Founders at Work.pdf

James Hong 385
Hong: Yeah. I actually stopped using my dating service a long time ago as a way
to find my own dates, because everyone on there knows who Jim and I are, and
many of the ones who seek us out are crazy. I would often get random emails
from women sending me naked pictures and all sorts of weird stuff. A lot of
them want to date us because they have low self-esteem and they think dating
us will suddenly make them hot and cool. Crazy, psycho girls can be fun to date
for a while, but I’m a little older now and I’m looking for something a little
more serious.
The ironic thing is that from running HOT or NOT, I care less about looks
now. When I was a dork, I never really dated anyone who was hot. The models—
they weren’t going to date me. So you always aspire to it, they’re like the
untouchables. All of a sudden, HOT or NOT happened, and I was starting to
date all these attractive women. I got a taste of it and I realized that looks don’t
make up for a good personality. Many of these girls were annoying. They were
fun to hang out with, but I couldn’t have a conversation with them. I’m sure
there are smart and hot girls, but if you look at the hot ones first, it’s harder to
figure out if they are smart too. That takes time.
Livingston: Any other advice about startups?
Hong: One, do it while you’re young.
Two, there’s no right path. There is no one plan that fits every business; you
have to figure it out yourself. There is no magic formula.
Three, even if you raise money, spend it as if it’s your own and you have
none. Your organization has got to remain smart and lean. Be cheap. There’s no
shame in being cheap. I still fly coach.
Four, there’s no such thing as easy entrepreneurship. It’s going to be
painful, it’s going to be emotionally unstable, you’re going to feel insecure. If
you’re not already bipolar, you will feel like you are.
Livingston: How has your life had changed since HOT or NOT?
Hong: Money hasn’t changed anything—well, that’s not entirely true. I have a
Porsche and I have a nice apartment. But I’m living within the same means as if
I had gone the risk-averse route.
I don’t spend that much money because once you get used to spending
money, it’s very hard to get unused to. Happiness is reality compared to expectations.
If I have low expectations for material things in my life, then I’ll be
happy. If I get used to fancy meals all the time, not only will it ruin McDonald’s
for me, but even the fancy food would become normal, and then it’s not meaningful.
So I’ve been careful not to change my lifestyle too much.
I’m not in debt anymore, and I have financial freedom, but the first whatever
million is all you really need to get that. If you had the opportunity to cash
something out for x million, but you thought with some hard work you might be
able to make it worth more, for some people that’s the right decision to go for it;
but for other people, take that money, put it in the bank, and now you can do
whatever you want for the rest of your life. It depends how tied you are to that
one concept as being your legacy for your entire life.