Ask El Diablo

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
el diablo,

knowing what you know about me. if there was one piece of advice that you would like to see me follow. what would it be?

[/ QUOTE ]

If his answer isn't "Start an MSPaint cartoon blog and update frequently," his advice is bad.

[kickpushcoast]

ty El D, also, ive been told that in SF, like NY, there's really no need for a car, and it can actually be a hinderance at times. is there any social stigma with not having one? basically can you still get hot chicks if you have a good job, and a nice place, but no car?

[kitaristi0]

El D,

When drinking soda or beer out of a can, do you prefer a lid with a rounded handle and larger hole for quicker mass consumption (like most Coke products or Coors) or a square handle with a smaller hole for more of a short sipping action (like most Pepsi products or Budweiser)?

[tdarko]

El D- How did you become a member of the 2p2 community? You're an original and I assume were posting before the 9/2/02 registered date, maybe not, I don't really know. I am wondering how you found out about this place, who you knew that knew this place or was it books that led you here? I always figured it was someone and not something.

[DJ Sensei]

el. d:

where can one find the best sushi in san francisco?

let me know if you would like to go get some sometime, i have recently been developing my sushi palate.

[El Diablo]

t: I had played poker w/ the guys (random games) a few times since college, but pretty much not played at all. Then I was between companies and looking for stuff to do around 2002 and a friend suggested we go to a cardroom. I searched online for some poker strategy and found Abdul Jalib's guidelines for hold'em. I used that as my guide for a couple of sessions, then decided I wanted to learn some more, so I did some searching and came across 2+2 where I started posting some 3-6 hands. That was sometime in early 2002.

dj: Check out the sushi thread!

kit: I don't drink sodas, but think Coke soda cans are great. In general, I am not a big can fan and vastly prefer bottles.

kick: In NYC most people I know don't have a car. In SF, either way, definitely not a problem to not have one.

Anthony: The more I learn about politics, the less I am interested, but it's definitely interesting and something I might get into. Friends who have gotten involved give me less than stellar reviews about the process. Just based on how much they work and bill, sure, associates earn that money. I've generally been underwhelmed by associates and very pleased with partners I've worked with. I order scotch neat. At places I know, I'll ask them for a couple drops of water. Normally, I'll just do it myself if I want water though. I don't care about baseball.

King: Haven't heard of him, I'll give him a listen.

[censored]: Not let dimwits get you angry.

[cliff]

To hit 2-3 of your suggested topics...

Should those beginning startup companies avoid venture capital, or are there situations where it works out well for everyone?

My own experience has been that venture capital is a bargain with the devil, which leads most often to the rank and file employees getting screwed when they realize how much equity the investors hold (and how diluted their own options are), and eventually the founders getting forced out of the company by the board. Even when venture funded companies succeed, it appears that very often the venture sources are the only real winners (particularly if it takes longer then expected to get sold/ IPO).

On the other hand, it seems like a lot of successful companies start with a lower ambition vehicle to get money flowing while they roll out their big ideas without seeking outside money. My experience is with chip design, however, perhaps the model is different in software/internet startups?

Overall, just curious about your thoughts on this (the risks of seeking venture funds when starting a company). It seems to me that the latter approach is preferable to both the founders and the employees, but again this may be more true in a hardware related area (or I could be wrong).

thanks,
Mike

[El Diablo]

cliff,

I'll post some thoughts re: VC/investment and when it makes sense to go that route in nolan's Starting a Business thread. I definitely think it can go both ways depending on the needs of the business.

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you think first-year associates deserve the salaries they command in major metropolitan markets (aprox $150k/yr at top NY law firm)?

[/ QUOTE ]

Give me a day to check on this, but I think that number just went up to $165K.

[iron81]

Starting salaries for associates in New York just went up to $160k. Link