HN Explorer

I did it! I quit my day job!

58 points by zavulon ↗ HN
Hi all, long-time reader, occasional poster here. You may remember me as this guy: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=653655

Just wanted to let you know that in big part thanks to some ideas I've got here, my last day at Big Soul Sucking Corp. is next week, and then I'm jumping into my own business full time :))

I still don't have a hot billion dollar idea, but I've decided to open a software development company (don't want to self-promote, if you're interested, there's a link in my profile). I've got some clients already, been working on it 4-5 hours every day for the last 4 months, and now actually making enough money to survive without a day job (ramen-survive, but still).

I also started another business, it has nothing to do with computers/technology, but it is bringing in an income stream too, and has potential to grow (international wholesale trading, if you're interested).

So, just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone on this board, who provided an inspiration for me over the years to finally "make a leap". Thank you!

39 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 97.2 ms ] thread
vyrotek
Congrats and Good Luck :)
vaksel
i don't think anyone here minds self promotion, so here is your site:

http://www.loginaut.com

r00k
A little honest feedback: your site was painfully slow to load (8+ seconds?).

If you weren't a HN'er I never would have stuck around and let it load.

liamk
It took me nearly a minute on a 10Mbit connection. So yah, I agree with the above poster. Congratulations though!
zavulon
Thanks for the feedback on the site design, everyone! It's far from finished, that was another reason I didn't want to link to it, but I should have been more clear about that :)

With all the actual project work I've been doing, the site become almost an afterthought... Which is not a good idea, I know. I will definitely rethink the whole Flash concept and make it a lot faster. Thanks!

[dead] cakesy
It loaded really quick for me, since I don't allow flash.

I am sorry, what sort of person quits there day job to start there own company, but hasn't learnt yet NOT TO USE FLASH. And certainly not if that is all someone sees. (unless of course you are a design company, but then you would probably find better resources than hacker news).

Are you sure you going out alone is for you?

jhancock
My advice is to dump the site and replace it with a clean blog. If your as busy as you need to be to survive, you'll never have time to maintain a custom site like that. Don't let your site show off your skills, let your reference-able portfolio do that job.
markbao
Congratulations, but—please don't a) use flash websites for a software dev firm and b) use a purchased template like that one. If you're going to use a purchased template, at least go for something better.
timcederman
70 megabit and 30 seconds and counting...

Also the lack of explanation and lorem ipsum text throughout doesn't inspire confidence, sorry.

piramida
wow that sound when the site loaded was awful.
dpcan
I agree. The sound actually made the fillings in my teeth hurt. A sensation of physical pain when your site loads is REALLY something you do not want.
cmars232
Before I whitelisted it, it was just a grey screen. You might want to put something in a <noscript> tag. I like how Stack Overflow deals with that, for example.
jmonegro
Definitely ditch flash for your website, go to http://www.themeforest.net to get an inexpensive head start.

Really happy for you over here, I imagine it must have been a hard decision.

jackowayed
I totally agree. I don't think the flash is doing that much for you anyway.

But if you refuse, at least put something else where flash-less people see. My first impression of you was:

Alternate HTML content should be placed here.This content requires the Adobe Flash Player.Get Flash

which makes it look like you don't have the attention to detail to get rid of a stock message like that (and proves to me you didn't write it yourself).

jstraszheim
Agreed! I took one look at your mystery meat navigation (after turning of noscript) and hit the close button. If you want to attract talented developers, get a better site.
[dead] b05us
your site is a disaster

even after it loaded, which took forever, all i got was a bunch of phb pap business "copy"

a laughable quote from your site:

"we are tired of the old corporate way of doing things"

so your response is to write a flash site?????

you should beg your former employer to give you your job back

nuweborder
Congrats! Where are you located?
zavulon
NYC. Planning to be as location-independent as possible, though :)
pkc
Congratulations and Good Luck!! Just curios to know. Do you concentrate on specific domains like web site development, or RoR or PHP etc., Or are you planning to gain vertical expertise.
zavulon
My own expertise is RoR and Java. But, I've partnered up with some freelancer friends whose skills sets are vastly different. Loginaut is a partnership of independent devs and designers, the idea being that nobody has to pass up any business - if you get offered a project that is completely different from what you do, you still say "sure, I'll do it", and pass it on to others in Loginaut, in exchange for a %.
psranga
Impressive! I was about to post "Quitting is the easy part" after reading the title, but you've done much more than just quit your day job. Kudos.
staunch
Congratulations. Any time you get lazy/bored just think back to your box...err cube.

Don't forget to keep HN updated.

bugs
It is good that you quit doing something you hated just remember to not burn yourself out working on your new projects that they become a new problem.

I guess what I mean is don't pour yourself completely into these two sources of income remember to take outside interests in unrelated fields/hobbies/entertainment so as to keep your experience diverse in order to avoid quick burn out.

zavulon
Hear hear! After a few months of working 15-16 hours a day total, I'm going to force myself to work 10 hours a day max, and focus on having a life in the other time :)
akamaka
Great to hear that things are working out for you.

What is your plan? Are you going to attempt to grow the consulting business to full time?

zavulon
Well, the consulting business is full time already. I'm planning to grow it, and eventually introduce some products, as well.
Wump
Congratulations! I just made the same leap myeslf.
rmdstudio
Congratulations and good luck on the new venture. Enjoy the process and stay persistent!
jacquesm
Hey Zavulon,

Congratulations. Everybody has been criticizing your site already so I won't add to that pile.

You've already clued in to one of the most important things in business, you need more than one revenue stream, so kudos for you on that one.

nearestneighbor
Does your company have a product that it maintains ownership of, or are you basically a contractor / consultant?
zavulon
Contract/consultant for now. Eventually, I want to to introduce some products, but at first, financial independence from Big Co. was my #1 goal.
growt
these symbolic raised hands you use in your design signal 'stop' or 'wait' to me. Maybe change them to something more descriptive.
[dead] romanm
It’s unclear in your first startup what the worth of your company will be, but the worth of your person is guaranteed to increase. (It is not my original but I stick to it)
parka
Congrats and good luck! Wish I can do the same as well. I guess I still have a few more months to go although technically speaking I'm also ramen-profitable. Just that I'm lacking the idea to expand.

One piece of advice from someone who studies technology. Technology is all about saving time and money. Answer all your questions to that perspective and you will do well. And yeah, using a Flash site doesn't help people save (more) time.

wicknicks
lol :) Glad to know the party's getting bigger! Best Wishes :)