What’s the #1 thing every founder needs to know?

I’ll give you a few minutes to make a list — top of mind might include sales, marketing, technology, product management (especially product-market fit), technical skills, fundraising, team building, leadership, management, finance, and planning/executing strategic growth and scaling.
Sure… but, sorry, none of that is the correct answer. Because, of course, you know that founders typically are expected to be jacks of all trades. So yes, to all of the above, but that’s not the secret sauce.
The #1 thing every founder needs to know is… themself.
Here’s the truth: founders start companies, and entrepreneurs build them. While not every entrepreneur is a founder (think franchise owners), every founder is an entrepreneur (at least initially).
If you’re like me, you are a forward-obsessed founder. That means where you are now is always building toward where you want to go. That person is always an entrepreneur. Once the company is started, you’ll do what it takes — including relinquishing control — to keep it growing.
Does that sting? We founders think of our companies as our babies, but statistics say we’re likely to be the ones kicked out of the nest. Also, research shows that in the US, only 14 out of the top selling 500 companies still have the original founder running the company. And the Harvard Business Review reports that most founders relinquish control long before their companies go public — and that four out of five are forced to step down as CEO.
It doesn’t have to be that way if you have one critical attribute: self-awareness. That way, you can decide as your company grows how you want to evolve your role in the overall day-to-day running of the company (i.e., learn, delegate, hire, move on). And ultimately, you can make better choices at critical growth junctures in your business progression.
So, to help you become more self-aware, it’s helpful to understand the different types of founders. Let’s dive in.

The Types of Founders

A couple of notes before we get into specifics:

• Much like any other classification, there are gray areas, so you (and many of the examples I share in this article) may fit into more than one category.
• Some traits are common to all founders, such as being open to innovation, passionate about their project, risk-takers, etc. But some founders excel or even over-index in certain attributes, so that’s what you’ll see in the different types.

The bottom line: knowing your strongest/weakest points is a critical piece of the self-awareness pie. That way, you can conduct your business in what I call the Green Zone — aka the Genius Zone, where you have both high passion and high competence — and make the best choices for you and your company.

1. The Solo Founder

Traits:

• Fiercely independent
• Self-assured
• Strong belief in their vision/idea
• Business strongly tied to skill set and experience
• Resilient (i.e., can withstand feelings of loneliness)

Benefits:

• Freedom
• Complete control
• Learn a lot

Pitfalls:

• Solo-founded companies statistically have a higher failure rate
• Harder to raise money/VCs are more reticent
• Health impacts: burnout, loneliness, etc.
• Attention is divided because you wear all the hats (marketing, sales, building your product, finances, fundraising, prospecting for new customers, etc.)
• Complete responsibility for all aspects of the business

Example: Sara Blakely, Spanx Founder
Ten years ago, in 2012, when she was just 38, Sara Blakely became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Her business, built on a significant industry gap (the lack of comfortable, effective shapewear) and her incredible sales hustle, also benefited greatly from Blakely’s abundant self-awareness. Here’s her advice to solo founders at a 2020 business conference:

“I tell people as soon as you can afford to hire your weaknesses, do it… As soon as I could afford to hire someone to do more of the operations side of the business, I did. As an entrepreneur, one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is to stay in your lane.”

In other words, know what your Green Zone is and play there.
If you’re like Blakely, it’s usually big ideas and sales ability (she could easily qualify as a Visionary Founder, too) or operations and execution (what Blakely realized she needed help with).
Pro tip: If you’re a solo founder, you’ll likely want to lean into an entrepreneurial framework like the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to help you define and settle into which side you skew toward.

2. The Visionary Founder (or Co-founders)

Traits:

• Driven by a big idea
• Disruptive — recognizes opportunities to upend traditional norms
• Focused and clear
• Persistent
• Natural salesperson
• Can see the big picture
• Collaborative (esp. In co-founder scenario)
• Motivated by the impact they have — more than $$ alone

Benefits:

• Passionate about their work
• Aren’t easily derailed — failures are expected, and mistakes are not made twice
• Inspired leadership

Pitfalls:

• So focused on the big picture that they may miss important details
• A visionary idea doesn’t automatically = visionary leadership
• Disconnected from reality at times
• Easily bored when the mundane takes priority
• May not plan succession well
• Unrealistic expectations
• Poor communication

Example: Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
Considering that Steve Jobs’ name is pretty much synonymous with “visionary,” I don’t think I need to list more than the products and industries Jobs’ revolutionized at Apple and beyond — Apple Computers, iPod (iTunes), iPad, iPhone, Pixar, iCloud — with many products and points in between. George Lucas, from whom Jobs bought the Graphics Group at Lucasfilm and renamed it “Pixar,” perfectly summarizes his superpower:

“The magic of Steve was that while others simply accepted the status quo, he saw the true potential in everything he touched and never compromised on that vision.”

