Cyrus' World

When “Tare” is referring to weighing objects:

Tare weight is often accounted for in kitchen and analytical (scientific) weighing, which often include a button that resets the zero of the scale to a higher value, in order to measure only the content of a container without measuring the weight of the container itself.

- Wikipedia

I spent the last month road-tripping and couch surfing the east coast to “tare life.”  I needed to let go of my last job, many preconceived notions, and my assumptions with technology to find out where both the market and I stand.  Basically, re-set my 0.0.

I started in in DC then went to NYC, Richmond, Atlanta, then back up the through Greenville, Charlotte, Raleigh, DC to Pittsburgh.  There were a few points that are applicable to any person venturing out on their own:

1. In the world of consumer products there are very few clear “winners.”
2. Most consumers make decisions based on emotion, not on technical specifications.  Yes, features are important, but the best product doesn’t necessarily win.
3. People don’t retain a lot about any single brand; therefore, one brand can’t be everything to everyone.  A discrete position, vision and value proposition are necessary for both the company and the market.
4. If you want to be mass market, get out of the in-group chatter and talk to real people.  You’ll realize that the competition doesn’t own the market (see #1).
5. Whatever you decide to do - think about working on the project for 10 or 20 years.  If you think that you wouldn’t be interested in the long-term vision; you may want to consider another plan.

I don’t know if it was an understanding of my mortality or my hope for a legacy that started me thinking; nevertheless, in July of 2010 I resigned from my job to strike it out on my own.  My reasoning wasn’t wealth or power; rather, I wanted to make the greatest impact possible with the time I have.

I worked for a software start-up my brother founded. I was the first intern and subsequently hired with the first employees aka alpha team.  I grew up with the company in a way that only those who’ve been through a start-up understand.  I was learning everyday, had a stable paycheck, great friends in Washington DC, upside, etc, etc, etc.  It was a hard internal sell for me to give it up.  What I realized was the only thing I should be worried about giving up is time.  

When you have a fantastic life, the hardest part of making the change is realizing you can do better. 

After resigning, the fun stuff had to happen.  My life was a tad bit too expensive so I gave up my penthouse apartment, sold all my stuff and took my last month salary while I was living at friends.  All the “boats were burned” and I was ready for launch.

September 30th, 2010 was my last day at my job.  So, for the first time since my childhood summer breaks, on Monday Oct. 4th, I woke up “free.”