Comment by ivankirigin

19 years ago

"Or even 90% of YC-funded-startup founders for that matter"

Not to deny this, as I don't know anything about you, but... that is a very bold statement.

54 comments

ivankirigin

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cperciva  19 years ago

Of course it's a bold statement. But if I wasn't bold, I wouldn't have started university at age 13, set three world records for calculating pi (a stunt, I admit), ranked in the top six mathematics undergraduates in North America, received a $100k+ scholarship to Oxford University (not the Rhodes, unfortunately -- their mistake), received a doctorate in computer science from said university, and become the security officer for the FreeBSD operating system.

  • yubrew  19 years ago

    So you've shown that you have some (impressive) academic achievements, but have you had any business success? Just because you're book smart doesn't mean you will have a successful start up.

    Many times people think that they can transfer great success from one domain into other domain. Michael Jordan and his short baseball stint is the first thing that comes to mind.

    • cperciva  19 years ago

      You're quite right, and if I do fail I entirely expect it to be due to a lack of business experience. But on this topic I'm working entirely based on what Paul says -- that being able to build something which people want is far more important than being able to sell it.

      14 replies →

  • uuilly  19 years ago

    Test Pilots are bold by definition. Entrepreneurs are not necessarily bold. People tell me all the time how "brave" and "bold" I am for starting a startup and it's complete BS. The only think we're risking is some money, reputation and ego. All of which grow back in time. If we were doused with gas, lit on fire and smashed with ewok log traps if our startups failed then we would be bold. As it is we're just different.

  • menloparkbum  19 years ago

    Well, I hope your startup idea isn't this:

    http://www.daemonology.net/blog/2006-09-13-encrypted-backup....

    This post also shows a phenomenal misunderstanding of what it takes to create a successful software startup:

    http://www.daemonology.net/blog/2007-06-21-think-before-codi...

    • cperciva  19 years ago

      That is my startup idea. I don't want to take this thread even more off-topic (if that's even possible), but please feel free to contact me at the address in that first post to explain why you think it is a bad idea.

      16 replies →

  • dbosson  19 years ago

    Remember that success comes from improving OTHER people's lives. All your achievements, while probably very gratifying to your mother, have not improved my life at all.

    • cperciva  19 years ago

      Do you use OS X or Mozilla? Have you ever used their software update mechanisms?

      If yes, I've improved your life -- they use my delta compression work (bsdiff, originally written as part of FreeBSD Update) to reduce the size of updates which have to be downloaded. As of about a year ago, my work had saved users around the world well over a hundred years of waiting for updates to download.

      4 replies →

  • mynameishere  19 years ago

    A few tips:

    1. Open up Microsoft word.

    2. Type all that out.

    3. Save it as "Resume.doc"

    4. Don't open it again until your next job search.

    • Xichekolas  19 years ago

      Psssh... He wrote an OpenOffice clone in a programming language he himself designed with syntax like vector calculus.

      Seriously, Word?!