Steve Wozniak was the technological yin to Jobs’ sales and marketing yang, bringing the vision of a computer with a graphic interface to life. From the visionary files, “Woz” also invented the first programmable universal remote and was an early innovator of wireless GPS (thanks to his clever dogs who routinely evaded electronic fences).

3. The Serial Disruptor

Traits:

• Varied interests & capabilities
• Easily bored — desires variety and change
• Optimistic
• Extremely innovative
• High threshold for pain
• Accepting of failure
• Self-reliant
• Diverse capabilities
• Bold vision
• Motivated by the impact they have — more than $$ alone

Benefits:

• Variety of experiences
• Flexibility and freedom
• Diversification
• Tons of opportunities for creative expression
• Greater earning opportunities
• Disrupts industries
• Attracts high-quality talent

Pitfalls:

• High risk
• Difficulties finding trustworthy partners/can get stuck helming something when you want to move on
• Multitudes of people reliant on you
• Divided focus
• Ego-driven pursuits

Example: Elon Musk
Like him or loathe him, Elon Musk is perhaps the most prolific (and successful) serial founder of all time with startups including Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, among others. His drive to design opportunities to evolve humanity has redefined both hustle culture and the art of serial entrepreneurship.
For serial founders, having a set of principles is key to their success. In Musk’s case, his use of “first principles” — reducing a process to its essential parts — has served him well, from helping him figure out how to make rockets cheaper and reusable (SpaceX) to shifting the narrative of electric vehicles (Tesla).

4. The Engineer

Traits:

• Engineer by experience and nature
• Technically savvy
• Able to problem-solve technology-driven issues (not just with the product but also operations-wise)
• Strong desire to not just innovate but also to accelerate progress
• Expansive vision of how technology can solve common problems
• Level-headed
• Agile, fast learners
• Focused on execution

Benefits:

• Pragmatic approach
• Own technology
• Problems are solved quickly
• Able to employ technology to reduce time to market
• Solutions for products can become new products in their own right

Pitfalls:

• Not well versed in other crucial areas (i.e., sales, marketing)
• Over-index on having lower Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Because they can learn quickly, so may get stuck playing outside of the green zone

Example: Mark Zuckerberg
Much like the other examples I’m sharing, Mark Zuckerberg’s story has been widely told, so you probably know about his development of Facebook. But at his core, Zuckerberg is an engineering prodigy and geek. At just 13 in 1997, he built “ZuckNet,” which enabled the family’s home computers to communicate via Ping (a precursor of AOL’s Instant Messenger) with his father’s dental office computers. He was using AI in his senior year in high school, so the roots of his Meta(verse) focus today are apparent.
A common weakness for engineers is they tend to have a lower EQ, which has been well-researched. As a former engineer, I understand how logic and technology come easier than understanding human behavior. This is why tech founders should seek out mentors early and bring in competent leaders with high EQ and leadership skills — for example, Zuckerberg credits his former COO of 14 years, Sheryl Sandberg, for turning the company into a multi-billion dollar company.

5. The Personality Founder

Traits:

• Charismatic and gregarious
• Attracts a vast audience
• Influential
• Ambitious
• Forward-thinking
• Inwardly motivated (responds to a “calling”)
• Excellent storytellers
• Authentic and honest (ideally 😉)

Benefits:

• Has a built-in audience and established social platforms
• Likely has pre-existing wealth (can help fund the business/mitigate startup money woes)
• Can use their power for good; disruptive in a positive way

Pitfalls:

• Needs to find the right people to trust
• Can’t just be the “face” of the business; needs to accrue real business chops
• Celebrity and influence status don’t equal quality products
• Difficult or impossible for the founder to leave

Example: Oprah
I’m using Oprah as an example, as her products are an outgrowth of her — her eponymous talk show, which ran for 25 years, the OWN network, O Magazine, her book club, and a variety of charitable endeavors comprise her vast empire. But of course, we know plenty of other personality brands that have racked up billions in sales and even transformed, from the Kardashians/Jenners, to Bethany Frankel and Ryan Reynolds (just watch Deadpool 3 to see his brands — coming in 2023).
In today’s age of influence, we’ve seen a surge of personality brands and founders who leverage built-in audiences and communities to scale quickly. All these names are business mavericks in their own right, but many didn’t start out this way — they deftly utilize their charisma and ability to entertain to shape their brands and pave the way to success.

6. The Accidental Founder

Traits:

• Independent
• Resourceful
• Necessity-driven
• Follow their desire/passion
• Creative
• Willing to take risks

Benefits:

• A deep belief in what they’re doing
• Solves real-world problems based on personal experience
• Discover they’re much happier running their own show
• Turns skills, vocation, or avocation into a profitable business

Pitfalls:

• May not have the business chops
• Reluctant business person — may not actually want to run their own business
• Needs to find the right people to trust
• Overwhelm

Example: Yvon Chouinard
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has been in the news lately for giving away his company to fight climate change. He’s an OG accidental entrepreneur whose passion for rock climbing led him to develop reusable pitons (rock climbing spikes) and, later, heavy-duty shirts. Famously Chouinard called himself a “dirtbag climber” and didn’t want to become a business mogul. Sixty-five years later, this accidental founder’s company is valued at $3 billion, and his latest innovation is a way of giving away the profits of a company to continue his contribution to society — protecting and preserving the natural world.
As I always say, there are riches in the niches, and accidental entrepreneurs are the leading type of founders to discover a marketplace with little or no competition.

