Ep 003: Programming Since the Age of 2 w/ Rob Kaufman

Startup Life Hacks | Business and Life Advice | Founders | Entrepreneurship

Rob Kaufman has been programming since the age of 2, and hasn’t stopped since. He’s dedicated to helping businesses make the products they dream of into reality, and to learning and sharing as much about business and software as possible. Most recently, he’s been focused on sharing that knowledge with as many people as he can through Learn, the San Diego developer’s boot camp.

WORST MOMENT

In the consulting side of the business, keeping some clients that you know you should have let go. I’ve always had a hard time letting go of projects. In startups, in particular, you have to let go of your failures. In consulting, it’s being able to let go of clients.

HUGE SUCCESS

My goal in high school was to start my own company by the age of thirty. I was able to start Notch8 at the age of 26, much earlier than what I had anticipated.

Superpower

Taking an idea and forming it into concrete actions.

Kryptonite

I get overloaded with meetings, I’m an introvert by nature. As my people interactions increase everyday and the number of people that I’m dealing with go up, trying to keep that sanity and the time to actually create things is tricky for me.

IF YOU CAN HAVE ANY SUPERPOWER…

Being invisible.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE OR APP

Downcast: A very cool podcatcher for iOS and Mac.

RECOMMENDED BOOK

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

ADVICE TO HACKER NATION

Always take the time to do the paperwork, planning, keeping your books up, understanding your finances. Those things get shuffled out of the way when the going gets tough and things get busy. The more you let that stuff slide, the more out of control you feel. And the more out of control you feel, the more stressed you are and then the more stuff slides. And it can be a really bad spiral.

Action Step

Find a mentor and take them out to lunch

FOLLOW

• Twitter
• Github
• Notch8.com