Your perspective on "bootstrapping" was eye-opening. I've always thought of bootstrapping as a VC-backed startup with a different capital structure, but the same principles. I prefer your view that it's "more about finding a balance between my values and ambitions". This is a much better lens - thanks for sharing!
"I certainly burned out multiple times during my startup career when it felt like no matter what I did, it was never going to be good enough to achieve the outcomes."
This, along with your screenshot of your calendar really captured the feeling of busy and overwhelm that's so present in work today.
I'm looking forward to following along on your journey to build a career that maximizes impact without compromising on lifestyle goals, I'd love the answer too!
"[Showing] total comp in terms of the future valuation of the company to make it clear that my work could help shape the total value of the company ... feel personal responsibility towards outcomes, even when you might not have the full ownership or responsibility to shape those outcomes ... never going to be good enough to achieve the outcomes".
Feel this. Taking note for myself that these should be red flags in any kind of interview / feeling out process. It seldomly leads anywhere good.
- "it led me to question if we wanted to truly improve the lives of this population, then are the problems that technology is poised to solve the ones that will lead to real, transformational change." I think about this a lot when I talk to founders/startups – whether they actually want to solve the core problem, or whether it's really just about making money while sorta tangentially helping with the problem
- "the more I focus on 1:1 individual work, the more I realize that there’s an understated “butterfly effect,” where the changes your presence makes then inspires that person to help others" – really great point!
this whole thing was really refreshing to read as I think about the kind of life/career I want. thanks for writing this!
This was a great reflection + analysis!
Your perspective on "bootstrapping" was eye-opening. I've always thought of bootstrapping as a VC-backed startup with a different capital structure, but the same principles. I prefer your view that it's "more about finding a balance between my values and ambitions". This is a much better lens - thanks for sharing!
"I certainly burned out multiple times during my startup career when it felt like no matter what I did, it was never going to be good enough to achieve the outcomes."
This, along with your screenshot of your calendar really captured the feeling of busy and overwhelm that's so present in work today.
I'm looking forward to following along on your journey to build a career that maximizes impact without compromising on lifestyle goals, I'd love the answer too!
"[Showing] total comp in terms of the future valuation of the company to make it clear that my work could help shape the total value of the company ... feel personal responsibility towards outcomes, even when you might not have the full ownership or responsibility to shape those outcomes ... never going to be good enough to achieve the outcomes".
Feel this. Taking note for myself that these should be red flags in any kind of interview / feeling out process. It seldomly leads anywhere good.
Great Analysis
Also I agree that each has their own prospective while remaining respectful to others opinion and experience
loved this one! two bits that resonated:
- "it led me to question if we wanted to truly improve the lives of this population, then are the problems that technology is poised to solve the ones that will lead to real, transformational change." I think about this a lot when I talk to founders/startups – whether they actually want to solve the core problem, or whether it's really just about making money while sorta tangentially helping with the problem
- "the more I focus on 1:1 individual work, the more I realize that there’s an understated “butterfly effect,” where the changes your presence makes then inspires that person to help others" – really great point!
this whole thing was really refreshing to read as I think about the kind of life/career I want. thanks for writing this!