7. The Intentional Founder

Traits:

• Purpose-driven
• Strong ideals and values
• Passionate about the bigger picture impacts
• Socially conscious
• Clear and focused on the brand mission

Benefits:

• An empathetic approach to the product/the company
• Can educate, empower, and motivate others (i.e., team, customers)
• Employees are statistically more satisfied and likely to stay
• Commitment to a higher ideal engenders more loyalty and trust with the general public (customers)

Pitfalls:

• Moving from individual ideals to a group effort is tricky
• Difficult to find employees with perfectly aligned values
• Might not have the business experience to set the organization up for long-term success
• Purpose-driven (belief) isn’t the same as purpose-enabled (capability)
• Might be challenging for the company to survive the loss of the founder

Example: Jessica Alba
While Jessica Alba does have some touches of a Personality Founder (she is an actor) and an Accidental Founder (an allergic reaction to detergent made her worry about her new baby’s sensitive skin), she is an excellent example of an intentional founder. Back in 2008, when Alba had that allergic reaction, influencer marketing wasn’t what it is today — plus, she had some success but was by no means a household name. Ditto for eco-conscious consumer packaged goods — a plus, sure, but didn’t have the same urgency and importance it does today. Alba then spent years researching ingredients in everyday products and even went to DC to lobby for updates to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Convinced that consumers need safe, affordable, environmentally friendly products for kids and home, Alba launched The Honest Company in 2011.
Now, she did have seasoned co-founders, her own wealth to use out the gates, and VC support shortly after that, but it has always been Alba’s commitment to and alignment with the brand’s core principles that have kept the brand growing and thriving — today, as a publicly traded company with a 2021 $412.8 IPO.
What type of founder are you? Definitely feel free to share in the comments.

So I'm going to attend a full time M7 program in the fall. At my current company, which is a large F500, the sheer extreme level of ignorance about MBA programs from the average American worker is absolutely hilarious to anyone who has spent time on this sub or done their research.
First, many view the Part-Time program as far superior to the Full-Time program because "you get to keep your job" and "it shows hustle." When I told them I'm going Full-Time, they said "well, I think it makes sense only if you want to get it done with faster." They don't know about how Full-Time programs are the smoothest option for career pivoters due to the summer internship between 1st & 2nd year, as well as full availability for recruitment events during the day. They also don't know Full-Time MBAs are usually harder to get into than part time due to being more selective with higher GPAs, GMAT/GRE scores, and work experience.
Second, the schools people think are "good" is hilarious. They will say things like "Ivy League MBAs" are the best, never having heard of M7 or T15. The M7 I'm going to is a non-Ivy League, and they haven't heard about it (they might have heard of the parent university but are unsure of how to "rank" it). Meanwhile, Georgetown has incredible lay prestige - they think it's as good as some Ivies. And they think Yale is among the most prestigious MBAs, beating out Stanford.
Third, they will say stuff like "I wouldn't recommend an MBA. I know so and so who got one and they now have the exact same job as me with six figure debt!" They won't realize that the MBA was likely from a no-name state school or the person got it straight out of undergrad. Some even asked why I'm doing my MBA "late" instead of immediately after undergrad. On the flipside, people will say things like "oh my uncle got an MBA from the University of Phoenix! He said it was a great experience." And other things like "awesome! Now you can do the John Doe, MBA on your LinkedIn name," not realizing how cringe that is.
Fourth, people will say things like "Why not just go to x (our local state school)," not realizing that M7s have far great career opportunities. They might vaguely understand the "Ivy League" schools are better, but still fundamentally think all MBA programs are kind of similar. They don't know there's a vast difference in the quality, focus, and outcomes of different MBA programs when it comes to alumni networking and campus recruiting. The dark side of this is ignorant people taking out six-figure debt to attend a really low ranked program, only to graduate with poor job prospects. One co-worker even said, "isn't it best to do an MBA right after undergrad? Aren't you late?"
Fifth, people have no idea about the common post-MBA careers. If you say PM, they think of Project Management, NOT Product Management. They'll say, "Why not just get a PMP, that's what so and so did." If you say consulting, they'll say "it's not that great! I know so and so working at KPMG or Accenture during tech implementation. Avoid the Indian companies like WiPro though - they're not great." Forget Investment Banking - they thought that meant "bank teller." No one has any idea what VC, Hedge Fund, or Private Equity is. They'll also say "how can you do consulting or banking, that's totally different from what you do now!" not realizing that consulting and banking at the MBA level recruit in a background agnostic way. Tech and VC/HF/PE care about background though.
Sixth, people say things like "Study hard! You don't want to slack off on that GPA" not realizing that most top MBAs have grade non disclosure and really high curves, making academics often the lowest thing to prioritize (obviously this is a personal choice). But the general perception is that the MBA is an academically rigorous degree like law school, med school etc. They were shocked when I revealed much of the experience is often social, such as domestic and international treks for fun.
Seventh, people fail to realize how difficult it is to get into an M7 MBA. They look at me and go "hey! I'd love to go to Stanford or Harvard or Yale for my MBA, if you can do it, I can do it right?" Only for me to explain the acceptance rates and the high GPAs and GMAT/GRE scores. Only to find out they have poor (like 2.x) GPAs from state schools and likely aren't going to get near perfect GMAT/GRE scores. Their work experience or family connections aren't extremely stellar to the point they can overcome these poor raw stats.
Being "in the know" makes it hilarious to see people who know absolutely nothing give their completely wrong and uniformed opinions with such confidence.

