I don't have any advice for you to get back into programming. I doubt sitting in a chair in a silent room doing what someone else tells you all day is going to help your depression.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21709462

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

If you wait until you're financially ready you might be missing out. Part of dropping the golden handcuffs for me was living with less. I wasn't living sustainability anyways and it was better I dealt with it before I got too old and found myself unable to deal with the change.

Good luck!

- getting local supporters. This will be useful for bootstrapping the Kickstarter

- gorilla marketing. Basically just think of how to promote the product in low cost high impact ways.

- traditional marketing like google and facebook. Maybe a couple expirements and demographic research before going all in on a campaign

- do the Kickstarter. It'll be a modest Kickstarter. My goal at this phase is to have a successful Kickstarter, not to make money.

- if Kickstarter succeeds fulfill the orders

- Turn it into a business or maybe just a passive income. All I'll have to do is order more boards and cases if orders for the product come in. Plus, the patent itself will be worth something.

What do you think? Does it sound doable? Too shy for Kickstarter? That seems like too small of a thing to hold you back.

After that I took a break and lived day to day. I worked pretty much all day and night for months and it felt so much better than working in tech. For example, I would flip cars by buying broken ones and fixing them, I built a table and sold it at a flea market, I drove for Lyft, I drove for Doordash (which by the way was great for getting me out to see new places since I'm a bit of a loner. I'm serious, it was good for my mental health). I started work on a patent for an invention I intend to sell. I learned how to use Blender to create 3D models so I could 3D print a case for the afformentioned invention. All while being high as a kite whenever I wanted (and it was safe, of course).

So when this last job didn't work out I wasn't nearly as afraid. You know, I've basically been pretending anyways. Like that meme of the dog in the house on fire. But being a programmer and making more money doesn't magically make me happier.

Right now I'm flipping cars again. After I flip a few I'll drive for Lyft. My long term goal, the only one that matters, the only one that is going to get me into the life I want, is completely unchanged. In fact, hustling like this lets me optimize for bootstrapping a business with my invention. I'm not afraid of failing. Ill get up and try again. There's no point in pretending anymore. I want a better life than this. Programming is not going to get me there.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21673842

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

One, there is no excuse for garbage code. Deadlines don't cause people to suddenly forget how to code. Perhaps corners get cut and things need to be refactored but if developers are coming and going and saying the code is bad I doubt that's just because of a deadline. That sounds more like a bad developer using a deadline as his excuse.

Two, do you have code reviews? Are you looking at their code? Are they looking at yours? Why would you expect them to write triple A code when they have to use what you say is a garbage code base? Garbage code breeds garbage code. Maybe their arrogance is a way of venting their frustration with being forced to write bad code? Or maybe they're telling the truth but for some reason you interprit it as arrogance?

Or let someone burn their turn by copying the existing application but making minor tweaks and changes. That could work just as well.

Anyways for me part of the benefit in taking my time is building out the skillset to do this in general:

- knows how to file patent

- knows how to make case

- knows how to get a case design

- knows how to design the board

- knows how to get the cases and boards manufactured

- general idea of all the prices involved

- how do to Kickstarter marketing

- how to handle the legal side (like an LLC or ...?)

Because you're right I'm just kind of hoping people will like it. But if they don't I'll still then have the skillset to try something new. Plus the more people I ask the more likely someone will demotivate me, or steal my idea, or just leak the concept which would take some shock and awe out of marketing. I'll do more market research when I get closer to launching.

How did you hear about the campaigns that you backed?

1. What was your thing? Did you keep it going after the Kickstarter? If so how's it going?

2. Why do you get most funding at the start and end? I can see at the start because that's where you have to bootstrap it but why the end? Did you apply marketing at an increasing rate or decreasing rate or a constant rate?

3. On selling yourself. I've heard this but idk how to do it. I'm not an expert in the field my product is in. My main motivation is just to make money. So I don't have a compelling story. I'm just a guy with an idea. I was planning on doing a video where I explain where the idea came from but aside from that idk how to interject myself. How did you do it or how do you think someone like myself should?

Thanks for replying.