Top all-time · #46
Mark Suster
Personal blog · bothsidesofthetable.comstartupsbusiness
Mark Suster's personal blog at bothsidesofthetable.com covers startups and business. Since 2009, 562 different Hacker News readers have linked it 1,094 times, most often “Is it Time for You to Earn or to Learn?”. No feed was found, so read it on the site itself.
Sometimes recommended · 11 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Suster's blog for practical startup advice on co-founders, hiring, fundraising and B2B customer types, and for his posts on ADHD and on learning before earning.
- Recommended for · 11 comments
- Called "great", "well worth reading" and a "favorite"; one commenter says a post "resonated so deeply" with them.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- Is it Time for You to Earn or to Learn?18 people · 19 mentions · first linked 2009-11-05
- Mark Suster's Blog Gets Hacked14 people · 15 mentions · first linked 2010-06-17
- The Co-Founder Mythology10 people · 11 mentions · first linked 2011-05-10
- Want to Know Difference Between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2011-11-28
- Invest in Lines, not Dots8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2010-11-16
- Most Startups Should be Deer Hunters7 people · 9 mentions · first linked 2009-09-17
- What Most People Don't Understand About How Startup Companies Are Valued7 people · 7 mentions · first linked 2016-02-14
- What Makes an Entrepreneur? Four Letters: JFDI6 people · 9 mentions · first linked 2009-11-19
- Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2011-12-27
- Is VC Still a Thing?5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2019-02-07
What Hacker News says?
> There's a really enlightening blog post that goes through all the numbers (maybe someone can find it again for me) ... Perhaps this blog post with slides at the end by Mark Suster? https://bothsidesofthetable.com/how-to-build-a-startup-under...
Comment linking /how-to-build-a-startup-understanding-venture-capital-54ba55abf1e6
on “Startup idea checklist”Submitted Entrepreneurshit as a story · 381 points
HN discussionI think they are encouraged to in later rounds by some VCs: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/should-founders-be-allowed-t...
Comment linking /should-founders-be-allowed-to-take-money-off-the-table-16f3a5e6b345
on “Founder to CEO: How to build a great company from the ground up”Submitted Never Negotiate Piecemeal. Here’s Why as a story · 334 points
HN discussionhttps://bothsidesofthetable.com/most-startups-should-be-deer... 2009 post, but still one of my favorite distillations of the issues around b2b customer types. Particular impactful if you read it when you end up going above and beyond with support, feature development, and contract negotiations with both rabbits and whales and you're running out of money.
Comment linking /most-startups-should-be-deer-hunters-7fdecf58f4f6
on “Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers”Submitted Bad Notes on Venture Capital as a story · 223 points
HN discussionI can't help bit feel vindicated by moves like this because they're a sign that Quora isn't the Next Big Thing that many inside the bubble that is Silicon Valley seemed to think it is (eg [1]). Actually Quora is better than that (for me) in that it's a double hit on the hype on both Q&A and social. These kinds of moves: - requiring login to view content; - partially obscuring content on Google results to maximize si…
Comment linking /2010/08/23/the-power-of-quora-why-benchmark-was-right-to-pay-up/
on “This is a bit f'd, Quora”Submitted We Need to Have Sympathy for Those With Depression. It is an Illness as a story · 200 points
HN discussionI adamantly disagree. The problem is explained in... Design for the Novice, Configure for the Pro https://bothsidesofthetable.com/design-for-the-novice-config...
Comment linking /design-for-the-novice-configure-for-the-pro-b259c6b4662a
on “OBS – Open Broadcaster Software”Submitted Mark Cuban on Why You Need to Study Artificial Intelligence as a story · 191 points
HN discussionThe term was popularized most recently by Mark Suster: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/10/25/choose-your-vc... -- One of the terms we coined there was a “seagull.” We used it to describe certain of our partners (e.g. the owners of Andersen Consulting). Seagulls were the partners who didn’t spend much actual time on your project. They were smart and accomplished. They knew enough about your project to have an…
Comment linking /2009/10/25/choose-your-vc-investor-carefully/
on “#define CTO”Submitted Why You Don’t Want to Give Financial Information to All of Your Investors as a story · 154 points
HN discussionfollow up articles: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2012/09/22/is-going-for-r... Any others?
Comment linking /2012/09/22/is-going-for-rapid-growth-always-good-arent-startups-so-much-more/
on “Startup = Growth”Submitted Why charging $12/year converts higher than $9.99 as a story · 154 points
HN discussionGreat question! It is common for investors to take their pro-rata rights in later rounds. Overview of prorata I found from a quick google search: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/what-all-entrepreneurs-need-...
Comment linking /what-all-entrepreneurs-need-to-know-about-prorata-rights-e5883fd21f80
on “GitLab Master Plan”Submitted Always Go Home with the Lady Who Brought you to the Dance as a story · 147 points
HN discussionSimilar: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/09/16/most-startups-...
Comment linking /2009/09/16/most-startups-should-be-deer-hunters/
on “The day Steve Jobs dissed me hard”Submitted Why You Need to Ring the Freaking Cash Register as a story · 146 points
HN discussionThis may be of help: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/how-do-you-motivate-yourself...
Comment linking /how-do-you-motivate-yourself-and-stay-focused-70dcf5987ec0
on “Ask HN: I don't want to be a founder anymore”Submitted Don’t Try To “Pull An Instagram.” Here’s Why … as a story · 146 points
HN discussionRead up a bit on ADHD. That 'hyperfocus' that occurs either with deadlines or on a passion project is a symptom, as is the inability to get excited about projects you simply don't want to do - especially given your otherwise positive reviews and your ability to clear your mind and hyperfocus near a deadline, it's something to consider. I was diagnosed at 33, and it changed my life infinitely for the better. YMMV, an…
Comment linking /developing-an-action-plan-for-high-performance-with-add-80e33126840c
on “Ask HN: Feeling guilty for doing the bare minimum at work”Submitted The Scarcest Resource at Startups is Management Bandwidth as a story · 140 points
HN discussionYou might find Mark Suster's opinions helpful. The podcast of his Stanford talk(s?) are also pretty good. http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder...
Comment linking /2011/05/09/the-co-founder-mythology/
on “Startup lessons”Submitted What Does the Post Crash VC Market Look Like? as a story · 132 points
HN discussionThe 2009 post by Mark Sussman, "Is it Time for You to Earn or Learn?" comes to mind (I think it was recently reposted to HN) [1] http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/11/04/is-it-time-for...
Comment linking /2009/11/04/is-it-time-for-you-to-earn-or-to-learn/
on “Benefits matter, or why I won't work for your Y Combinator startup”Submitted Is it Time for You to Earn or to Learn? as a story · 131 points
HN discussionMark Suster agrees that you don't need the 'typical' co-founder split. Here's his take: http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder...
Comment linking /2011/05/09/the-co-founder-mythology/
on “You can do it alone”Submitted The Co-Founder Mythology as a story · 130 points
HN discussionWe haven't made any money at Fogbeam Labs[0] yet. I could talk a lot about the reasons why, and why I'm still crazy optimistic, but it might take a while to write it all up. Maybe I'll do a blog post one day. I think it's all too long for an HN comment. That said, I can try to distill out a few key points: (in no particular order ) 1. Doing this as a "side project" while the founders still work day jobs. I think doi…
Comment linking /most-startups-should-be-deer-hunters-7fdecf58f4f6?gi=e6ce05a92130
on “Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?”Submitted It's Better to Beg for Forgiveness than to Ask for Permission as a story · 130 points
HN discussion