I’m the type of person who always reads the small print at the bottom of TV adverts. I always have a giggle when a new hair product (or something like that) comes out and it says 98% of 23 people say they love this product. I think... that’s not many people at all! Surely there’s more people working at the company than 23 who could make it a trustworthy statistic.
Whilst watching the news one night, they ran a story about a survey for young people and in the small print it was mentioned it was only based on 200 students surveyed. I thought that’s less than an average sized secondary school nevermind what the true population of young people think.
The spark of a concept was born. Along with the inspirational work of thought leaders people such as Greta Thunberg and how she managed to show that young people really do have a voice... they just need to come together in bigger numbers. I wanted to create a platform that does just that and keep it fun at the same time. Build something that can change the world for the better. Do my bit to support those amazing people who want to make a positive change and do something good for the future.
So here's Schdoo .com it's only just out of development and I'm looking for feedback, suggestions and support getting the word out. Looking forward to answering your questions, thoughts and working together.
Best wishes everyone!

I've been dating my fiancé for four years, and until now, our relationship has been going great. But we went to a school reunion of mine, and he overheard some of my friends teasing me about being useless. He acted a little oddly the rest of the night. I thought it was just awkwardness from being around a bunch of my friends he didn't know, so I left early.
We pulled over to get drinks on the way back, and when I brought them back to the car, he was pretty upset. He had looked through my journal (he's allowed), and seemed disgusted with what I was like as a teen. I laughed it off at first, bit when he was serious, we started to fight.
He ended up bringing up my family (generally a subject we don't touch) to call me spoiled and concieted. I said he was being insane and that my life was more put together than his, so high school doesn't matter. And he's no one to talk - he had to repeat his senior year. Which isn't as bad, but still, plexiglass houses.
Don't get me wrong - I was an absolute waste in high school. I literally almost never attended classes, barely if ever wore the uniform, and definitely would have been expelled if that wouldn't have cost the school money. I gambled a bit, too, and drank responsibly on the weekends. But I had my excuses - definitely not good ones, but excuses nonetheless. I wasn't a delinquent or anything, I just... treated the dorms like an apartment complex I happened to live in. 😅 I was actually really well liked (because, hey, I had nothing better to do than help out), and my best friend ended up valedictorian.
But I don't see any reason that would be a problem now. I was a lazy, aggrieved teen going through some stuff for four years more than a decade ago. I've been a rancher for twice that! I don't think it suggests that I'm going to break under pressure or not be able to take care of others, because my whole job is taking care of birds and livestock in bad situations. My fiancé has said that he was first attracted to me because of how responsible and attentive I am towards them.
Now, should I have told him sooner? Probably, yeah. But I don't know anything about what he was like in high school either, and I didn't want to come off as whiny or bring up something I'm ashamed of. I genuinely didn't think it would matter to him. And I can't help but be offended that it is.

So I'm from a place where we wore school uniforms. We had a summer and a winter uniform. The summer one included Roman sandals as the footwear for the younger kids. If you didn't have your Roman sandals, you had to wear dress shoes and calf high socks.
On the first day of school, one boy didn't have his sandals yet, so he had to wear shoes and socks. Just that small difference got him the nickname 'loser', which took 2+ years to drop.
So yeah, even when we were all wearing the same ugly grey clothes, something as small as that was enough to make him a target.

I don’t remember if this was a thing in 14, but is it possible to take a current school roster and import it into your team builder?
For example - I plan on doing a dynasty with Kansas State, but want to design some alternate uniforms.
Is this a thing?

