Ryan Park's Tumblog

"One of the most interesting things we’ve discovered from working on Y Combinator is that..."

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:36:39 -0700

“

One of the most interesting things we’ve discovered from working on Y Combinator is that founders are more motivated by the fear of looking bad than by the hope of getting millions of dollars. So if you want to get millions of dollars, put yourself in a position where failure will be public and humiliating.

When we first met the founders of Octopart, they seemed very smart, but not a great bet to succeed, because they didn’t seem especially committed. One of the two founders was still in grad school. It was the usual story: he’d drop out if it looked like the startup was taking off. Since then he has not only dropped out of grad school, but appeared full length in Newsweek with the word “Billionaire” printed across his chest. He just cannot fail now. Everyone he knows has seen that picture. Girls who dissed him in high school have seen it. His mom probably has it on the fridge. It would be unthinkably humiliating to fail now. At this point he is committed to fight to the death.

”

- How Not to Die (by Paul Graham)

Shrimp on a Treadmill (via babyjinxxx)

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:22:34 -0700

Shrimp on a Treadmill (via babyjinxxx)

Finding Their Voices

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:21:48 -0700

Finding Their Voices: An article in the Washington Post Magazine about a policy debate team from the Urban Debate League in Baltimore, Md. Very cool!

What A Comment Stream Would Look Like In A Meeting

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:53:17 -0700

What A Comment Stream Would Look Like In A Meeting

Looking for housing in Silicon Valley

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:08:51 -0700

Myke: my dad was looking in the newspaper (!) to try to convince me that the housing market is not as bad as I say it is
Myke: he found one... wow, this looks good... sunnyvale, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, granite countertops and it's only $219,000
Myke: i looked at the picture... "dad, that's a MOBILE HOME."

The iPhone Bluetooth headset reminds me of Uhura…

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:45:06 -0700

The iPhone Bluetooth headset reminds me of Uhura…

Code Critique as an Interview Tool

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:03:46 -0700

Code Critique as an Interview Tool

WordCamp 2007

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:55:40 -0700

WordCamp 2007

Walk Score

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:53:08 -0700

Walk Score: How walkable is your neighborhood?

How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:51:58 -0700

How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart: 2 years old, but a great article from the New York Times.

There’s a Kwik-E-Mart in Mountain View! (These photos are...

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:29:27 -0700

There’s a Kwik-E-Mart in Mountain View! (These photos are of one in Burbank, but I stopped by one right near Google’s headquarters here in Mountain View.)