The perils and rewards of working onstuff that matters

Alex PayneBrooklyn Beta 2012

WorkSimpleTwitterstartup that never launchedinformation security stuffcampaign & non-profit tools

Not exactly workProgramming Scala (O'Reilly, 2009)10+ years of writing onlineEmerging Languages Campspeaking & teachinginvesting & advising

“work onstuff thatmatters

– Tim O'Reilly, 2009

What matters?

Jurisprudence

Ethics

Economics

Aesthetics

✖

StripeNest

GitHubKickstarter

Etsy…

What happensif I take on somethinglike this?

Perils

Entrepreneurship is not cool,it's not sexy, and it's totally uncomfortable.

It's boring and grueling,and that part is never part of the movie.

“– Eric Ries

Peril 1.All the stuff that's hard about doing anything, plus the crazy thing you're trying to do

Peril 2.Incumbents

(as competitors or partners)

Peril 3.Naysayers

Peril 4.Investors

Rewards

Reward 1.Tangible impact

Reward 2.Recruiting is easier

Reward 3.Publicity comes naturally

Reward 4.Support flows freely

The big caveat

Thank you.

Questions?