My kid refused to tell me what she wanted for breakfast and then refused to eat what I gave her. She then threw a fit because she didn't want to wear her uniform or wear socks. She spent the remainder of the morning whining that she didn't feel good and didn't want to go to school and I had to drag her to the car. While all this was happening, my husband (that I've been separated from for >2 years but we still live together) started an argument about what went wrong and how "I should've just left instead of making him think everything was fine." He didn't help me at all getting my kid ready, I still had to pack snacks and fight about clothing choices on my own. All before 8am. Now I get to spend the rest of the day up to my eyeballs in management reports and placating site management because who has days off?
Happy birthday to me!! 🎂

I answered but didn't put my first acts in any particular order. first thing I did was what most folks do: get with other "defectors" and study with them. However, we then did what a smaller percentage do thereafter: began to read the scripture in earnest. Once we began that, we knew we had to then question everything we had been indoctrinated in. As to be expected, we ended up leaving the group we had been a part of after leaving that bigger camp. What I keep seeing though, is among groups like us, people think when u leave, u have to still stick with whatever you've been taught by that larger group you left. They can't seem to accept...anything else really. It wasn't acceptable when we left, period. Then it was unacceptable when we began reading and came to Galatians 4 and Hebrews 10 and said "okay now we have different beliefs about keeping the law.because of what these scriptures say." Then it wasn't aceptable when we stopped keeping sabbath and wearing fringes (meanwhile they can cheat onto her wives....but it's cool as long as they got beards and fringes). Don't tell em we eat what we want now too. Don't tell em I'm doing research right now on the origin of Yahweh/yahuah/yahawah/ahayah and found that he came from a polytheistic pantheon and he has a story.
But yeah, our family left the black Hebrew Israelite camps/CULT and here are some of the things I changed shortly after leaving up to now (I left in 2020): "Threw away my "uniform" and my granniest clothes, threw away my notes from their "classes," visited red lobster (we had banned foods as well), celebrated birthdays with my family, put on a swimsuit and got I the pool at my local gym, bought something on a Saturday, cooked on a Saturday, got my kids vaccinated, put my kids in school, didn't wait 80 days after having my baby to have sex with my husband, began consuming feminist content...got three tattoos (my first tattoos. I'm in my 30s), and made sort of an exposé on the hateful "camp" I was in. Bought pepperoni pizza and real bacon (folks I knew were too scared and illogical to even try turkey bacon because the word "bacon" was in it). Also began voicing my real opinions, saying no a lot, and just being more assertive.
Oh, I forgot, I too bought lucky charms. I also enjoyed porn, bought an adult toy and went to work. Had my first orgasm too."

Hey, does anyone know what school or summer program might have taken kindergarten kids to the playground on the sounth side of Patterson park today? The uniform was pale blue and I'm just looking for an email address I can reach out to.

If the death of community can be conclusively ascribed to a single initial wound, I would say that that wound was inflicted by the automobile lobby when they siezed control of public property and enforced private vehicle ownership through propaganda campaigns coining and deriding "jay walking" and the dismantling of local tram systems.
This forced us into more direct competition with each other, spurred the destruction and splitting of neighborhoods during interstate construction, initiated our addiction to cheap oil and allowed for the development of commuter suburbs where we could happily cultivate our picket fenced lawns in between sitting in traffic jams.
This hyper-individualism may not be unique to the United States, but we have perfected it. We compete with each other for everything, space on the roads, houses in good school districts (good because more affluent people congregate there and viciously oppose their tax dollars being used in other districts), parking spaces, leisure space in dwindling public outdoor areas, spots in competitive colleges, jobs that pay more than a poverty wage, etc.
Somehow, we've lost our communities. We've been reduced to cloistered cells composed of ourselves and our family unit. We resent other people for interfering with OUR activities even as they resent us. We are increasingly afraid of our neighbors (https://www.npr.org/2022/09/08/1120099696/americans-fear-attacked-neighborhood-poll, https://www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/neighborhood-fear-suburban-crisis-american-culture, https://www.thecut.com/2015/08/third-of-americans-dont-know-their-neighbors.html).
To what end?
To reduce us to predictable commodities. Consumers that (I won't use "who" here, because they don't see us as people) will purchase goods and services and allow their personal information to be sold to whoever wants it (corporations, law enforcement, hostile foreign governments) in exchange for some shiny baubles.
The effects of this individualization / commodification are most readily apparent in our reactions to the homelessness epidemic. We have been raised to believe (and indoctrinated by media, the education system and even our own coopted parents) that personal achievement is the ultimate end. That we should be self-made and self-sufficient. That if we work hard we will be rewarded. The converse is seldom explicitly mentioned, that if we fail, there is no one to blame but ourselves.
But we know full well that sometimes people fail becuase of bad luck and instead of reconizing this (and recognizing people's right to lead a decent life) we gleefully kick them off the ladder (after all this is one less person to directly compete with us). Even though we see bad luck in our own lives, we don't appreciate that although it is statistically unlikely, some people are bound to encounter biblically bad luck. If we flip a coin 10 times, the odds of it landing heads up every time is about 1/1000, and most of us have never seen this happen, but if we apply 1/1000 odds to a population of 400,000,000 that's 400,000 people who could expect to see 10 50:50 scenarios go bad all at the same time.
Consider the homeless, some of them are mentally ill and so unable to function in a consumerist, work driven and honestly heartless society. Formerly we had state asylums which, although often terrible places, at least put a roof over people's heads. Some homeless people are addicted to drugs of various kinds and this makes our overlords especially happy, because although drug addiction typically stems from lack of strong social bonds, community and self-worth (all things caused by our enforced individualism), drugs are a very convenient scape goat (owing to decades of government propaganda decrying addicts as subhuman). Increasingly though, the homeless are regular people who ran into a snag of bad luck (bankrupted by medical bills for instance, don't even get me started) and entered a feedback loop of decreasing employability, decreasing opportunities and decreasing societal visibility; a greased pole that gets wider as it goes down.
We are meant to be disdainful of these people, this is what our society demands. Thay are failures and they deserve what they get. And because they are no longer consumers, our leaders no longer care about them and frankly hope that they die quietly someplace out of the public eye.
I spent a lot of time talking with homeless people in the hospital and it took maybe three encounters before I was disgusted with myself for my prior conceptions, before I realized how thoroughly I had bought into the state propaganda. Any of us could become homeless through bad luck.
And once you are no longer working to boost stock prices for elites and consuming at a profit friendly clip, you are invisible, less than a person.
You become an inconvenience that the state would like nothing more than to hide someplace out of sight, lest we recognize the humanity of these people and start to question how the richest society in the history of the world can tolerate subjecting our fellows to unceasing and punitive misery.
So, consider volunteering in homeless aid groups, you'll be surprised and I wager, enlightened by the conversations you have.
https://www.propublica.org/article/albuquerque-homeless-encampments?src=longreads

