Quantum Time

Leaving for Las Vegas

“We should go to Vegas!”

That’s probably how most crazy weekends in Las Vegas start. These five words have launched plenty of adventures and binders full of… stories, some of which may be best left untold. But what happens in Vegas Tech will hopefully not just stay in Vegas. Last week my friend Bowei and I spent a wild 48 hours in what’s commonly known as Sin City, but which lots of people are working hard to remake into the new Las Vegas Downtown Project.

Huge Idea

Founders are crazy, we come up with some ridiculous stuff and 99% of the time it’s just stupid, insane, pie-in-the-sky stuff that will never work and no one’s ready for - or worse, no one needs. If you were going to go big, what would you build? A mobile app? A 5-person startup? A 50 person company? How about a whole city? Lots of adjectives were thrown around to describe what’s going on with Downtown Project, and the one I kept coming back to was audacious. Not awesome, which it is, or insane (also applies) but simply audacious. Why *not* try to build a whole new downtown? Why not revitalize a whole neighborhood, in one of the hardest hit areas of the United States? And why not make it a tech hub for startups while you’re at it?

Huge Investment

We were fortunate to get tours of Zappos and Downtown Project on the Thursday we landed. If you’ve heard anything about Zappos and their zany culture, the tour will be what you’d expect. The surprising part for me was that it was real. People were really that happy. And I couldn’t believe they could keep it up all day, every day. But that’s just a result of the well-defined and strictly enforced hiring process and letting the right kinds of people self-select to join the company. Similarly, the Downtown Project is going to attract a certain type of personality and the success or failure of the project will depend on those people who join. It will also strongly depend on the type of people who don’t move to Downtown. Everyone knows that Tony has put $350 million of his own money into this idea. They’ve split it up into 5 areas of investment: 

$100M for residential development since existing infrastructure is quite old and not suitable for high-density housing. 

$100M for real estate acquisitions - much of the land around the main strips are casinos and small businesses, and empty parking lots. 

$50M for tech startups - with investments made via the Vegas Tech Fund. About 10 startups have already been funded with many more evaluated each week.

$50M for education - building charter schools and attracting teachers for the children of Zappos employees and future startup folks and their families.

$50M for small business - creating and supporting the local services and community for the new residents to coming to Downtown.

Huge Uncertainty

I’m still highly skeptical of all these different parts coming together, especially with their aggressive 5 year timeline. Logically it would take 10 or 20 years to make the sort of changes and improvements these folks are trying to do. But it’s a startup, so move fast (no, faster) and make mistakes. Then keep pushing forward. These are still the early days, and there’s lots to be figured out. I can list a dozen things that would never work, and a dozen more things that would need to be done to make it work. Same can be said of any startup. And just like every startup and founder I talk to, I hope they pull it off!

So is Vegas for you? Should you consider moving your startup to the Downtown Project? As a recruiter I look at it the same way as if one of my candidates is considering joining a particular startup. If you believe in the Founder’s vision, you like the people you’ll be working with, and you can make significant contributions - then go for it. Like any other startup, the earliest people will reap the largest rewards since they are taking the biggest risk, personally, professionally, etc. 

The only way to make that decision is to go for a visit yourself. The people are super friendly, the “crash pads” at the Ogden are a misnomer because it was like staying in a luxury hotel, and you’re bound to run into some interesting people. It was strange to spend two days in Las Vegas and not step foot on The Strip. Everyone thinks they know Las Vegas, but we got to see a whole other side to the City of Sin. It might very well be the new Land of Opportunity for those intrepid enough to take the trip.

Many thanks to Andy from Vegas Tech Fund and Tony and the Zappos family for hosting us and showing us an awesome time in Vegas (but not in that way).

Cheers,

Hong

Go fetch and stop working like a dog.

I just got back from vacation in NYC last week and it was the longest I went without turning on my laptop, or replying to email in years. Sure, I came back to a ton of emails, and it’s taken about a week to catch up. But I had a few days to think about bigger picture stuff (cofounders, startups, family, balance, results, success) and I made one big change earlier this week.

Changing my mobile mail client from Push to Fetch.

Simple right? Well, now I can get more work done, in longer stretches without the constant ‘ding’ and interruption that is my inbox, or rather, inboxes - I have 6 active email accounts I use daily. Now I only get new emails when I’m done with my task before I move on to the next item on my list. I’m not yet sure if I’m more productive, but I am certainly less anxious and don’t feel as rushed. Email used to be a (terrible) game of super-responsiveness, and replies were not always sent with as much thought and care as I would have liked.

I know what you’re thinking, “There’s no way that would work for me!”

Because you’re busy. And important. You’re a Founder damnit! You’ve got responsibilities! You’ve got customers to take care of, investors to report to, lots of work work work to do. Which reminds me of a quote I had on my wall in college:

Unless it’s fatal, it’s no big deal.

