M&Ms: Two Years In The Arena
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It's my two year anniversary since I quit the big company job to become an entrepreneur.
By the way, here is how much the big company used to pay me before I left: a $310k base salary. About $275k in equity vesting each year. A 35% cash bonus on top. And at the time all that was just for showing up & meeting expectations. And if I exceeded expectations, there was an additional ~25% boost to it all, and exceeding wasn't that hard most years. So, ~$700k for just showing up, but potentially more for exceeding.
Here I am, grinning as I hand in my resignation badge and laptop, smiling as I throw away those big bucks to chase the dream.
But two years in, I've failed in that original dream. The thing that probably made me smile in that picture.
I am not close to succeeding with a "tech startup." Nor am I close to making what I used to make at the big company on my own. But I found other things to smile about.
But first, I want to tell you what someone I know well told me the other day, "If you would've just stayed put at the big company, you'd own another two more multi-family rental properties by now, one to hand down to each kid." They said that to make a point. And to make my decision sting a little, which I understand and respect. We all need people who will tell it to us how it is, even if we don't always agree.
But I told them, "I haven't failed as bad as you think yet."
Sure, I failed at starting a tech startup and making millions. But that tech startup I helped get going is still going. I just can't afford to be a part of it anymore. But at least I can be proud of what I built and the fact that I own a chunk of it, right? After all, my brother and I did build all the tech at Nines. It's not too bad for two immigrant kids out of The Bronx to come up enough in life and have a shot at a tech startup, right? But in hindsight, what we really should've aimed for from the day we quit was freedom.
But those pesky tech startups that raise capital from investors, as Nines did, demand all your time; those investors want you "all-in" all the time. "All in" on one thing can become the antithesis of freedom. And that's the part I couldn’t afford anymore.
But also, that's not my philosophy on business anymore, either.
It is true; I failed at doing a venture-backed tech startup. But I wouldn't say I've failed as an entrepreneur completely. I've been making some money.
In 2022, I made about $100k in "internet money" on my own. The bulk of that, about $60k, came from my course Timeless Career Advice for Software Engineers, even though I built many other things that year.
And the bulk of that $60k, $7k in one day but probably ~$20k in total, came after Geregely Orosz bought my course, watched it, and tweeted out how much he enjoyed it. Then, he wrote a story about me and my career in his newsletter. It was a totally unexpected thing, and I am grateful to him. His Newsletter,
has grown to become an incredibly influential force in our industry, and it is an awesome read each week.
Then, this year, 2023, I've already crossed that $100k mark. And the year isn't over yet. And a good chunk of that, close to ~$50k, came totally unexpectedly after Daniel Vassallo sent me this email to become a partner in the Small Bets community.
So this year's biggest opportunity, partnering in the Small Bets community, also came to me unexpectedly as I played the game and built my apps, courses, and placed my own personal small bets.
This leads me to the first lesson I was forced to internalize in the arena: Business on the internet is unpredictable. Your biggest gains can come seemingly out of nowhere just by being alive, a survivor, and playing this game.
So, of course, I changed my philosophy on business in the face of overwhelming proof. Why would I continue to bang my head against the wall, trying to make a tech startup work at all costs? I can't afford that. Giving up the big company money is one thing, but to not make anything when you have a family? That's no good. As I said, I needed to survive first as an entrepreneur to have a chance. And you do, too, if you want to embark on this journey.
I want to call out a few other wins from two years in the arena: I got to walk my kids to school any day I wanted. And I got to pick them up any day I wanted too. I got to walk out of my garage office and hang out with my kids in the middle of the day in the summer.
Don't mistake all this for me getting lazy or anything. I am working and creating more than before, just on my terms. There is no risk that some new leader will come in and change things up on me.
I used to have a jam-packed calendar, sit on 50 hours of meetings a week. And I was forced to fly all over on someone else's whim. This might sound fun, but when you have kids, it's not. Now, I work with who I want to, with people I like and admire. So what good are more rental properties to hand down to these kids if Daddy is never around when they’re little?
The real test of all this came when I was offered a very serious opportunity to make the big bucks again at a big company. Even though what I am making now is far from what I used to, I am proud that I had the courage to turn it down.
So, all of this is to say, two years in the arena and I regret nothing. And this freedom stuff, working on your terms, is pretty nice.
And I'm trying hard to never go back to a big company again. We will see if I can pull it off. But I am learning the most and the happiest I've been in a long time.
Two years in the arena and I am still smiling.
Two Tweets: Lowered expectations, You find a way.
The advice by Moses is excellent. But Nikita’s answer is even better.
For those that don’t know Nikita sold two different companies to FB, the latest one was Gas.
And here he is saying that he failed 13 times and just wanted to get some sort of win in his 14th.
It seems we are all more capable than we realize when we are determined to live the life we want to live.
Two Memes: Divorce rates, Code Comments
Happy to see Software developers on the lower side of divorce rate side.
Code comments can be great. Found on this repo.
—Louie
P.S. You can reply to this email; it will get to me, and I will read it.
M&Ms: Two Years In The Arena
Congrats Louie! Really enjoyed this post and hearing about your Small Bets role. Incredible.
One thing I've been thinking a lot about is value as a whole.
It's normally exchanged with money. But value exchange as a whole can be a blend of different activities. When you're not exchanging most of your value with one company, things get blurry, and it's not as straightforward when others exchange it so precisely.
Value exchange becomes more interesting when your family is extracting more value from you early in the day as opposed to when you're tired at night. You might be getting more value from your work activities by not being interrupted by a meeting during creative focus.
Simoly, these relationships start to double or triple in value overall, and pricing your life can't only be tied with time spent at one company anymore. Though your life has overall become more valuable.
Cool to see you recognize the value of these smaller activities, becuase they all add up. Right there with you.
THIS!
"I got to walk my kids to school any day I wanted. And I got to pick them up any day I wanted too. I got to walk out of my garage office and hang out with my kids in the middle of the day in the summer."
The true wealth of self-employment.