Thread by @ZackShapiro

In the past year or so I've found myself gravitating much more towards self-funding businesses I want to start rather than raising angel or VC money.

No it's not because I'm rich.

Yes I know it means you may have to go slower, depending on what the business requires to grow.

It feels like the right tradeoff to me to do some contract work while working on the business and when the time and trajectory of the new thing are right, back off the contract work and go full-time on the new thing

It's a great privilege to have - this skillset - that enables me or anyone in a similar position to do this. That's not lost on me at all, believe me.

I like what people like @hnshah, @marshal and @levelsio do and how they approach product and new business development.

@hnshah @marshal @levelsio When I'm honest, I have way more $20-50k a month or a year ideas in my notes than I do AirBnbs.

Sometimes I feel bad about that. A lot of days I feel like I'm not "enough."

side note: I've got a post to write called "Being 'enough' in Silicon Valley"

https://twitter.com/garybasin/status/1131954645168005123

@hnshah @marshal @levelsio Like, this shit isn't rocket science. And there is so much of an industry now around helping startups with money, advice, fear, praise, awards, etc.

That's fair.

As Omar would say, "all in the game, I suppose."

I just look at what *I* want and what I want my life and lifestyle to look like and make the call from there.

I look at companies like @panic making a new gameboy and get inspired. People like @pasql and @jcb making weird internet things and love it. They totally control their destinies.

I love that. I want that more than I want to get into YC or raise a seed round.

@panic @pasql @jcb That's all. Thanks for reading.

Go make some things on the internet and charge for it. Build the things you want to exist. No one's going to build your favorite thing.

Lin said it best:

https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/899997129212653568

@panic @pasql @jcb Last, last thought: I love how Wes Anderson makes movies with roughly the same set of people. I want to build companies like that. That's what I think I want the next phase of my career to look like.