Side Projects
topic on 3 shows · 6 statements across 3 episodes
the Y Combinator Startup Podcast 
Startups For the Rest of Us 
Top Founders
6 statements about Side Projects, every show
Helen Ryles builds side projects to see ideas exist, not scale
“I build side projects because I want to see my ideas exist, not necessarily because I want to run them like long term as particular businesses.”
Helen Ryles: Side project skills snowball to make idea validation easier
“The skills that you learn from one definitely snowball into the next one, and it gets easier to spot ideas and trends and patterns and pick up on ideas and collect evidence for a project that you think has a better chance of succeeding.”
Helen Ryles: Sell side projects while they still have growth potential
“I think a lot of people maybe leave a product until it's kind of fizzling out, and I would rather sell something while it has potential to become a bigger Bigger thing. So I tend to like sell my projects with even like a list of marketing ideas and a list of w…”
Bartram: Companies only look at side projects during initial resume screening
“So companies, Don't actually pay very much attention to side projects. Except for at the screening stage. So resume screen, you know, candidate applies to company, the company decides if they're going to interview the person at all. And there's some adverse se…”
Bartram: 80% of software engineers lack side projects to show
“The reason it's the right decision is that most engineers don't have side projects. Most engineers have been, have, you know, been working at a company, and it's all proprietary code, and there's very little they can show. That's, you know, eight out of 10 eng…”
Foo: Good grades in school matter less than building side projects
“Honestly, twenty-year, when I was 20, I was in school, and if there was any advice I could give myself, it was probably to try less, focus less on school itself, I think. Where I am today, the amount of work that I put into getting good grades hasn't really he…”