This a screenshot from R. What is the base group when we have multiple dummy variables? And how do I interpret the coefficients eg south and educ?

Hi, this a screenshot from R. What is the base group when we have multiple dummy variables? And how do we interpret these coefficients for eg south and educ?

First and foremost, I'd like to preface this post by mentioning the fact that I am biased considering that I'll be attending uOttawa Software Engineering this fall.
Competitiveness: Now, for starters, uOttawa SE has been getting more and competitive for years now. This year, it's reached a cutoff average of 97% for Ontario students, a little wild to think about. Now, let me explain why this is significant: A cutoff average of 97% means that the uOttawa admissions team was able to fill the 167 person Software Engineering cohort with people that have an average of 97%+. That being said, a program has to be strong to attract this many qualified students.
CO-OP: One of the biggest factors for why uOttawa Software Engineering has gotten so competitive is their very strong CO-OP program. Software Engineering specifically is the only program in Canada, other than Waterloo's, to have CO-OP after the 1st year of study. Why is this significant? Well because you will be a much more attractive candidate for CO-OPs in your second year considering that you would have already completed 4 months of related work experience. It's also very likely that you'll be able to land a CO-OP after first year considering that modern engineering in the summer of 2023 boasted an 80% placement rate compared to waterloo's 40% (in some programs). Now although we all know how good waterloo's CO-OP is in employer quality, you can't deny the uOttawa's CO-OP's stability. Btw, these statistics are all after the tech market's downturn, uOttawa and Waterloo both previously had a 97% CO-OP placement rate. Additionally, uOttawa's CO-OP has very strong connections in the Kanata Tech hub, the biggest tech park in Canada, with plentiful employers such as Amazon, IBM, Ford, Ericsson, Blackberry, Blackberry QNX, Cisco, Huawei, Morgan Stanley, Nokia, RBC, and many more, recruiting from uOttawa's CO-OP. uOttawa also boasts the 2nd highest paid CO-OP (on average) in Canada after only Waterloo.
Ressources: uOttawa has recently seen an upturn in the amount of ressources it provides for it's SE/CS students, they've recently collaborated with IBM to bring the uOttawa IBM Cyber Range to the school. This is all solidifying it's industry relations and making them a strong candidate for future relationships. uOttawa also runs two major hackathons: uOttaHack and Hack the Hill. These hackathons are the biggest in the city, and they're sponsored by Amazon, Google, Adobe, Microsoft and other companies with local offices in Kanata such as IBM, Blackberry, Ford, etc... There is also the Software Engineering Students Association (SESA) that organizes a multitude of software engineering related events. All of these ressources, along with uOttawa's CO-OP make SE/CS graduates some of the most employable in Canada.
To conclude, uOttawa's outlook in the field is looking very good, and I'd strongly recommend you to consider the program if you're debating it. For future applicants, I really hope these minimum averages stabilize or something because I genuinely don't understand how ya'll are gonna be able to get in. Good luck to you all, and thanks for reading.