I was pre-med and this was a bit of medical humor. We were just studying to be doctors and it was helpful to remember that we didn’t have patients lives in our hands (yet) and even then, nothing is really that critical unless it’s life or death. And rarely is any email that important.

It’s easy to get caught up in the busy work of startup life. But sometimes you’ve gotta stop and remember why you’re doing this in the first place. I’m still trying to figure it out, but I hope a quieter phone is one way to a quieter mind.

Cheers,

Hong

When someone accepts a job offer, our team is like

runningastartup:

I’m always dancing. 

“Has anyone in this startup even seen a chicken?”

Cheers,

Hong

On Time and Money.

I’m not some enlightened philosopher or ‘visionary thought-leader’. I’m just a guy who likes to think about things, simply. I think a lot about why people work. Mostly about why I work. But it’s my job, I’m a Recruiter. I waste a lot of time on Twitter, something I justify as ‘doing my job’ - but my wife doesn’t believe me. I saw this tweet from Hunter Walk and I had to chime in. He said:

“Many people value their money more than their time when it should be the reverse.”

I replied with something like, “It’s not that simple.” and “Usually people with money can say that.” I wasn’t trying to be a jerk but having seen it from both sides, it’s really a tough problem. Rich people buy time with money, and poor people spend their time to make money. If you have a job, you’re giving your time for someone else’s money. So basically we have two types of people, and yes, one person can move back and forth between both categories depending on the amount of time or money in question.

1) More money than time.

Usually if you make more than a certain amount, say $75k a year (which is barely middle class in Silicon Valley), it makes sense for you to pay for certain services like house cleaning, or car washes. Even buying lunch is a small luxury since it’s almost always cheaper to pack a sandwich and brown bag it. But at some threshold or break point, your time is worth more than your money, so you’ll gladly pay other people to do your dirty work. Like cutting the grass or cleaning your toilets. This is why startups like TaskRabbit, Zaarly and Exec exist. Rich people are willing to pay pretty well (like $25/hr which is equivalent to a salary of ~$50k a year at 40/hrs week) to have people do tasks and run errands for them.

2) More time than money.

On the other side of the transaction are the Execs, Rabbits or runners who are willing to do the grunt work for $15 to $20/hr - after the startups take their cut of course - and go pick up your dry cleaning, walk your dog or do other menial tasks that the Rich can’t be bothered with. The logic goes, why send a Programmer to do a Costco run when they’re being paid $150k a year! Obvious right? (btw, Costco delivers) And everyone’s happy right?

Well not so fast. This class-dynamic has always been around and will likely last well into the future. People get paid to do a job. The more valuable the work output, the more you get paid. The startups creating these marketplaces are saying they’re creating jobs for the unemployed, under-employed and stay-at-home Moms. But are people really doing these tasks as their first choice job? Not likely. This Great Recession has created an environment where people are taking on additional work - or even any kind of work - to make ends meet, pay rent or even be able to afford to eat.

Why do I think this? Let’s go back to 2002. The first dotcom boom had gone bust the prior year. I was paying ridiculous San Francisco rents and a $500 car payment and burning through my savings at a frightening pace. As a “business guy” in the startup world, I wasn’t worth anything and there were no jobs to be found. So when my friend called about a job opening, I took it. Working at the mall. Not one of those fancy floor jobs like the good-looking folks get, I was in the back, opening boxes. As a stock-boy, I was paid $15/hr and I was glad to have the job so I didn’t have to a) starve b) default on my loans and c) leave the Bay Area like everyone else. This was less than I made at my first job, with my fancy Ivy League degree (with a minor in box-cutting).

Now, 10 years later I charge ten times as much, though essentially I’m still the same person. The economy’s changed some, but startup recruiting is in high demand amidst this second talent war. And so I find myself on the other side, where I barely have time to sleep, I’m working as much as humanly possible and finding that my mid-thirties are not as productive as my mid-twenties. Now I need 6 hours of sleep a night when I use to work fine on four. ;)

But I don’t use TaskRabbit or Exec. I still wash my own clothes and do my own yard work. My job title when I’m home is Garbage Man and Dishwasher (most nights, sorry Honey!). I grew up in a poor immigrant family on welfare in Brooklyn in the 80’s, so maybe I have a different perspective. I still believe in an honest day’s work, and sometimes that means having a little ache in your back, a little soreness in your arms and a good night’s sleep from a job well done.

