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Ask HN: you're rich, now what?

66 points by ryanwaggoner ↗ HN
This question is just for fun:

Let's say you sold your startup yesterday for enough cash that you never have to work or worry about money again.

What would you do now?

156 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 235 ms ] thread
cperciva
Write the world's most secure cryptographic library.
yan
As a personal achievement or as a product?
cperciva
It would be free and open source -- whether that counts as a product depends on your perspective, I guess.
brk
Do it again.

Once is luck. Twice is skill.

sebg
brilliant. reminds me of the missive: if you are the type of person who would stop working once you obtained a fortune, then you are never going to get a fortune...
yan
That statement works equally well in its negation :)
modoc
Define work?

Hopefully I'll get to the point where I can live comfortably off the wealth generated by work I've already completed. If I do, at that point, I won't stop using the computer. I won't stop writing software. I will stop setting the alarm clock though, and I'll stop saying "I have to work" to my wife when I'd rather be spending time with her, and I'll stop working with hard deadlines.

I won't sit on a beach all day, but a few hours a day would be very nice!

alex_c
There are a lot of insightful comments in this thread, but I think this one sums up best (and most succinctly) how I feel.
sebg
I work in finance (trading) so from my perspective, I have seen many people come into this field wanting to "get rich." They soon find that the most successful investors/traders are not those who want to get rich, but rather love financial markets. So I am in complete agreement with you. The equivalent, I think, would be me joining a web app startup to "get rich" because I want to be "rich", rather than I am passionate about exploring the problem space that I will solve with the web app.

As a side note, the reason this is always the first site I visit when I am on the internet -- because everybody is exploring their chosen problem space passionately for the fun/excitement of it.

kqr2
Knowing when to quit is also a skill. Especially applicable to professional sports.
time_management
Athletes peak in their late 20s and early 30s. In intellectual endeavors (despite prominent counterexamples, half of whom were like Keats or Galois and died on ascent) most people peak in their late 40s or 50s. So there isn't the same call to quit after a few years of success.
ph0rque
Interesting... what about endeavors where the biggest factor in the eventual success is commitment to the venture? I think that as one grows older, one is more critical of oneself and thus liable of giving up earlier.
gaius
Well, yes and no. Mathematicians for example are notorious for burning out young.
jjs
Chalk poisoning. ;)
time_management
This is more of a popular myth than reality. It's more common in math than in other fields, and mathematicians peak earlier than, say, writers (35, as opposed to 55, would be my guesses) but it's not actually the norm for a mathematician to do his best work in his 20s. Those stories are cases of the exception proving the rule.
rfurmani
Maybe not in eir early- or mid- 20s, since nowadays at that age it is hard to even have enough familiarity to be able to define the major open problems (most of my colleagues focus a lot on devouring book to try to get ahead of this curve). Still, major work is generally done by one in eir late 20s or early 30s. It has long been the case, and still continues to be (Green and Tao proved their famous theorem at the age of 29). Hardy lamented that math is a young person's game. The book "A Beautiful Mind" discusses how Nash's 30th birthday was a gloomy one, since it generally means the end of one's major contributions to the field. You can't even win the Fields medal unless you're under 40.

Now, of course there will be counter-examples, but these are not the majority, and generally come in those fields where you have to digest a great amount of material and push your way through for long stretches of time (grad students and post-docs also tend to figure prominently in these cases)

ahoyhere
This really isn't a useful generalization. Nor factual. If people are genuinely interested in peaking, read "Overachievement" and "Talent Isn't Everything".
[dead] rthrehe
i think this web site is sooooooooooooooo fake so dont you try 2 fool other people cause i know
staunch
So what if it was luck? I'm not trying to prove anything. I just want a lot more money so I can do what I please with my time.

Sure, that'd probably mean spending most of my time doing another startup, but not to prove it wasn't luck the first time.

thomasmallen
Maybe I'd found a zoo.
kirubakaran
May I ask why? I suppose the answer is "why not?", isn't it? :-)
potatolicious
Because most zoos I have been to belong to one of these two categories:

- Unbelievably boring places with not enough fun and way too much education. You bring your kids to the zoo so they can learn something, not so some boring guide and put them to sleep with stuff that would probably put a zoology professor off.

- Shamelessly profit minded. SeaWorld, I'm looking at you. Blatant animal abuse for the "entertainment" of the masses - come see our lazy, fat animals roam about ready to expire at a moment's notice, but feel free to buy more overpriced feed so you can keep stuffing their gullets! What? Educational factor? Whuzzat?

Maybe I wouldn't create a zoo if I were rich, but it wouldn't be a waste of time. The world desperately needs zoos and aquariums that are able to educate as well as entertain.

donw
Do a theme park based entirely on feeding geese, and then sell their livers off for a (pardon the pun) fat profit.
thomasmallen
Because I care a great deal about conservation but am unwilling to put in the many years of education required to become a zoologist. I think that I could run a zoo effectively and compassionately, showing the public these majestic, exotic animals that are at such great risk while doing my best to return their species to viability. Isn't that what zoos are all about?
RiderOfGiraffes
A zoo is a great way to make a small fortune. How do you do it?

