16: Friends, Family and Startups with Robert Sweeney Folk Stories

Robert Sweeney is CEO of Facet, the premier platform for hiring senior contract software engineers.

Before becoming a founder, Robert was a senior software engineer himself at companies such as Netflix and Microsoft. Robert knew from an early age that he wanted to be an entrepreneur from working at his grandpa's grocery shop. Robert left Netflix with a friend to start a software development studio with an initial verbal contract from Western Digital.

In 2014, Robert founded Numetric, a SaaS based analytics startup. After working on the company for close to four years, hiring over 40 employees, and raising over $16 million in venture capital, Robert was fired from the very company that he founded.

Today, Robert is working full time on Facet and helping other engineers make the leap from full-time work to doing their own thing.

In today's episode, we talk about negotiating contracts, hiring and firing friends, and that time Robert's house almost burned down.

Quote

We had to make the decision that day… That didn't give us enough time to sign the contract. So we quit our jobs on a verbal yes.


– Robert Sweeney

Closing

inspiration

being fired from my startup - changed my perspective on startups and venture capital and also provide extra motivation


surprising

deal with anxiety


principal

complete transparency


anything else

successful entrepreneurs out there don't have anything that you don't have




Notes

working at grandpa's grocery store
early years at Microsoft and Netflix
first startup and quiting Netflix on a verbal agreement
working with western digital and communicating expectations
hiring and firing friends
that time when the house almost burned down
keeping a family together while doing a startup
Numetric, working with family, and getting fired from a company that you founded
facet, how it came to be and where its going


Links

Netflix Engineering Blog
Numetric
Facet
Why I Turned Down My YCombinator Interview