I was engineer number 3 at Eventbrite and founding engineer at Reforge. I've created a dozen or so startups myself and have worked in many others, like Instacart. All this time, no one knew that I was a convicted felon.
It wasn't exactly a topic that came up, but it was certainly something that I never brought up. When you're a convicted felon, people look at you as if you are tainted.
I was unable to rent apartments in San Francisco. I was unable to get a job directly after being released from prison. It's funny because when you owe the state $17,000 in restitution and you can't get a job, people become extremely desperate. And that desperation can easily put you right back into prison.
So I went from homeless person at age 19 to 7-figures about 10 years later. I retired at age 38.
What I'm doing now is writing an autobiography. The main theme of it is hope.
And I want to make sure that people know about it. They don't necessarily have to be interested in it, but if people know about what it's like sleeping in a car believing that one day you will travel the world and then actually doing it, then I think I've accomplished my task in writing this book.
If you're interested, please let me know.
I was unable to rent apartments in San Francisco.
I was unable to get a job directly after being released from prison.
It's funny because when you owe the state $17,000 in restitution and
you can't get a job, people become extremely desperate.
And that desperation can easily put you right back into prison.
I suggest that serially denying paid-for redemption (fines, incarceration) forever (never ending punishment delivered via criminal records) is deeply evil.
I find stories like yours inspiring, and reassuring in a way. I'm increasingly worried about this trend toward being tough on crime in response to growing public disorder, increasing maximum sentences, and generally taking a no-holds-barred approach because good society has been wronged.
I've been a victim myself, from petty theft to assault when I intervened to stop a hate crime, by people out on bail with long court records. After being assaulted I really did start to question my beliefs on this. But I still very much genuinely believe that people can change and should be given a second chance, even though some won't take it seriously, and for others it might take a very long time.
I've met quite a few people with criminal records, or records as youth offenders, who genuinely did become better people over time. A former classmate of mine used to deal cocaine and is now a personal trainer with a wonderful personality and sense of morality. Another used to be a lookout for a stash house and has similarly moved on from that life.
I guess that's what I find so reassuring about stories like yours. I've seen people change and move on from what was probably the worst chapter of their lives, and become people I'm genuinely glad to know. I worry that in our societal desire to be tougher on crime, we're becoming less willing to give people that chance. And I think stories like yours are a good reminder of why we shouldn't lose sight of it.
I tend to hang with a number of folks with similar stories (I've been a Recovering drug addict for 46 years, and only mention it now, occasionally, because I'm not looking for a job -and it's usually not relevant to HN discussions).
Hope to work hard and win the lottery ticket when the game is stacked against you? What hope?
I'm happy for your personally, but it doesn't sound like a message of hope.
That's great and a nice story, but it doesn't take into account the many more that really did run out of money and got into a real tough situation, or didnt quit and just kept trying til their time was over.
I struggle to relate to that for some reason, for me work brings a bit of meaning to life and it's not just about paying the bills.
We are also social creatures, working is a good way to remain social.
I guess maybe he will now "pick and choose" his jobs? Though sounds like he had already been doing this prior ... unless those jobs were toxic to him and he did it for the cash or other motivations, but in his blog he says he loved startups. (It also says he build companies for fun, that to me isn't the same as "retired")
Anyways, the way I see that is more like someone boasting about financial freedom but still actively working. Is that how people define "retirement" these days?
Is my understanding of retirement wrong?
Good for you, mate! Less good for those nuclear secrets you may or may not have stolen and those antelopes you may or may not have sex trafficked
I got a feeling of lack of remorse and someone sort of sociopathically showing off.
Ummmm, actually, I can think of a few politicians who have been accomplices to this, or have authorized this type crime, even one more recent, on a massive genocidal scale, against foreign citizens.
"All this time, no one knew that I was a convicted felon".
Hmm, did he change his name, or ?
Especially if its for the purpose to drum up interest for your autobiography.
Doesn't go into the why, however. Presumably future chapters will.
It says that his mother told police that "her son hit her husband after the couple confronted him about being involved in a robbery. She told police her son had property in his room that they believed may have come from the robbery."
Hit his dad on the head with a metal baseball bat with other family members around.
As someone else said, there is no chapter 2.
My own guess is that it was a response to some type of long-term abuse.
I can't even find a mailing list to sign up for. But I'd read the rest of this.
Reminds of the veritassium video where it said being persistent is more valuable than being consistent in the sense that you only need to win the lottery once to be rich forever. Whereas you can consistently work a job for an indefinite quantity of time and never be rich.
probably not the detail to omit to try to hook a readership..
technical aside : on low bandwidth connections your site acts really inconsistent and weird; it appears to be downloading those on-hover sound files.
That's all the info in the first chapter of his book. It's kind of gross gleeful description of the act. Don't think the book is for me.
In the comment he says he was homeless at 19 so at most he got less than 2 years prison.
I was a nasty felon, but as a juvenile (13). I got clean at 18, so my adult record is unblemished; but nowadays, I would probably be tried as an adult.
No, I'm not not gonna mention why, here. It's just a distraction.
Glad to see you're doing well now.
I was a bad, bad, boi...
That’s his pardon. That’s about all we got though, the record was expunged.
But this says 2013 so my guess doesn't line up.
https://buford.bg/books/buford-versus-oklahoma-1