Idk, optimizing inefficient systems sounds a lot more interesting to me than working for the man, as you put it. Thanks for writing this out. It seems very difficult to get into. I'll reread this a couple times.
> Idk, optimizing inefficient systems sounds a lot more interesting to me
Yeah, I guess I’m being somewhat disingenuous. I like optimizing systems, but I’m aware that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
You learn that very quickly at cocktail parties when people ask you what you do, ask for more than the headline answer, and then have their eyes glaze over when you get into the details.
> than working for the man, as you put it.
As a nerd/geek, and I fall into that category, working in a good skunk works type of place is pretty damn fun. It usually doesn’t pay well compared to most tech jobs, it’s often not that prestigious, but damn… it can sometimes tickle the brain like no other.
One potentially bad part of it is that most skunk works are funded in some way by the DoD, so some folks may object to that.
> Thanks for writing this out.
My pleasure.
> It seems very difficult to get into.
Hmm… my first instinct is to say that it’s not, but I might be short-selling my skills, network, and (frankly) privilege if I say that.
I think it’s open to far larger group than is actively trying to participate in it.
I think the main keys are:
- Understand fundamentals of business. I have been around this my whole life, so it came quite naturally to me. That said, it’s learnable, and a lot of things fall into the common sense or empathy categories.
- Be good at contracting and hiring/firing. There are a lot of bozos in the workforce, but there are also plenty of hidden gems.
- Be good at marketing/sales. Although it’s possible, I think it’s tough to hide behind a screen and also scale.
- Talk to your customers. PG beats this drum, and there’s a good reason. Note customers here are customers of any business you own as well as business you want to buy or entities you want to sell a business to.
- Start small, but do things that scale. People think you need a lot of money to start doing this. You don’t. If you do really well, you don’t have to ask around much before relatively large sums of money start finding you. I currently prefer to self-fund, but I’m thinking about transitioning to some sort of dividend growth entity — I think that they will be en vogue in certain circles over the next 10 years or so.
It seems like you enjoy talking about this - is there an email I could reach you at to have a longer conversation at some point down the line? I'm really interested in just about everything pertaining to your experience. If you'd rather not post yours, you could email me directly at [redacted].