Start with a Very, Very Large Fortune.

huhtenberg
Same with the restaurants actually, but at least got to eat in the process.
jwinter
If it's your zoo, you can eat there.
h34t
Ever visited the Dusit zoo in Bangkok? I don't like most zoos, but thought this one was done really well.
kirubakaran
1. I'll spend time learning well. My current disjointed knowledge frustrates me. [math, physics and computer science]

2. I'll work on creating beautiful, useful, innovative products.

3. Backpacking, flying paper planes, watching cartoons, video games, reading fiction by the fireplace, writing, etc

4. I'll fund cool projects using the YC model.

[I do these things now on a smaller scale. If I'm rich, I'll be able to do much more of these, which would be awesome.]

code_devil
invest your money in social causes, if possible your time into it as well. OR spend more time on working what you did to be rich on the first place, so you can spend even more on social causes BUT do take out time to relax and enjoy with loved ones as well.
mooneater
Time to change the world.
rksprst
Isn't that what the startup is for?
rcoder
Improve the world: start a charitable foundation; support amazing candidates for public office; invest in social services for developing nations.

Improve yourself: go back to school and get a degree in history, or music, or art; travel to another continent and live somewhere new long enough to learn the language; write a book, and read a lot of other peoples'.

Improve others: get your teaching certificate (usually <1 year of school) and teach math to middle-school students; tutor kids at a local library or after-school program in computers; adopt.

logjam
Admirable goals...none of which require we be rich...and many with which riches will interfere.
gasull
For traveling around the world or working for a non-profit without a salary you need financial independence.
ph0rque
Also, some of these goals might be better met through a (for-profit) startup.
ashleyw 

    • Move to the SF area
    • Attend loads of cool conferences
    • Splash out on some new gear — a new Mac for starters
    • Be able to spend a lot more time on personal projects
    • Start a new startup; its not work if you enjoy doing it. ;)
dawie
You can do all of this without being rich super rich.
nailer 

    • Buy more fonts
yters
Wow, never seen that before.
edw519
2 chicks
timr
Nah. One chick, one duck.
vidioradeo
Pay off all your bills, Take care of your family, and try to not live your life in regards to your wealth.

also, 2 chicks.

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tjic
That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
edw519
Damn straight, man. I've always wanted to do that. I figure if I were a millionaire, I could hook that up. Chicks dig guys with money.

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Office-Space.html

strlen
Well not all chicks...
PStamatiou
Well, the type that double up on a guy like me do.
strlen
Good point.
tlrobinson
[insert comment about how Hacker News is becoming Reddit]
edw519
[delete comment about inserting comments]
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
critke
Goof off for a while. Then do it again. Because goofing off is only fun for a while.
look_lookatme
Live between Mexico, LA and NYC. Spend my days dallying.

Share the wealth with my family.

stcredzero
Philip Greenspun has some thoughts:

http://philip.greenspun.com/non-profit/

http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/

petesmithy
"Most of Europe is simply too crowded and expensive to be attractive to the average North American."

Who is this Greenspun fella?!

gcheong
It's true. On my last trip to Romania, Austria and France I didn't run into any average Americans.
stcredzero
Makes those places sound a lot more attractive!
maurycy
To be rich means a lot of things. You can be named rich if you have either $10M or $10bn in the bank.

Let's say, realistically, that I have $10M.

First of all I'd cut all unnecessary costs, rent a smaller flat and spend a year thinking about my life, studying something just to clean my mind, collecting startup ideas. It is important not to freak out.

Then, I can either go back to the university or start another company. I think it depends on my thoughts during this gap year.

pstinnett
Depending on HOW wealthy I am:

- Clean up all friends/family student loans and credit - Build a new house, buy anything I want - Start a college fund for my nephew - Do it again

ph0rque
In your place, I'd make college funds for nephews (or anyone for that matter) obsolete, by making education really inexpensive if not free.
pstinnett
Depending on the amount of $ I have, I agree with this. If I was only filthy rich, family education would come first. If I was stupidly/insanely/infinitely rich, everyone would benefit from free education.
ph0rque
I spent ~1.5 years working on an app that would do just that. I've since put the project on hold: the problem is just so huge that it's very hard to whittle it down to "just" an app that can be made within a reasonable amount of time, and have it be useful.
okeumeni
No more need of VC to do the things I want to do.
jws
Finding myself in a similar situation, my answer is... "I don't know, I've spent all my attention getting this done, I'll work on what comes next now."

Most people give me the eye like "Ah ha! He has some plan that he isn't ready to divulge.", but really. I don't know. I'm working on it now.

albertcardona
You've got to be kidding me. What not to do? But at least be sure to keep some cushion of money somewhere, perhaps properly, securely invested.
adrianh
Become a professional musician, and hack on things on the side.
raju
I don't work for a startup, and I don't own one - But to answer your question -

To me being rich is not about money, its about being able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. Money only buys me freedom, and thats it.

Having said that, I would sit back, kick of my shoes for a couple of months, and spend time introspecting. What's my purpose, what do I want out of life. Then go out the pursue that.

Spending time on a quiet beach sounds great, but gets old quickly.

And yes, 2 chicks :D

mrtron
I would keep enough cash so I wouldn't have to work for someone again (including investors).

Then I would continue doing things similar to now, but with no business model in mind. I would also travel more.

Sadly(?) I think thats all that would change.

ercowo
spend time with my wife. walk the dog. go for hikes / ski / see the outdoors. read books on philosophy. generally, lead a life of quiet contemplation
rfurmani
> spend time with my wife

Trying to off-load your wife on other people? tsk, tsk

trey
hoard my money and not share a red cent