Parents: This is What Your Founder of A Son Does

http://feint.me/2010/09/parents-this-is-what-your-founder-of-a-son-does/

by feint • 16 years ago

21 17 16 years ago

jeffepp• 16 years ago

Love this. I have drafted a similar post directed not only to my parents but most of my friends, etc..

Unless they truly understand "startups and/or webapps" they have no clue what we do with our days (and nights, weekends..)

aaronbrethorst• 16 years ago

Just tell them "I'm building a company." No fuss, no muss.

fragmede• 16 years ago

> Me: Sort of. I build online tools that people use.

> Them: Like what – Google?

> Me: No. For example, one tool I built sends people reminders.

What specific distinction is the author making with "No"? http://www.googletutor.com/screencast-how-to-setup-sms-alert...

They don't work for Google? That their web-app isn't a search engine? So the post doesn't apply to epi0Bauqu (DDG)? That a search engine isn't a web-app?

I'd go with "Yes, but..."

swombat2• 16 years ago

Fuck, man, learn basic grammar.

I could have, not I could of.

My parents would cry if they saw me write like that.

The rest of the article is also littered with omitted words and little mistakes. It makes it really hard for me to even begin to consider forwarding that to my parents, no matter how good or bad the points may be. Get the final line right at least:

I know Parents, that doesn’t really help. Just people I’m a web designer.

-> I know, Parents, that doesn't really help. Just tell people I'm a web designer.

jarin• 16 years ago

I've always thought it was interesting that the impact of an otherwise good article can be completely nullified by a few glaringly obvious grammar or spelling mistakes. Stay in school, kids.

rewind4• 16 years ago

Fuck, man, take it down a notch.

swombat2• 16 years ago

Sorry, the triple-whammy in the first paragraph got me ruffled up. I care about grammar.

Groxx• 16 years ago

Could have / could of mistakes irk me as well, especially because they're obvious. What the heck does "could of" mean? "Could have" is pretty clear.

I'm almost totally certain it comes from "could've", and people mimicking the language as they've heard it rather than learning it. Though I have no idea what the source of "try and" could have been.

danilocampos• 16 years ago

Yeah, I quit by the third "could of."

Sloppy writing suggests that the author respects neither the ideas he wishes to communicate nor the audience that has to read him.

I really feel like there's a transactional element to communication. If you want your audience, you have to give them the very best that's possible (for you). Anything less and you're wasting their time. I hold very few things sacred, but that truth is one of them.

heresy• 16 years ago

I hardly know any grammatical rules, but I don't make very many grammar or spelling mistakes in communication forms where correctness is desirable (customer emails, letters, articles, blog posts).

Why? Reading heavily from age 5 to 18, means I have a built-in spelling and grammar checker.

I grew up when there was no Internet or mobile phones at school going age though, doubt this is easy to get kids do these days.

On the other hand, in IMs, text, or IRC, I write in all lowercase, don't care about typos or grammar, and it's very fast and loose.

OP needs to learn how to tailor their content.

wallflower• 16 years ago

> Just [tell] people I’m a web designer.

Just a thought. Maybe you could show your parents how to demonstrate what task.fm does and how people use it. Could be as simple as giving them a canned 1 min video to play for people who ask.

ant5• 16 years ago

Am I the only "founder" / "entrepreneur" that doesn't really appreciate these special labels? They're generally something I only hear from the VC tech startup crowd, and usually in the context of breathless veneration.

I'm running a business. I'm not special, a new breed of business man, and I don't need a special startup-glorifying vocabulary for what I do. I'm just another person running a small business -- something people have always done, and it's something that parents (and everyone else) understands.

A neighbor recently started a coffee shop. She puts in long hours, manages the books, orders food, directed the installation of the sound system and kitchen, manages the kitchen staff, makes and serves coffee, and works the cash register.

Nobody is calling her a "founder". She's just a small business owner. She had to raise capital, her business could expand into a large chain, she could (but isn't likely to) become the next Starbucks, or even get bought out by Starbucks. She could also fail miserably. Is it really all that different from what we do?

Parents: This is What Your Founder of A Son Does

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