Ask HN: I'm 38 and I have just left my last startup. What should I do next?
I'm 38 and I have just left my last startup. What should I do next?
My experience is as follows:
- 3 years in my startup as founder/CTO. We were a team of 4 developers + sales. We delivered enterprise-grade SaaS for a few listed companies.
- 3 years as Staff+ Data Scientist in a large, very well funded proptech startup. I was the first data scientist, I built the team from scratch, and wrote the initial versions of real state valuation models, price indices, time-in-market models and also a natural language search engine for real state listings and broker visit routing.
- 3 years as data scientist and software developer at a software consultancy. I worked on a variety of projects, from C/Lua projects to introducing Elixir and SPA frameworks to clients. I also analyzed tons of cryptocurrency ICOs for an investor.
Prior to that, I was at the business side, and I worked for 2 years in management consultancy, 1 year in equity research and 3 years in venture capital.
I have a strong network and it’s easy to get interviews.
I can code in Python, Haskell, Elixir, Lua, Javascript, etc, I hold a MSc in Computer Science (formal methods) and a BSc in Economics (econometrics).
Despite you sharing your experience, you didn't really share much information about yourself or what you're passionate about except that maybe you might like music. Maybe it's time to dedicate some time to that part of yourself?
Oh I do that. But I mean… what kind of job I have a good chance at?
Just apply everywhere, the market is terrible and you will need to cast a wide net.
Some things you can try: Taking a break and volunteering locally or abroad. Traveling to explore nature and culture. Mentoring first-time founders. Improving open source projects on your domain etc.
If this submarine post goes any deeper ill need a dive suit
If you exited properly: whatever you want.
If you exited poorly: go back out and try again.
Poorly.
What kind of position can I aim at? What kind of companies are interested in failed founders with plenty experience otherwise?
> What kind of companies are interested in failed founders
Nobody really cares that your startup failed. Would you care if a dev with the necessary skills for the role had a failed startup at one point in their career?
I would drop "failed" from your vocabulary and change it to something like "we ran out of runway" if anyone even brings it up.
Join our startup
what are you building?