your startup will force you to make sloppy compromises.
I agree that when you balance your startup and your work/school, one or the other will suffer. I know I have not given my heart to any of the contracting projects I was working on. I mean, I worked on what I was paid to work on when I was getting paid to work on it, but they just weren't getting the same value they would have if I was thinking about their problems in the shower instead of mine, you know? I didn't feel good about that.
So yeah, I feel a lot better about myself now that I'm full-time on my company. But even then, you have sloppy compromises. I don't have investors, so I always have the option of the 'honorable death' rather than doing something slimy, but the market forces you to make sloppy compromises.
Me, I have always had a deep hatred of marketing in nearly all its forms. And guess what, now I'm the marketing guy. Granted, I am a fairly truthful and transparent marketing guy; I generally try to avoid (or at least tell you ahead of time) if I have any 'perverse incentives.' but still, I now spend probably 20% of my time bragging about myself, an activity I maybe enjoy, but certainly don't admire. I mean, really, my biggest flaw is my massive ego. In my heart of hearts, I believe I can do anything. You have to carefully control that sort of thing.
edit: removed baseless speculation about running a company with investors.
I agree that when you balance your startup and your work/school, one or the other will suffer. I know I have not given my heart to any of the contracting projects I was working on. I mean, I worked on what I was paid to work on when I was getting paid to work on it, but they just weren't getting the same value they would have if I was thinking about their problems in the shower instead of mine, you know? I didn't feel good about that.
So yeah, I feel a lot better about myself now that I'm full-time on my company. But even then, you have sloppy compromises. I don't have investors, so I always have the option of the 'honorable death' rather than doing something slimy, but the market forces you to make sloppy compromises.
Me, I have always had a deep hatred of marketing in nearly all its forms. And guess what, now I'm the marketing guy. Granted, I am a fairly truthful and transparent marketing guy; I generally try to avoid (or at least tell you ahead of time) if I have any 'perverse incentives.' but still, I now spend probably 20% of my time bragging about myself, an activity I maybe enjoy, but certainly don't admire. I mean, really, my biggest flaw is my massive ego. In my heart of hearts, I believe I can do anything. You have to carefully control that sort of thing.
edit: removed baseless speculation about running a company with investors.