Goodbye Google?

From an ex-Googler

http://www.sowbug.org/mt/2008/04/goodbye-google-hello.html


I'm doing something pretty goofy today: I'm leaving Google. My tattered old employee badge goes back to HR during my exit interview at 4:00 this afternoon. After that I'll be an ex-Googler.
Working at Google was as amazing as everyone says it is. Sure, the perks were nice. I'll miss the delicious meals, the ski trips, the commuter shuttle, and TGIF. But any company could provide such benefits, given enough free cash flow. What makes Google unique is its culture of respect. The tough interview process means that engineers are treated with respect from their first day. In such a supportive environment, even the most timid person works with self-confidence, which is marvelous to witness. This element of the company's culture was the biggest difference between Google and every other place I've worked in the past. I hope to take it with me throughout the rest of my career.

Which brings me to the future. What's next? I'd originally intended to take a year off and bang on a few software ideas that have been rattling around my head. I'd then pick the most promising one, find some friends, and start up a new venture. As it turned out, things went faster than I expected, and not exactly in the order I'd expected, but the result was the same.
My new venture is a software startup called FSX. I think of the company as a mashup of eBay, Charles Schwab, and American Idol. FSX will use a highly accurate, simulated brokerage to identify skilled stock portfolio managers. For the majority of participants, the fun of FSX's community and fantasy stock exchange will be its own reward. But there will be a tiny number of managers who we find can consistently outperform the field. For those newly discovered stars, we'll provide a market of investors willing to entrust real investment funds to their management.
The business idea is risky, no doubt. The Random Walk Down Wall Street crowd has seen all this before. But the premise that stock-picking is a legitimate, repeatable skill also forms the foundation of the hedge fund and mutual fund industries. If you (or your pension plan) have any of your money in a managed mutual fund or hedge fund, then you believe the premise, too.
The technical challenges are less risky, but to me they're even more fascinating. The uptime and integrity demands are arguably higher than those of a real brokerage. A slow trade in a real brokerage might cost one customer a certain amount of money. In fact, depending on how the ticker goes, the mistake might even earn the customer more money. But every complaint about FSX's performance damages its status as a faithful brokerage simulation, and that in turn damages the value of its entire community. Building a top-tier brokerage website would be hard enough. Our goals are much higher than that.

eBay built a global marketplace out of Pez dispensers and Elmo dolls. They made it possible for you to find that one guy out there who wants to buy your dusty old deluxe chartreuse dinglehopper. He completes his dinglehopper collection, you get some cash and some extra space on your shelf, and the world's a better place. FSX will do the same thing for investments and investment managers. If you think have management talent, we'll prove it for you. If you want hedge fund-level talent cheaper than the cheapest mutual fund, we'll find it for you.

If you'd like to see a preview, add the Fantasy Stock Exchange application to your Facebook account. If you're a smart software engineer in Silicon Valley and want to join something big while it's still small, email me at mailto:mike.tssao@gmail

Categoriescode , geek , work