Would you go?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4654494

by agi • 14 years ago

1 13 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Will you leave your job to join an accelerator on the other side of the world without knowing what might happen or how big a failure it could be? (My friends are trying to persuade me not to go...)

Gilly_LDN• 14 years ago

Sounds like an EPIC adventure.

agi5• 14 years ago

I know... it's about PIPA, they are trying to do an environment similar to Ycombinator in Brazil

prunebeads2• 14 years ago

depends. What other side of the world would it be? How old are you? What will it cost you to move back if it fails? Do you have that contingency plan ready? Your career prospects after that experience will be impacted by how this experience will turn out, but overall I think it should be positive, because it shows you are ready to try new things, and you are not afraid to take some risks. However, you should talk about this with several HR people to understand exactly the consequences.

Your friends don't want you to go because of the bounds you have with them, obviously, but I'm sure they'll support you if you choose to go, but remember to keep thoose bounds alive, it's essential.

agi5• 14 years ago

OK, I suppose there's no harm in sharing... and thanks for the response, so

Rio De Janeiro, 22, the $2000 that I have to pay off to my current company, the contingency plan would be just to find another job in IT...

so I'm pretty sure I should go, I just don't know why I feel so bad about leaving my current company and my project but I know that I may never have another chance like this.

prunebeads2• 14 years ago

Well, You're still young, that's a plus. You mention your project (in your company I assume), which seems to mean quite a bit for you. Besides leaving your friends, that's another point worth considering. Is this project close to completion?

Quite honestly, you're the only one really able to answer your question. If you don't have much to loose, and a lot to gain, you should go for it. Being young means that you can afford to lose a bit of time in that sort of experiment, and that you probably didn't invest a lot in settling where you are. At some point later in your life, unless you are really successful (or if your job allows it), the world will expect you to settle somewhere, because it gets harder and harder to do it as one get older (think savings, relationships, building a family).

kentonfrank3• 14 years ago

work out if you trust them, work out what is the worst that could happen (i.e. ending up sleeping on friends floors back home if it all goes wrong) - if that is acceptable then go

Your friends can always visit

“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: ‘It’s gonna go wrong.’ Or ‘She’s going to hurt me.’ Or ‘I had a couple of bad love affairs so therefore …’

“Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.” Ray Bradbury (Note: do not try with actual cliffs!)

agi5• 14 years ago

Yes, I totally agree!! Especially with the last quote. It's just that my boss is also trying to make me believe that it's stupid to go and it won't work... but I won't let him change my mind. However when he asked me why do you want to go, I said: - Cause I like the idea, I want to try and I'm sure I'll learn a lot on the way. How can this not be enough?

kentonfrank3• 14 years ago

Your boss however good his intentions is bound to be thinking also about his organisation without you so you have to factor that in - why not ask him for a year long sabbatical and also work out a way that you can possibly still be there to answer questions if they get stuck in your absence. If the company that you are with are this worried about you going then it is probably time they faced up to not building a business around one person and also you can help them transition to to time without you there

kentonfrank3• 14 years ago

- this is the beginning of the experience - enjoy!

andrewcooke2• 14 years ago

my partner is chilean. i moved to chile (i'm not assuming this is startup chile, just giving my story) when she got a job here (many years ago). i found a job when i arrived (actually, not such a great job, it turned out, but i survived).

that wasn't to join an accelerator, and it was moving with someone, but it wasn't so hard. moving to another country is both easier and harder than you might think. it's easier in that really, it's just not hard. i mean, you just do it. like falling off a log. it's harder in that, over the much longer timescale, living in a different culture affects different people in different ways.

but the only way you can find out is to do it.

what i am trying to say is that i would not let worrying about the NEW things put me off. it's not too hard / if it is too hard you can do something else.

BUT i would still worry about the OLD things - what you might be losing. for example, would you be leaving a partner or, say, ill family behind? that's the kind of thing you can see and understand now, and decide on.

so i would think about what i would be losing. those are known things. if you're not losing much, then go for it. the new can't be predicted and there's no real reason to think it will be bad...

ps i have always been careful financially (and lucky in coming from a middle class background), so have always had savings to fall back on. i guess that is something i simply assume; ymmv there.

agi5• 14 years ago

Thanks for sharing Andrew! I like one of Steve Job's quotes about this: 'Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose'. I also agree with you that what we have now are the only things that we might lose when something changes... so I'm glad that my family is ok, as far as the money side - I'm also a middle class person in a country that is known not to pay much to it's people, so I'm glad that I can try my luck somewhere else and I hope it works out for the best!

andrewcooke2• 14 years ago

good luck :o)

Would you go?

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