doesn't make you Chinese in a Chinese's eyes, just curious and disciplined.

Just want to add that when I started learning Chinese people made it out like some impossible dream, and when I started to learn to code it was the same (maybe because I have long blonde hair and look like I'm from Florida or something). Truth is its not as hard as you think to become ok, but very hard to master. So if you are reading this and you ever thought seriously about studying Chinese but "don't have the time"... well, Mark makes time, and if you're reading HN regularly then you are definitely smart enough :)

Yes. As long as there was a hedge type clause saying if it dropped below a certain threshold it would revert to USD. Sounds a bit like working in Argentina or Zim but those would be my terms.

What's your 5 year plan?

Gardening

If you happen to be Australian: http://www.geoffmcqueen.com/2011/09/28/e-3-visa-for-australi...

5: Using 1, 3 for later and 1 regret that I won't renew when it expires.

Heya,

I also have a niggling back but no problems since I went for standing desk: http://www.fastcompany.com/3028686/my-year-at-a-standing-des...

Maybe give it a go in between sitting for long periods. Positive side effect: improved touch typing.

Campus London has a kind of communal space downstairs but the coworking is through techhub: http://www.techhub.com/ Might help if you are going to be in and around Europe as a few hotdesk options... My fav place to work is Barbican library but not been there in ages.

In Asia we have quite a few if relying on your family is still bootstrapping.

Hi I'm not sure if this is useful but here in China realtime chat function for buying stuff is commonplace. I heard a stat that something like 40% of all sales on Tmall are closed via chat - be it wechat or aliwangwang. In terms of location based and in app purchase they have moved fast too.

If you need to look at consumer behavior (which for many comments here seems to be a question) it might help to look at what they are doing.

Can only speak for my own experience. Everyone works long hours but this is the default culture and people are happy to.

Unless you have a startup in which case it makes the balance difficult. We have offices in 40 countries and measured that China/HK work the longest. (Well over the 10k sample size to make it relevant and excluding factory workers.)

Yes we love facetime (solidarity or something). Personally don't get it. Think our poll on HK a while back proved that few of us are really effective more than 5 hrs a day. That said in China we have to be in the office which means you can't work on your own thing without feeling compromised, so weekends it is.

1/2hr a day, but probably lying to myself and underestimating.

Good job, did you build it for yourself?

I feel your pain, although here in Asia many work 9-830 and then somehow on the weekend try and do stuff that matters. My experience is that it's good pressure as it forces you early on to be judicious with your time and only do what really needs doing NOW and with some kind of order. It also prepares you slowly for the discipline and loneliness of being a full-time entrepreneur. So try and be positive as sounds like you have reason to be! Lets face it when you grow up its harder to find butterflies:)

Maybe I'm naive but I don't think KS would sell. It's not about the cashola to them and the community (not that I could speak for it) wouldn't be impressed.