How do I find a partner?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2056762

by stanmancan • 16 years ago

6 9 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm a junior web developer, more out of interest than actually being very good at it though. I know it's not a life time career for myself, but I enjoy the challenges and thought process that comes along with it.

I feel like there isn't much I can't do, or figure out, but most the time I'm just slow at it, which is where I run into trouble. I have lots of great ideas, but I tend to lose interest and give up after being discouraged when progress seems to be slowing.

I've always wanted to find somebody I can trust and rely on, and relay my idea's to so that if they believe in the idea as well, we can work on it together and actually get something launched. My problem though tends to be that I've never been able to find anybody, and wouldn't even know where to start looking (That's a lie, I have one friend but he's in high demand and despite showing interest in many ideas, he's too busy working with another startup and contract work).

So HN, any tips?

Ryan_IRL• 16 years ago

Try and get involved in your local tech community. Try and find out (usually via twitter) if there is events like a startup weekend, demo camps, or pub outings for tech people. Lots of cities have hacker spaces which are great to get involved in too (if you're lucky enough to have one).

DonCarlitos• 16 years ago

Well, by admission you're not a very good programmer, not interested in a career in development, and, you loose interest & give up when discouraged. Why on earth would anyone want to partner with YOU? Get real.Sounds like you want somebody you can trust to finish your projects and make you some $$. Even your friend knows that. Why don't you?

stanmancan• 16 years ago

I'm not sure how you got this out of what I said. But I'll trust you're just having a bad day.

1) Me not being an all-star programmer, and also not having an interest in pursuing a career in software development doesn't have anything to do with my question. I simply added it in to let people know why I feel I'm unable to continue to pursue some ideas on my own.

2) Clearly I already feel that me getting discouraged is a detriment, or I wouldn't be here looking for help in the first place. But when you're a relatively new programmer and you're trying to express your grand idea's, it's easy to get frustrated when you don't have the skills or knowledge to get it done. I've read countless posts, articles, and interviews where people have run into the same feelings. I know I'm not alone, but I do applaud you for fully following through with every idea you've had if that's the case.

3) Without knowing any of my idea's, I find it rather ignorant that you assume I'm looking for somebody do do all the work for me. Not only are you unaware of the idea's or whats required to make them succeed, but I never once mentioned that I was looking for _free_ help, just that I'm looking for somebody that I can trust and discuss my idea's with

You appear to be a new member (newer than myself even), but I'd take a look around and read more comments. HN is a great community and everybody's very supportive of one another. Instead of taking the first opportunity that presents itself to prove your arrogance, I suggest you take a deep breath and try to offer more constructive advice instead of attempting to ridicule and criticize for no reason.

Happy New Years :)

zephyrfalcon• 16 years ago

Harsh! I didn't read it like that at all:

- admits to "not being very good" -> modesty; I would much rather see this than someone who thinks they're a hotshot programmer;

- is into web programming, not for the money, but because he has an actual interest in it -> motivation;

- enjoys challenges and the thought process -> more positive qualities in a developer.

jacquesm2• 16 years ago

Since when is honesty under appreciated?

jacquesm2• 16 years ago

Hey there,

First of all, contrary to some of the other comments here I appreciate your candor and your ability to observe yourself and draw valid conclusions from it. I wished I was as honest about my capabilities or lack thereof, usually I find that I'm too close to the 'subject' to get any meaningful perspective.

That said, everything is skills in return for time invested.

So if you're not very good at it but you enjoy challenges and thought processes then maybe you have it in you to get significantly better than you currently are.

Being slow is likely because you bite off more than you can chew. I have a very young friend who is all of 10 years old that has dreams of a size that would take the Microsoft empire to fund and execute. It's charming, but it also was an endless source of disappointment for him that he felt that he could not make any meaningful progress towards his dreams. We had a few chats about it and in the end he decided to take significantly smaller steps, to learn how to walk before trying to run. Possibly there is a key to solving your getting discouraged in there somewhere, maybe set your sights just over what you already know you can do, achieve that, get the gratification that comes with achieving a goal and then move on the to the next level. Like that you make it manageable and fun again.

Finally, finding someone: You find people to work with because you do stuff that people want to get involved in. Go and build some cool stuff, write about it, talk about it, sooner or later you'll find someone that will want to work and play with you on the stuff that you both find interesting. This also tends to accelerate the learning significantly.

best of luck with this, by the way, where are you located ?

If you want to find people you might as well use this as your call out and including your own location might mean you find someone right here right now that lives proverbially 'next door' to you or that you can work with online. It also would help if you list your actual skills (platforms and tools) and what you are interested in.

greetings,

Jacques

hasenj• 16 years ago

To be honest I feel the same as you.

> I feel like there isn't much I can't do, or figure out, but most the time I'm just slow at it, which is where I run into trouble. I have lots of great ideas, but I tend to lose interest and give up after being discouraged when progress seems to be slowing.

I think everyone is like that in some way or another.

At least that's what I tell myself sometimes when I feel somewhat down.

And, to quote PG:

> The people I've met who do great work rarely think that they're doing great work. They generally feel that they're stupid and lazy, that their brain only works properly one day out of ten, and that it's only a matter of time until they're found out.

Perhaps because they are "perceivers"[0] on the Myers-Briggs scale.

[0] http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-bas...

aDemoUzer• 16 years ago

"give up after being discouraged when progress seems to be slowing." how are you measuring progress?

ZackOfAllTrades• 16 years ago

Do something hard that nobody else wants to do.

Get so far into the project that you get past the ugly parts and can start doing things nobody else is. Aim for critical mass in terms of learning ideas and skills.

When you are at the point where you no longer know how to explain it to somebody well from scratch, that's when you can start getting other people involved. It's impressive to watch a guy try to explain a project he obviously knows way too much about.

How do I find a partner?

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