Readit Newslynnetye commented on New Zealand Declares State of Emergency [video] bloomberg.com/news/videos... · Posted by u/partingshots
I live in SF but was in New Zealand just 9 days ago. At the time, there were 6 confirmed cases and NZ had already put in place a 14-day self-isolation policy for travelers. Seeing how things _could_ be handled (and watching the U.S. from afar) made it extremely difficult to "go back home." I felt so much safer there. W/ all of that said, I'm actually surprised Arden didn't lock things down sooner.
Wow, these are fantastic insights that almost exactly match the language that was used during the announcement at our company. They were planning on a raise in the next few months and this hit them pretty hard. I don't blame them for for the steps they've taken as, frankly, it's the only thing that makes financial sense.
Thanks again for this comment, and I'll absolutely be subscribing to your newsletter.
No worries! I'm sorry to hear you were laid off, but am glad you aren't taking it personally and understand the reasoning behind what was certainly a difficult and painful decision. There's a lot of uncertainty right now –– for everyone –– but I think people who are resourceful, stay positive, and take initiative (like posting this on HN to generate discussion) are gonna be A-okay.
Btw, I don't know your email, but feel free to reply to my next newsletter (goes out on Thursdays) if you have specific questions or feedback on how I can be more helpful. I sometimes feel powerless because I don't know what I can do to help during these trying times –– I'm not a healthcare professional, I'm not rich, I'm not a political leader, I'm not famous –– but I can at least (a) connect individuals and companies who can help each other, and (b) do my part to inform anyone I know about COVID-19, the job market, and/or what I'm doing/thinking. It's not a lot, but hey, it's at least a start!
I'm the founder of Key Values, which helps software engineers find teams that share their values. Not only do I live in the Bay Area and have many founder friends, but it is also my full-time job to connect tech startups that are hiring w/ devs looking for new roles, so I think I have a good view on this.
I'm still gathering information on how coronavirus is impacting the job market, but what I know now is that many companies have laid team members off in the last week, and I suspect many more will soon. Most early-stage startups that did not recently fundraise and do not yet have significant revenue will struggle during this pandemic. If they were planning to fundraise this summer, fall, or winter, their investors and advisors have already told them start cutting costs in order to survive. Hence, a rise in layoffs.
More stable startups may have slowed their hiring efforts (i.e. "we planned to hire 40 engineers by 2021, but after adjusting our budget, we're now looking to hire ~20"), but they've also explicitly told me that filling certain roles are more urgent than ever.
While this all sounds bleak, some companies will endure, and a smaller number will actually thrive during these times.
Several folks who have recently been laid off have reached out to me. I know that getting laid off can give you the impression that every company is laying people off, but it isn't true. Companies who need to hire in order to keep up w/ unprecedented demand are ramping up and are excited to capture talented folks who were recently let go. So stay positive, put yourself out there, and keep looking!
I'm currently reaching out to all of the companies I work w/ in order to stay on top of their hiring plans, and I hope to message what I learn in my upcoming newsletters. It is the easiest way for me to keep folks up to date on what I'm seeing, and I absolutely will not take offense if people unsubscribe. Key Values: https://www.keyvalues.com
lynnetye commented on A 70-year-old's secret to a full and happy life keyvalues.com/blog/a-70yo... · Posted by u/lynnetye
Weirdly enough, I was having a chat with my mom about this sort of thing last night (she's 69, not 70, so I'm not sure she's old enough for her opinion to count, yet). Both of us were chatting about our tendency to be solitary and only see family and a couple of core friends. Past that, we'll hide away in books and study for days and not notice, perfectly happy but when we have to come out of our houses we are out of sorts with the world and it scares us a little that we are so very happy in this hermit way. We have to force ourselves to be social, which is supposed to be the key to long life and happiness - and we try, but it comes so foreign to some. I have to wonder if these 'keys to happiness' are as universal as advertised.
And for the record - we both are social, but it isn't our natural state =)
If socializing feels uncomfortable at first, but rewarding after, then it sounds like it's a good thing to "force" yourself to do. But if you're doing it just because you think you're supposed to and it actually isn't enjoyable, then maybe you can rethink what "being social" means. Or rather, rethink how you practice it. You don't have to leave your house in order to make friends, build relationships, or feel connected to other people! Invite people over. Or if you prefer 1-on-1 interactions, just invite one person over at a time.