Name: Charity
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Height: 4' 11"
Date of Birth: March 20, 1985 (Registered as January 10, 2009 due to differences in time)
Residence: Uva Academy
Occupation: Student
Ability: Flower Gift
Backstory: Charity is a Faller from the year 2000, who's only heard of Pokemon from her best friend Adam. Due to circumstances outside of control she ended up in the Pokemon world and was immediately attacked by a trainer with a Houndoom.
Fortunately she was saved by a Audino she named Clementine and they traveled to Paldea, where she is currently enlisted in Uva Academy to get general experience and knowledge on the world at large.
Due to head trauma from a fall on Glaseado Mountain, Charity temporarily lost her ability to speak to humans, only making Armarouge noises. She's since relearned to read, write, and speak but sometimes slips into Armarouge when she's stressed or tired.
Due to a potion gifted to her, she was temporary a Cherrim with the long term side effect of gaining Flower Gift.
Recently she ran into Brandon, the trainer that previously attacked her. Both him and Levi, the trainer who pushed her on Glaseado Mountain, were arrested. She chose to take in an purify Justine, as well as Mocha, Callisto's abused Cinccino.
Appearance: Mid length brown hair, green eyes, tends to wear the full Uva uniform to cover severe burns on arms and legs while in school. Outside of school she tends to wear an Audino hoodie.
Personality: Charity is very kind and caring and struggles with making her own decisions. She tends to follow others in what they think is best, even if she thinks it's a bad idea. She always tries to do the right thing.
Likes: Emmeline, Nemona, her Pokemon, general arts and crafts (she loves knitting)
Dislikes: Levi, Sons of Arceus, Fire Attacks, feeling guilty
Current Battle Team:
Clementine the Audino Tera Type: Fairy Nature: Gentle Ability: Healer Item: Audinite Main Battling Moves: Wish, Heal Bell, Protect, Dazzling Gleam Backstory: Here
Blaz the Armarouge Tera Type: Fighting Nature: Brave (Has taken Modest Mint however) Ability: Flash Fire Item: Wise Glasses Main Battling Moves: Calm Mind, Armor Cannon, Psychic, Aura Spheres Backstory: Here
Olivia the Dragapult Tera Type: Ghost Nature: Timid Ability: Infiltrator Item: None Main Battling Moves: Protect, Shadow Ball, Draco Meteor, Thunder Wave Backstory: Here
Orion the Ledian Tera Type: Electric Nature: Bold Ability: Iron Fist Held Item: Punching Gloves Main Battling Moves: Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Drain Punch, Power-up Punch Backstory: Here
Hurley the Pyukumuku Tera Type: Steel Nature: Sassy Ability: Unaware Held Item: Leftovers Main Battling Moves: Soak, Recover, Counter, Mirror Coat Backstory: Here
Justine the Ursaluna Nature: Jolly Ability: Bulletproof Item: Soothe Bell Moves: Bulk Up, Close Combat, Earthquake, Rest Backstory:
Nonbattling Pokemon:
Clark the Rotom Phone Nature: Serious Ability: Levitate Item: Rotom Phone Moves: Frustration, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse Backstory:
Mocha the Cinccino Nature: Bashful Ability: Cute Charm Item: Soothe Bell Moves: Tidy Up, Protect, Calm Mind, Alluring Voice Backstory:

So I have been getting into the OSR scene recently after many years with 5e. I absolutely love the design and artwork of these old school modules and have been scooping them up on eBay when I find a good one. I've noticed several of them are 3 hole punched. And frankly they are done exceptionally cleanly. Was this something TSR would do sometimes or was this just a common thing that players would do back in the day? I've never accomplished such uniformity when operating a 3 hole punch before so I was just curious if someone might know.

Tldr: I went to a fancy local barbershop and a guy there shamed me for moving into the neighborhood he called a local red zone. Lost me as a customer after only one visit.
So, I moved into what I would consider to be a decent neighborhood. (Considering where I am from)
My first home. I'm proud. So there's a barbershop two blocks down and I noticed they employ a particular kind of barber. Lots of tattoos, not alot of clothes. They call it "men's salon" So I'm sitting there, eager to meet new people and when you tell people you just move in, there's lots of options for conversations.
So I'm talking to the lady and it's typical banter, glad to be here, we love the neighborhood.
So the guy notices me talking and comes near us and starts sweeping. I mentioned earlier that I lived down the street, so that maybe they would catch on I could be a good regular. (Walking distance barber? Jackpot) nearly naked ladies cutting hair... I'm in.
So, he goes "you said you bought a house down [this] road?" I'm like yea... he says " isn't that a red zone" Now mind you... I'm originally from an actual red zone. (Long story) So I kind of got confused I mean, I met all my neighbors, all retired. They all seem to own several houses on the block so it's super quiet here. Bunch of air BNB's couple kids playing basketball.
So I said.... doesn't seem too bad. I hadn't noticed anything. I'm from an area relatively famous for car jackings, shootings and gangs... All I hear is bugs and birds.
Then he says "your daughter go to school at such and such" He looks at the lady cutting my hair and goes "isn't that a uniform school?"
So at this point I'm like fuck this guy. He starts bad mouthing the whole city, saying it's basically a college town with no college.
I felt like shit. I was 3 days into this neighborhood. I really liked it.
Why did he shit on my parade?
I haven't gone back in 3 years. I walk past there all the time and I hate them. It's like 50$ for a haircut anyway. And the lady there is a freaking wizard with a scissor. I don't see his car anymore. Maybe I will stop in again.
That's no way to treat a potential long term customer.

