Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build?

Posted by xucian on Monday August 11, 2025 @10:31AM
from the ask-hn dept.

I'm a builder. I do have a few promising projects and want to find cofounders in SF, but been postponing this since aug last year (online doesn't work for me).

I want to visit for a few months and attend some events, hopefully will find similarly driven people to build something together. I don't want to wait for 2026, it has to be now. this will cross multiple todos on my list

any tips? I don't have academic credentials and I didn't join big tech because I hate coding interviews so I can only impress someone by talking to them, not showing anything substantial (I mostly did contracting work, and none of my projects made me rich yet, so the only tool I have is my brain and hard-earned eastern-european 10k in my bank account)

I do seem to get some traction on a certain projects, but I've been marketing it everywhere recently, but I'm not sure how much it'll stick

( 7 comments | 2 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by duxup on Monday August 11, 2025 @10:33AM (#44864567)

I think you're going to need some things to show people, make some things, finish them as much as is reasonable.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by xucian on Monday August 11, 2025 @10:48AM (#44864770)

yep, on it. I have 3 main projects I'll circle around (the product itself, presentations, talks on tangential topics)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by sexyman48 on Monday August 11, 2025 @11:06AM (#44864985)

You can't afford SF. Hard-earned eastern-european 10k will last about three weeks.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by xucian on Monday August 11, 2025 @03:57PM (#44868746)

such a redditesque thing to say, you can easily do 2-3 months with that money within a non-hedonistic framework

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by mesotron_dev on Monday August 11, 2025 @11:09AM (#44865031)

Study the area and the various tribes in their natural habitat. Study the different forms of communication and reciprocity conducted by such people. M. Sahlins categorized Generalized, Balanced, and Negative reciprocity. How are these exchanges performed, and in what context do these activities occur? How do you optimize your goals while adequately meeting the implicit and explicit socio-cultural norms of the tribes you seek to form bonds with? Building a living example of your skills and an interactive history via projects imbued with the information gathered from your studies is an essential task before total immersion with these tribes.

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Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by xucian on Monday August 11, 2025 @03:59PM (#44868762)

loved reading this, you have a blog? assuming this is not ai

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: After which point do I move to SF to build? by mesotron_dev on Monday August 11, 2025 @11:26PM (#44872057)

Thank you! That's my applied learning from Richard M. Eastman's book Style: Writing and reading as the discovery of outlook, 3rd edition. My blog and primary developer site are currently under active development. My github is @https://github.com/nortosem Updates about the blog and links will appear there. The open-source projects are on standby while I finish rolling up my custom stack and ui/ux for the dev site.

[ Parent | on HN ]