Some of the advice YC partners give seems harmful because of survivorship bias (Basic for the Altair -> Microsoft). I've seen some people criticise you for it, but I've never seen any of you address it directly. Do you mind doing so now?
20,726 karma · joined December 22, 2007
Check out https://www.santagram.art/
What do you expect will be the effect of this on hiring women? Do you have any relevant data from microcorruption (what % players were women)? It'd be great if Erin could also chime in.
Edit: Also, a comment on the video - it started off well with the woman having issues with an old slow computer (which is what I have and so I could relate). But then later on all the actual use is shown on fancy macbooks and iMacs which kind of defeats the puropose for me.
If you think it's bland, it's obviously not for you, but going by the rate at which dollars are pouring in, enough people seem to think otherwise.
It sounds like you're building a new version of something that already exists, so maybe just say what's new about it in as few words as possible.
This is such a strange strawman argument. Dropbox is not just some dumb storage. You may think syncing across computers and sharing are trivial things, but they are not.
Even if you're right, maybe it's not so bad if your "feature" company makes more money than most other product companies and is heading straight for an IPO.
Less fun than a clever analytics hack but it will work. Try it for a week or two.
And if you're worried about conversion rates dropping, I have seen many companies report that their switch from "no signup required" to "signup required" resulted in no difference in conversions. It's certainly worth a test.
I have applied to remote jobs but most don't want someone that is not from the US.
That must be the case if you only apply to remote jobs at companies based in the US. Apply for jobs outside the US.
Make a good professional profile online.
Post your profile and apply for jobs on the monthly hiring threads on HN - https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring
You should hang out on https://growthhackers.com and http://inbound.org. Some of the best marketers hang out there. Even if you don't find a partner, you'll definitely learn some useful stuff.
But the only thing that really works for me is when I focus on a positive goal I want to achieve, instead of spending energy on avoiding the bad habits.
Now, I'm focused on building my business. It doesn't mean I have stopped getting lots of shiny new ideas. But now I don't have to fight with myself. I just don't have the time or energy for these new ideas. Too focused on the current idea.
If you're just assuming they won't pre-pay, then it might be a costly mistake. At least ask them - offer a discount or some sweet deal for taking a chance on you - at least a few of them might pay.
You're right that hiring a firm might get complicated, but hiring a solo developer could work.
Unless you are offering something other than equity - a chance to work with a team with a great track record, backing from investors, some unique ground-breaking technology - I'm not sure why anyone would want to work for free.
Maybe they are not out of your league. What makes you think they are?
If they are, is it even in a dimension that matters in a relationship?
If so, you can work towards getting up into their league.
I'm the solo founder of a self-funded company, building a unique customer analytics product (http://gini.io). I've built the first version of the product myself, and am now looking for help with the development so that I can spend more time on sales and marketing.
The product is a Ruby on Rails 4 app, hosted on Heroku with a Postgres database. It makes heavy use of a few APIs - Intercom, FullContact, LinkedIn. There is very little Javascript at the moment, but this might change as we add new features.
I need someone whose primary experience is in writing and running Rails apps in production. If Rails is just something you've dabbled in a bit, then you won't be a good fit.
I'll pay a fair rate, but as a self-funded solo founder, I can't afford to pay London/SF senior dev rates. So, the ideal candidate would be someone remote with a competitive rate, or someone local who's a bit junior and looking to gain some experience.
Email me at hrishimittal@gmail.com with specific examples of your Rails experience and why you think you'll be perfect for this role.
The next one is tomorrow (1 Feb). Make sure you post to them, saying you're looking for work.
And yes, you can get freelance work as a self-taught programmer. Most people I know do exactly that.
If you do Ruby/Rails in addition to Javascript, I might have some work for you. Email's in my profile.