I have a dataset that has two distinct groups. Group A has a right skewed distribution. Group B has a uniform distribution. We are looking to identify under performers based on the number of transactions they completed over a period of time.
My colleague decided to get the average for each group and then divide it by two to determine the “lower” bound. Any individual whose transaction count falls below this bound is considered an underperformer.
However this doesn’t make sense to me, especially for the right skewed Group A since over half of the individuals had 0 or 1 transactions and by her logic anyone with less than 2 transactions is an under performer. I’m not a statistics person but there has to be a better way to determine the true outliers that are considered low performers right?

So, I am 26 years old and going blind due to a retina disease and glaucoma. I have a BA but am struggling to find work even remotely related to my field. I have never been able to drive, and this presents a lot of challenges when living in the US, especially in the south.Services that exist to help folks like me do not exist here. There are some, but it mostly concerns resume building.. the jobs they tend to find are all very low paying. I have never earned above 30k net in my working life and I've been employed since I was 18.
I recently heard of a program being offered through my local trade school for masage therapy, and according to what I was told it is covered under some grant which would reduce the costs to basically nothing for those who qualify via FAFSA. I already have 30k in student loans, the idea of taking out another 4k only to be stuck after a year with a certificate that won't lead to a job scares me.. but on the other hand, it could open some doors?
If I qualify for the grant, the program will cost $600 in uniform fees and materials, it would be tuition free. If I don't qualify, it would cost me $4,000 in tuition. My local blind services is unwilling to sign off on the idea. I am in South Carolina so I imagine part of it is they simply lack the money/resources. I just want to be able to have work which will allow me to come home with money. If Uber costs me $50 one way, I need to earn a minimum of $200/day to feel like I am actually earning money.
Does anyone know the stats on MT salaries? Would it be something I could get hired for at a chain or spa? Around here, employers really have a problem with people not being able to drive.. yes, even when I tell them I'm disabled.. they just cannot compute somebody arriving to work without a car :D. Ultimately, I want to future-proof myself, and be in a relatively stable situation in the event my eyesight does completely leave me.

Hello,
Little background: 23M Typical gifted kid -> sailed through middle and high school -> University was hard with courses like mathematical statistics and such -> Started learning more productive work processes and how to learn more effectively -> about to finish Master's with a golden job offer in quant finance.
I feel i have a hard time separating work and free time in my mind. I either always have work and productivity stuff in the back of my mind or i don't. If i don't have it in the back of my mind, i just do whatever i want which is fun up to a point. If i do have it in the back of my mind, i usually burn out after a certain point. An example of this was in the last semester of my Bachelor's:
I remember seeing some Dr. K videos about Vata personality (have more tings going on, switch between projects that last 6-12 months) and if feeling overwhelmed/burned out one should do more voluntarily, so i kind went hard: On top of two courses and Bachelor's project, i payed for two extra courses that were Master's level Machine Learning courses (not the basic ones), with a student job in data science, and a couple of mid-level coding projects on the side. I was almost always working, and even when i wasn't, i could not let go of work in my mind. When the whole ordeal was over, i was completely burned out, and when friends asked what i did over the summer, i remember telling them that i just slept for like three months.
I discovered that part of the reason i was so burned out, was because of coffee consumption, that ruined my sleep and made me feel horrible because of lack of sleep. I stopped drinking coffee, and now i find it hard to do stuff. I can work study and do achieve reasonable results, but not the same as before. Also, it is like after some initial motivation, i have to make myself stressed to keep working. This stress just kind of stays there in the back of my mind generating restless thought, reminding me of work, and messes up my sleep. I can meditate to release the stress but this takes like atleast an hour and only brings me back to baseline, and this is only right now. Can't imagine if i have a very stressful 9-7 quant job.
What annoys me is the inability to relax and just be present when i am done working. I have friends, who after a hard day of being productive in whatever, are just able to let it go and do whatever. Go to social events, do a fun activity, get their hunting license, or even just veg out watching Netflix without a care in the world. I just have this ball of stress, which can only be released if i meditate for an hour, but if i am productive for 8-10 hours, and go out to a park and meditate which can take 1.5 hours, then i am exhausted and don't have alot of time to do anything, before the cycle starts again tomorrow. Kind of like there is a part of me that needs some kind of stimulation, and i do stuff like pomodoro to appease this part of myself while working, but i still need more when i am done and i can't get enough. This consistently leads to burnout.
Part of it is probably that i don't acknowledge the things i do, there is always just the next thing. I don't know, what do you guys think?