porter

Man, for all the critics out there quick to point out that correlation is not equal to causation, nobody ever seems to explain what needs to be in place to actually show causation.

To establish causation you need 3 things:

1) Correlation

2) Temporal precedence. That is, you have to show that the cause occurs in time before the effect

3) A lack of other plausible explanations

If more people knew the above the world would be a better place. Even the Udacity statistics course failed to mention the above, even though they hammered home that correlation does not imply causation.

cash in the bank, ticking time clock with career/kids

This is awesome. I wish this was extended to teach more advanced topics such as how to create reusable packages, big O notation, etc.

comcast.

Charge more, get more customers, set up retainers.

It takes longer than you think.

Yet another blog that I want to subscribe to via email, but can't (easily). This kind of thoughtful analysis is missing from today's obsession with listicles.

Or you could just go with 29doors.com and get a semi-custom site with customized colors, fonts, and layout. U.S. based, easy to talk to on the phone, and very available around the clock.

SPIN selling is the best sales book in existence. If you are new to sales, do yourself a favor and go buy it right now.

The vast majority of businesses being started aren't organized to go public or get acquired for $1 billion in 7 - 10 years. It's much more realistic to go from making $100-200k in salary, to owning your own business and making $200-500k per year, net. If you were 40+ with a family, what option would you rather choose? A pretty realistic shot at making $300-500k or a crapshoot at creating the next Google, compressed into less than 10 years of course because your VC wants his short term result to impress the next round of LPs.

I like the clean design and map view. I don't understand how you are determining the "best" places to stay. Is this just a list of hotels, or is some super secret algorithm coming up with this list based on a few important real-time factors? Either way, I'd make this clear in your copywriting, so I'm clear on the value I'm getting as I use your app.

cool idea but I can't get it to work. I don't get it.

google is training me not to use their new products.

Yes. According to my friends who hire and manage a lot of programmers in silicon valley, it's not totally uncommon to see a self-taught dropout hired over an MIT grad. You can be self-taught and very successful on the software side of startups. And, as hard as it might be for you to believe now, not everyone with a CS degree knows what they are doing.

That's corporate marketing, not startup marketing.

PG's advice on how not to fail is wise: just don't give up.

Gumroad is great for getting started. The only annoying thing I don't like about gumroad is that they don't give you many options for removing the header image or default call to action text on payment pages. Otherwise, it's a fast and clean way to accept payments without hassling with SSL, stripe, etc.

Let's be clear: this is about bringing mass-market products to market, not niche products like most people on HN are building. This article considers a niche product to be a failure.

Create a presentation on what non-technical founders need to know about programming, before they start a start up. Promote this webinar via facebook ads and make it 30 minutes long and packed full of super useful stuff. Then at the end point them to your blog with lots of helpful resources. Finally, mention that you are available for one on one coaching, for a select group of people (and have a web form using stripe ready for taking payment in exchange for scheduling a one-on-one call with you). Offer a money back guarantee as long as they demonstrate that they did the action items you suggested.

This will be way easier than building a SaaS app. Trust me.

EDIT: No idea why this is getting downvoted. Any insight would be appreciated.

Link to the full financial dashboard here:

https://buffer.baremetrics.io/dashboard

On advice he gives to young entrepreneurs: "You are focused too much on changing the world; you should focus more on making money." Without profit, no business is sustainable, he said.

More on the discount rate here:

http://www.propertymetrics.com/blog/2013/09/27/npv-discount-...

Can you really run a caloric deficit indefinitely? Surely that can't be the answer.

I see what you did there.

Should be first minute advice.

messaging has network effects no?

Ha, nope. I still remember my number too. Crazy.

Wow, this is pure gold! Thanks for posting.

What does google actually use python for? Certainly not everything...

This does not seem to take into account the fact that the bottom quartile start with horses and outhouses and end up with motorized vehicles and indoor plumbing.