Glenn Kelman: How to Get the Most Out of a Startup

[sudo]

I've been reading more about two things lately: startups and investing. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I've been coming to the slow realization that programming, while fun, makes up less than half of what it takes to be a successful software engineer. The thing is that professional "programmers," from what I've read, end up spending less than

Comments

Thanks for the great post!

[anonymous]

Hi there,
Thanks for your kind words about this presentation. I have no idea what I was thinking, explaining how to negotiate with two Redfin interns in the audience.

And to your point about developing business skills to complement your handiness with a computer, you have to believe that being able to build a beautiful product -- which involves big-brains coding, and heart, and guts -- isn't just one thing, it's really almost the only thing. Anyone who has all that should apply for a job at Redfin (glenn at redfin dot com)!

One note: I co-founded a software company, and I am the CEO of Redfin now, but I am not the founder of Redfin. The Great David Eraker got us started.

Thanks,
Glenn at Redfin

Re: Thanks for the great post!

[sudo]

Glenn: Thank you kindly for the inspiration and advice! It can get a tad depressing to listen to the horror stories of the politics and incompetence that my sister's husband has seen in companies, both larger and smaller. Hearing that very small companies like Redfin won't hesitate to fire people is actually a relief.

Also, I fixed the erroneous description of your role at Redfin. Cheers!