Go to San Francisco

[chadwhitacre]

I spent 12 days in San Francisco in early November, 2016. I met a lot of people in a lot of different contexts, and started to rebuild some awareness of Gratipay as a going concern. I came up hard against the difficulty in what we're trying to accomplish with funding open source: companies have precious little incentive to pay for value they already possess.

Map

Expense Report

Story

Week 1

Date	Day	Write-up
11-07	Monday	Y Combinator
11-08	Tuesday	Sudo Room
11-09	Wednesday	Amazon Loft w/ @shurcooL
11-10	Thursday	Lunch at HackerOne
11-11	Friday	Lunch at the Internet Archive
11-12	Saturday	Meeting with @nobodxbodon

Week 2

Date	Day	Write-up
11-13	Sunday	Hike!
11-14	Monday	LAUNCH Scale
11-15	Tuesday	LAUNCH Scale p. 2, Jareau, Sheel
11-16	Wednesday	Shareable, Nadia
11-17	Thursday	Mazarine, J.C. & Aza, SELC, Cameron
11-18	Friday	Loft, then Chris Messina, but not Pia—nor Cavalier :)

Original

I had a really good time during All Things Open (#757) getting to hack a lot and then going out to interact with people relevant to Gratipay. Under #836 we've been talking about stopping by YC even if we don't get an invite. Of course there's plenty of other networking to do out there as well even if we never make it to YC.

I'm looking at a trip November 7—19. Right now flights are running just under $600, and I'm finding Airbnbs in the $500 to $1,200 range (depending on how many roommates).

My experience in Raleigh this past week indicates to me that two weeks in San Francisco could be amazingly productive. My tendency is to think that a private room actually in SF would provide the most valuable combination of space to hack and proximity for networking. I've reached out to see about finding a place to stay apart from Airbnb. Assuming that doesn't come through, I think a budget of $2,400 would cover a 12 day trip.

We have about $7,000 in the bank right now and are accumulating about $182/mo (780 - 562 - 36).

We'll need to act pretty quick to lock in the flight and room. Prices could go up drastically tomorrow, for all I know.

Anyone have a strong sense one way or another on this? I just really want to get this candle lit again! :candle:

[rohitpaulk]

Go for it :)

[chadwhitacre]

Anyone have a strong sense one way or another on this?

Esp. @kaguillera. We are cofounders!

[chadwhitacre]

Or maybe we should spend the money on a video. 😳

[chadwhitacre]

Reticketed https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/870.

Prices could go up drastically tomorrow, for all I know.

In fact, they dropped 22%, from $580 to $450(!).

[chadwhitacre]

Back up to $580. :-/

[chadwhitacre]

From private email:

Something to be aware of, in case you don't already know it, Amazon has a really cool loft in downtown SF. https://aws.amazon.com/start-ups/loft/sf-loft/ It's a co-working space sponsored by them. It's free to use, you just need to sign up (entering your personal information) and get a badge. Other people go there to hack on stuff, so it's a fun place to co-work from.

[chadwhitacre]

I just talked to @kaguillera on the phone, and put this ticket on his radar.

[kaguillera]

Wow!! Two week in SF. I didn't think that you had a plan to stay that long but then again I have nothing that would stop me from being able to go. Full disclosure as I said on the phone my main concerns are as follows:

1. The Cost. Is the estimated $2400 per person? If that is per person that is out of my ability since (I Works No Where And Draws No Pay!). The timing is kind of bad for me financially (see private email.)
2. Would the cost of the trip be worth it? What is the return on the investment.

Other than these issues I think it would be good. It would be two weeks of intense focused hacking and networking. That is always a good thing.

[chadwhitacre]

@kaguillera My proposal here is that Gratipay pay for the trip. I can't afford it personally, either! 😮

So the question is: does Gratipay want to pay for two, one, or zero of us to make this trip?

[chadwhitacre]

Is the estimated $2400 per person?

I think it would roughly be per person, yes. I haven't had anything super-solid come through in terms of free places to stay, so I think we'd need to book a room on Airbnb today or tomorrow in order to lock something in for this. That plus we'd need two plane tickets.

Back up to $580. :-/

Now at $530. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[chadwhitacre]

Would the cost of the trip be worth it? What is the return on the investment.

