My Startup Age
July, 2007
My startup self was born on March 14, 2006. It started asexually, created by its only parent, Y Combinator. I was such an infant. I didn’t know how to do anything other than write code. I could write code really well, but that was it.
During my early years I ran into walls and tripped on toys. We spent five months making a product that nobody really wanted. We missed a key hiring opportunity. I was the only one doing software development.
My teens were filled with growing pains and an identity crisis. Talking to investors constantly, doing a financing, setting up an office, and starting to act like a “real” company. *Wince*
My startup persona is a little older now. I’m learning more than ever, and making more mistakes than ever before. But I am taking more measured risks and making fewer rash decisions. I have some familiarity with the startup world, and have an easier time facing reality. I feel like I’m in my early twenties startup wise. There’s still a long way to go, and it will probably never stop.
People like Paul Graham, Josh Kopelman, and Rob Hayes have been around a while and pretty much know how to kick ass at everything. They’re senior citizens.
Vinod Khosla is 100 years old. You know he knows how to do everything, from chasing ladies (raising money) to retired travel in foreign countries (sitting on the boards of Fortune 500 companies).
I might be completely off the mark when I say I’m in my startup early twenties. Making a statement like that is a huge risk. There’s a reasonable chance that I’m way off the mark, and that five years from now I’ll be laughing at myself. But, hell, guessing is fun.