So why don’t ‘those people’ just do more valuable work you ask? That’s not so simple, and beyond my powers of explanation. How one’s time is valued by society, i.e. how much you make in your job, affects your views on time and money. It’s a very practical and logical mindset. Some call it the Poverty Mindset, and those get-rich-quick guys will tell you that’s what’s holding back your Inner Millionaire! There’s also the concept of Decision Fatigue, which may affect the poor more than their well-off brethren. When you’re worried about putting food on the table for your children, you don’t have the luxury of valuing your time more than your money. You’ve gotta use your time to make money, to keep the things that are most important, alive.

Cheers,
Hong

Bonus: Sometimes when you have more time than money, you get wonderful creations like this.

Building out @Bonobos West

I love working with very early stage startups. Having been at various sized companies - from 2 to 60,000 - I’ve always been happiest when the teams are smaller. I’ve built Quantum Startups by focusing on the 2-20 employee sized startups, and it’s been going very well.

Late last year I got an email from a great friend and Adviser looking for a recruiter for her current startup. I’ve always wanted to work with her, so I humbly suggested myself for the role. I’ve been working at Skybox Imaging for 6 weeks now and things are going very well. The company has grown from ~55 to ~60 and the recruiting machine is starting to run very well. 

A few weeks ago I got another email from a good friend and Client, asking if she could introduce me to the CTO of Bonobos. I said I’d be happy to talk to him, but I prefer earlier/smaller stage startups and my network in NYC has gotten much smaller since I left over a decade ago.

After meeting with Mike and Neil, I’m happy to say Bonobos is my latest Client. The Founder, Andy Dunn has a pretty great story too. 

But why Bonobos? Because pants. And…

1) I like working with my friends.

That’s probably the biggest benefit of being independant and being lucky enough to be in demand. I have to say no a lot (which sucks) but I also get to work with really smart and talented people, who I also get to call my friends. All the great Engineers, Developers and Designers out there know exactly how this feels. When given multiple options (offers), people tend to choose working with people they genuinely like. And getting a strong intro from someone I trust counts for a lot.

2) I like building teams from scratch.

Bonobos is a very well established startup, with ~70 people in their NYC headquarters. But Mike was hired from Netflix as their new CTO and they’re building out a team in Palo Alto from the ground up. Right now it’s just two guys! There are a ton of positions open and we get to hand-select a team from the best talent ecosystem for startups in the whole world (sorry NYC, I still love ya!).

3) I love Startups that people love. 

Love is a strong word, and Robin Chase summed it up best yesterday at Women 2.0 Pitch (see my post below). I’m getting a bit tired of all these Entrepreneurs saying they are so “passionate”, and are going to “change the world” with yet another social-mobile-local-game-photo-sharing app. The reality is that you’re not. But that’s okay. We should build products and companies that people will love. If you’ve been able to find great fitting clothes off-the-rack, then lucky you. But Bonobos customers love them. They honestly do! That’s definitely something I can get behind.

Cheers,

Hong

Recruiting Jeremy Lin.

Last month I wrote Ballers Battle to Breakout. Some folks really liked it, but others didn’t. That’s fine, I don’t pretend to be a professional writer. But I want to reiterate my point, and Jeremy Lin is a great example of what I’m talking about.

By now you know the back-story. Paly High, passed over by his dream team and had to settle for Harvard (oh the irony). Undrafted into the Bigs for whatever reasons upon graduation (Econ degree, no big deal). Picked up and cut by a few NBA teams until he landed with the Knicks. Then a few un/fortunate events got him some playing time. And the Linsanity began.

How does this apply to startups?

1) Stop trying to poach the Kobe’s of the Valley from each other.

They probably don’t want to play on your team and may not be the best fit anyway. Find your own players, give them a chance to shine and maybe you’ll get lucky. As far as compensation, how much does Kobe get paid per game versus Lin per season? If you’re a small startup, you can’t afford the Startup Stars under your salary-cap anyway.

2) A great player makes everyone else better.

Arguably Lin may not have as much natural talent or physical ability as other Pros. But the kid’s got spark. Teams play better when everyone’s working together and having fun. Team chemistry is rarely talked about, and even harder to create, but it can be magical when it happens. Look at Jared Jeffries’ and Steve Novak’s numbers in the last few games. And you don’t think Landry and Iman are having an awesome time in their sophomore and rookie years?

3) Everyone wants to be a winner.

I’m a life-long Knicks fan (and long-suffering at that) but I’m happy to move over and make some room for the newest fans on the Knicks (band)wagon. When things are clicking for you, you’ll gain fast fans. Keep it up and you could be legend. Recruiting will be easier if your employment brand is strong. But be wary of fickle fans because there’s always a drop following a big climb on the startup roller-coaster. And don’t forget about the folks who supported you before you became famous. Early employees shouldn’t be shafted with the lowest salaries, as holdovers from the early days. The core team is your family and always will be. Take care of them first.

I hope the Linsanity continues for a 5th game, but I’ll be wearing my blue-and-orange no matter what.

Cheers,

Hong