I don't know how to estimate this. This past week at All Things Open has already netted us one new contributor (#866), as well as a number of industry connections (https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/757#issuecomment-256480761 ff.). How do we estimate the value of that?

[chadwhitacre]

I didn't think that you had a plan to stay that long

Well, my thinking was that YC's interviews are highly likely to be one or both of those weeks, since the week following is a holiday in the U.S. (Thanksgiving) and this week is so soon to book travel.

[chadwhitacre]

... and there's so much to do out there!

[kaguillera]

To be totally honest I am feeling guilty/bad to use that amount of Gratipay's money (I know that is kind of weird considering that I said it would be too much money for my finances) but that is just how I am. That aside, I know that if we have that much time to focus on hacking and networking would be very productive. Thus in conclusion if you think that you really need me there as a "wing man" then I am all for it. But if you can do it on your own by all means do it yourself. The final decision is in the Team's hands.

[chadwhitacre]

Now at $530. ¯(ツ)/¯

Now we're up to $675 for bad flights and $775 for good ones. We're less than a week out, I think the price is going to keep going up from here. :-/

But if you can do it on your own by all means do it yourself.

I am torn. It will not be the same, but remember that there is a slim chance we will be out there together in January, February, and March for YC (#836). Even assuming YC doesn't come through I suspect that we should be visiting SF at least once a year if not twice anyway. This trip is reconnaissance in that respect. We can plan ahead better next time.

[chadwhitacre]

The final decision is in the Team's hands.

Indeed. Let's see if we can use GitHub reactions on this comment to vote! :-)

Options for Trip to SF to Hack and Network

Reaction	Option	Budget ($)	% of Cash in Bank
👎	stay home	0	0
👍	send one person	2,400	34
🎉	send two people	4,800	68

Ping @aandis @chrisdev @clone1018 @dmk246 @JessaWitzel @mattbk @rohitpaulk.

@kaguillera Perhaps you and I should vote last, though I think we do need to reach a final decision today.

[rohitpaulk]

I've voted to send one person, only because of the % of cash we'd be burning if we sent 2.

[JessaWitzel]

% of cash is % of total cash? Or % of cash this month? I like context.

[rohitpaulk]

% of cash is % of total cash? Or % of cash this month? I like context.

@JessaWitzel % of total cash :)

From the description:

We have about $7,000 in the bank right now and are accumulating about $182/mo

[JessaWitzel]

@rohitpaulk I assumed the thread started where I was mentioned! Fail. Person who likes context should be diligent in finding it. I'm a newb. Also I think I'm super valuable and am a great return on investment. :) Go!

[JessaWitzel]

@wwitzel3 is encouraging me to leave all my thoughts so here: As someone who is risk averse I would likely not go if it were up to me. However, if you think this is a pivotal moment for gratipay and that going has great potential to allow you to get a ton of work done and make good connections that will ultimately jump start the project into making more money, you should go. I vote send two people if you think that is the case. What else does the money get used for?

[chadwhitacre]

What else does the money get used for?

Here is our budget. The big thing not included there is lawyer's fees, which we're going to have some of soon (for https://github.com/gratipay/gratipay.com/pull/4117). Those, of course, rack up quick.

Also I think I'm super valuable and am a great return on investment.

Couldn't agree more! :)

P.S. I've added "in Bank" to "% of Cash." :-)

[chadwhitacre]

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger. I've texted @kaguillera, apparently he's away from his phone. :-)

[chadwhitacre]

I'm voting for making the trip solo. I hear @kaguillera saying he is okay with that at https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/867#issuecomment-257543399, and that seems to be the sense of things on https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/867#issuecomment-257543399.

Okay! Booking flight and room!

[chadwhitacre]

Flights books. 👍 :flight_departure: :flight_arrival:

[chadwhitacre]

Waiting for @JessWhit to help me recover our Airbnb login ...

[kaguillera]

yep away from my phone but not my laptop. It is cool if you can do it on your own. It will be like the conference but only longer and without a schedule 👍 😃

[chadwhitacre]

Thanks @kaguillera. Sorry. 😞 See you tomorrow, ya? :-)

[chadwhitacre]

Flight confirmation: https://gratipay.freshdesk.com/helpdesk/tickets/6027.

