I’m starting to remember why I wanted to take a semester off from school. It wasn’t really to work longer at Google (though I love it), or even to travel the world. I can (and will) do those things after I graduate. It was to start a startup.
Archive for the 'Startup School' Category
I’m inspired by Mark Zuckerberg. Is that a bad thing?
[Zuckerberg] began messing around with computers early on, teaching himself how to program. As a high school senior, at Phillips Exeter Academy, he and D’Angelo built a plug-in for the MP3 player Winamp that would learn your music listening habits, then create a playlist to meet your taste. They posted it as a free download and major companies, including AOL and Microsoft, came calling. “It was basically, like, ‘You can come work for us, and, oh, we’ll also take this thing that you made,’” Zuckerberg recalls.
He sounds just like me. I also began messing around with computers early on, and taught myself how to program. That was a long time ago now, but I still remember those days very well. As soon as I came home from school, I’d plug in my Cybiko and head to the Cybiko Forums to see what other developers were doing. I’d try coding some of the many, many ideas I had and quickly get stuck. So I IMed Greg Smith, the creator of the “B2C” or “Basic-2-Cybiko C” compiler. He would help me figure out what I wanted to do logically, put it into code, and actually write some real programs that did interesting things. I was hooked: finally I could create applications on my own– and very useful ones, too. I loved the fact that as soon as I announced a new version of my latest application, 10-20 people would be clamoring to download it. I’d get daily feedback from users of my programs, and I worked from their input to improve. That was a very early stage of programming for me, and I admit that my programming skills back then were severely lacking. Still, that’s how I learned the logic and syntax of BASIC and C, and lots of things about the practical aspects of how converters and compilers work. I learned how to work with variables of different types and to draw graphics on the screen. It was mind-blowing, and I loved it.
My roommate tells me nearly every day: “I’m dumb.” Sometimes he uses variants, such as: “I’m stupid.”
I disagree, but that’s beside the point. Clearly, this kind of perspectives are a matter of opinion. But I do have a point I want to make: every time I hear him say something to the effect of “I’m not smart enough” or “Nobody wants me” (which he does quite often), I think of Paul Graham’s talk at Startup School 2007.
Here’s a screenshot of the slide he used:
Here’s a photo of Paul and an audio clip of the relevant portion (quality isn’t the best, but it gets the point across; less than one minute):
While talking with David Weekly, he recommended that I read all of Berkshire Hathaway’s Shareholder Letters, written by Warren Buffet, a man who needs no introduction. His letters are indeed extraordinary. Here’s an excerpt from the 2006 letter. It goes along with my posts in my Startup School category, which will likely end up being a series about my weekend in NorCal this past weekend. So without further ado, the excerpt:
Those who know me might know that I didn’t re-apply to live in Marks Hall, my dormitory at USC, next year. Why? Don’t I like it here? I was telling myself that I do; that I’m only looking for a new experience; that I wanted to go elsewhere, do something else, explore further, be more independent, break free of the meal plan, cook my own meals, live in an apartment…
I was wrong.
Continue reading ‘Now I know why I didn’t reapply for Marks Hall’
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