My husband is super introverted and will always choose being alone over being in a big group of people. I'm the complete opposite. But we're both still social animals. We both get energized by camaraderie, interesting discussions/debates, and human connection – we just have different preferences for how we engage w/ and achieve those things.
lynnetye commented on A 70-year-old's secret to a full and happy life keyvalues.com/blog/a-70yo... · Posted by u/lynnetye
Does it? A lot of the people I know who've accomplished significant things did so not because they were happy, but because they tried harder than anyone else. They were not satisfied with the way things were and put a lot of effort into changing them. I myself didn't lose half my bodyweight because I was happy, quite the contrary, I hated --and still hate-- my body. That kind of motivation is incredibly helpful for overcoming the suffering required to accomplish big things.
Success will not make you happy, this my experience agrees with, but I'm equally sure that happiness will not make one successful.
I didn't read the book the OP quotes, but it rings true to me on many levels.
While happiness doesn't guarantee success, it sure has hell makes it easier to work hard!
The darkest year of my life was sophomore year in college. I wasn't doing well in my classes, so I dropped some hobbies to make more time to study. I got out of shape, gained weight, lost touch w/ my friends, put more pressure on myself to make all of these sacrifices "worth it," and welp – my grades never improved.
The next year, I fell in love w/ this boy.
After what most people call a downward spiral, I essentially fell straight into an upward spiral! Falling in love was (and still is)... inspiring. I got back into shape, rejoined all of the teams and activities I had quit, and also got straight A's in not four, not five, but all six of my classes (at MIT).
Being happy doesn't magically transport you to the finish line, but it certainly makes running the race more enjoyable. As the quote says, happiness is indeed fuel.
And lastly, I don't know if you're proud of yourself for losing so much weight, but you ought to be! When I get out of shape, my goal usually starts out as "I want to feel good in my body." But every time I start the process (and it happens frequently because I'm a bit of a yo-yo-er), I start to get really geeked by the progress. Progress is one of the only things that reliably and consistently makes me happy. (It's the best!!!)
lynnetye commented on A 70-year-old's secret to a full and happy life keyvalues.com/blog/a-70yo... · Posted by u/lynnetye
The author also did an episode of Indie Hackers [0] which is in my opinion the best episode of that podcast.
I wish her and Courtland would do a regular podcast together.
[0] https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/086-lynne-tye-of-key-va...
Aw shucks, thanks for saying so! :) And if by regular you mean once a year, your wish may very well come true...
In 2014, I was working at Homejoy (RIP), and started hanging out w/ this guy I sorta knew from college. We were reintroduced at Mission Cliffs, started climbing together ~5-6x a week, and talked a lot about startups since I was a newcomer who was just learning about the space. Oliver co-founded an analytics company (Sensor Tower) and eventually invited me over to visit their office which they were sharing w/ another analytics company started by two guys from college that I also kinda knew: Spenser and Curtis.
They were sharing an office in the same building as Dropbox (ooo fancy) and each had one, mayyybe two employees. At the time, they were both still figuring out how to increase their self-serve revenue in hopes of eventually selling to businesses. (Hilariously, I remember thinking how boring B2B SaaS businesses were compared to... on-demand home cleaning startups??!? Oh how young and naive I was back then, haha)
Anyway, fast forward seven years… Oliver and I got married, had a baby, and now Spenser and Curtis' “baby,” Amplitude, is all grown up! [insert crying emoji]
I cannot overstate how proud I am of them and happy for the success of Amplitude. Spenser is one of the hardest working and most down-to-earth CEOs I know, too, so this monumental milestone is beyond deserved. What’s more, Amplitude is one of my customers on Key Values, and I am also a very satisfied Amplitude user myself. I mean, these are the SV stories we all dream of (using each other’s products, being each other’s customers, and building a company that goes public!) and they're coming true, y'all!
The biggest congrats to Spenser, Curtis, and the rest of the Amplitude team! YOU DID IT!