[kaguillera]

yes. Paramount? I will check my phone as soon as I find it

[chadwhitacre]

I will check my phone as soon as I find it

Hah! :D 📱

Paramount?

Yes! Hopefully we will see @dmk246, too! :-)

[dmk246]

Hoping so too!!! :)

[chadwhitacre]

@dmk246 Wanna vote on https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/867#issuecomment-257543399? :-) <3

[chadwhitacre]

amount ($)	thing
781.20	flight
1,003.00	room
1,784.2	subtotal
2,400.00	budget
615.80	remaining

[kaguillera]

That should cover food then?

[chadwhitacre]

@kaguillera Yeah, that's consistent with what I spec'd out at https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/867#issue-186113866. Works out to about $50 per diem—should be adequate for both food/coffee/drinks and train fare.

[kaguillera]

Yep that sounds about right. 🎉

[clone1018]

!m @whit537

Have fun and build good stuff!

[chadwhitacre]

The Internet Archive provides "lunch & lots of great info/stories on Fridays!" Makes me think of https://github.com/gratipay/inside.gratipay.com/issues/436. Should I also visit Wikimedia and Mozilla?

[chadwhitacre]

I've started an itinerary in the ticket description.

[chadwhitacre]

This is the first week of interviews for the Y Combinator Winter 2017 batch!

Published a couple days ago (discovered searching on Twitter), which indicates that next week will be the second week of interviews. Let's go for Monday the 7th! I land at 9:48 AM and can't check in to my room until 3 PM (?) anyway. Talked with @kaguillera and @JessWhit at lunch about how to approach this.

"Hi! I'm here for an interview." "Great! What company are you with?" "Gratipay!" "I'm sorry, I can't find Gratipay on the list. Did you get an email?" "Actually, no. Could you put me on the waiting list?" "Sorry, we don't have a waiting list." "In that case can I just hang out in the lobby?"

[chadwhitacre]

Garry's article is great advice, too. Most helpful I think I've read so far (under #836).

[chadwhitacre]

Looks like they are just a mile off the train line. Google Maps is telling me it'll be about two hours on the local trains from the airport to YC, and then a couple hours to get back up to the city in the evening.

[chadwhitacre]

Heh ... SmugMug is right off the train line, a block or two from YC. I had a positive interaction with founder Don MacAskill a couple years ago ... he later offered to help with our old YC application! Perhaps I will stop there as well. :-)

[chadwhitacre]

I think I should load up as many meetings as I can as early as I can, so that there is time for follow-on serendipity.

[chadwhitacre]

Mozilla's HQ is right near SmugMug and Y Combinator as well.

[chadwhitacre]

(They also have an SF office.)

[chadwhitacre]

Alright! Sooooooo ... I'd really love to be able to sign up companies to fund open source software while I'm out in SF next week, but there's a couple things potentially holding us back:

1. One is the difficulty of finding worthwhile projects to support on Gratipay—we have about 200, but only a couple biggish ones.
2. Another is that we don't provide any recognition to companies for doing so.

We don't have time for any big improvements to the site between now and Monday morning, when I fly out (and I have to be offline most of today and tomorrow with my family), but I had a brainstorm about a possible low-fi solution to both of these problems. The idea is that we create a Team called "Open Source Software," owned (more or less) by the ~Gratipay user, and whatever money is given to that Team, we manually re-give to open source software projects on the site.

We should be able to implement that much without any code changes, and it would give us a way around problem (1).

We could then perhaps bring back a page for (2) based initially on givers to the "Open Source Software" Team.

[dmitshur]

A question/concern about the proposed idea above.

we manually re-give to open source software projects on the site

How would you do that fairly? More importantly, how would you communicate to anyone planning to send money there that you'd be able to do it fairly?

I suppose those who want to decide what's fair for themselves can do the selection of open source projects themselves. And those that don't care can pick the proposed "Open Source Software" catch-all team. Is that the thinking here?

[chadwhitacre]

Is that the thinking here?

Yes. Mostly I want to have something in my back pocket when talking to companies face-to-face over the next couple weeks. If someone is like, "Sure! We'll help fund open source on Gratipay," I don't want them to immediately fall off the wagon when there is no-one obvious to give to. Even if a company only gives a token amount to the Open Source Software catch-all, they are at least on the site giving and can evolve from there.