Socks

Time for a new challenge for me, have found it hard to really focus on adult stuff the last while with diminishing returns and all that. I did my first adult stuff with ClickCash and ClickBucks in 1996, and then started AdultSiteSurfer.com in late 2001 as one of the first review sites ever. I actually wrote the business plan for it with no real understanding of anything in adult, just seemed logical enough.

When I was 14 I helped start a series of websites that we eventually sold, and I've raised over $600k in funding for my various projects including some in adult.

Now I'm 31, my 4 year old boy just started school this month and I knew it was time for a change. I was in Las Vegas "working" for my buddy at the World Series of Poker Main Event, sent a message to an old investor, and invited myself to her house for dinner. Hadn't seen her since the year 2000 or so.

I said I was looking for something new, and she setup a meeting with her brother for me. He was starting a new branch of one of the largest startup incubator/accelerators here, and a few meetings later I'm their new Sr. Project Manager. Didn't even give them a resume. Also I was up front about what I do in adult, and they didn't flinch.

The place is great, the pay is great, and now my income from adult is just an added bonus on top.

I always thought getting a job was a step down from running my own show, but I found the right opportunity here and I'm excited about getting involved with the local startup community.

I also thought I'd never be able to get a decent job, because they all require you to have studied to be something specific it seems, but there's opportunities out there for self driven people like us.

I know there's a lot of people out there making a small portion of what they used to make, putting off this same kind of decision just like I did. Hopefully this can provide some motivation for you to find something better too. It really feels good to have something positive happen again.

Scat in the Hat

Congrats dude, all the best!

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Far-L

Congrats, a great message for all the doubters, haters, and self loathers out there that make excuses instead of working to achieve their goals.

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travs

I feel ya bro...I can totally relate. I also started to work for a local startup..my income from adult serves as added bonus on top

TheSenator

Congrats! I always have the opportunities but I can not leave the life.

I have 3 kids and still make good enough scratch to spend time with them.

The time will come but only with the right people.

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LiveDose

A perfect example that we create our own 'luck'... Good luck with everything.

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Press Release Pro

Good luck !! New and different input always help with new ideas

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beks001

Congrats on all your previous and future success. This is great stuff and regardless of being the one running your own show or being part of a team if you are valued and successful and most importantly happy then that is what matters most. I wish you the best. The review site is super nice. I have to ask a question though. If you had too would the review site be enough annual income to keep things sliding by if need be? It seems like review sites are very demanding and time consuming to develop but not only that they are also hard to get to take off and gain traction today.

What is your opinion on that?

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SilentKnight

Likewise started in adult around '96 as a video editor for Canada's largest adult vid distributor...then launched our own production company in 1999.

But I saw the writing on the wall six years ago and decided to take on a second job to avoid having all the eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Six years later I've worked my way up to management...and very soon will be taking over the top seat when my boss retires.

Our adult sites still kick in with a little revenue these days - but we consider it bonus money to our other incomes.

Good for you, Socks.

AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

Congratulations! I applaud you for your motivation, and putting your family first.

Here in the SF Bay Area, many employers recognize the value of hiring generalist people for some positions more based upon their experiences and potential (if they demonstrate it), than simply based upon a resume or degree. I think that is one of the reasons so many innovations come out of this area.

Good luck Socks (you'll never run out of pens now),

ADG

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seeme

Nice to hear

Paul Markham

Good luck in the new job.

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NeophyteUK

Congratulations, it's good to hear. :-)

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ErectMedia

good luck

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mineistaken

Just checked out some startup incubators - they give like 10.000 or 18.000$ to startups and takes only 6% of shares? How come it is that low, I mean even if you took 49% of shares those startups would be lining in for your money.

peterk

says the man who is starting his first day today. Report back to us in a couple months and let us know if you still think your job is great and how you like your boss, co workers punching a clock and having a schedule and no freedom.

keep telling yourself it will be great bro, if you say it enough times you might make yourself believe it.

johnnyloadproductions

It's always ellusive what people mean by "a real job."

Does that mean something you can make a career out of?

lucas131

dont know nothing about startup incubators, but have luck!

peterk

" a real job" is what you get when you fail at working for yourself. Bullshit is what you feed yourself to make you feel better about your new job. crying is what you do once you found out your boss or co workers are douches and the start up shuts down and you have no income.

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Zuzana Designs

Good luck and congrats on your new job.

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L-Pink

I would never work for a company that would have me as an employee.

.

xNetworx

Translation - I need more money... jk... Congrats Dude!

Theo

Congratulations, i always thought you were older :-)

Socks

Thanks for all your good wishes, it will be challenging to do things like wake up when I have to, put on pants every day and whatnot, but I'm really happy to be excited to do something challenging again.

I have some good side projects on the go and I've contemplated raising funding for them, but I just feel like if I don't try something new I'm not going to be a very well rounded person in a few years.

Now I'm among nearly 50 small startup companies (though some have as many as 25 employees), 300 very smart young people around me, and I do something different every day. Also many of them are trying to raise money, something that I've already done several times, so they look up to me and value my opinion. Feels good man!

Barefootsies

It sound's magical.

Congrats on the career move. It sounds like you're happy with the decision. That's all that counts.

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Enough Said.

"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

O MARINA

What's up Socks, so are you working on new stuff out in Vegas?
Sounds like a good new start, new people. Good luck

Socks

My boss is great, I've known him for 15 years.

I don't punch a clock.

I make my own schedule, and work from home as necessary.

That's how I felt for a long time. It felt like giving up or admitting defeat. However I've also come to realize that most every business has a life cycle. Some businesses, no matter how well executed are just not applicable in different times. You need to have the right thing, at the right time to be successful. Timing is truly everything. My businesses in adult served their purpose at a good time, and now the time isn't as good to be in this business.

I'm not working for a startup, but for a University that runs an accelerator.

You know what makes me feel better about my new job? I made $100 to sit in a 2 hour meeting yesterday, talking and holding a pen. Fuck my life right? So terrible.

So now tell us Peter, since I'm such a failure with all things I've done by 31 years old, please enlighten us with your successes.

Barefootsies

Any industry is what you make of it. You have to try new business models, and innovate. I would say that most of the adult industry has just followed the sheep over the past 5-7 years. Now they are getting slaughtered, which should be the end result.

That said, I agree with you that timing does play a roll to some degree. Adult is still profitable. Around here as an example, $3-5k a month will bring you a decent life. Most of my friends make this, have homes, trucks, boats, and are not struggling. You can achieve this easily online. You just have to work a 8 hour day, 5 days a week (ya know... treat it like a real job).

That being said, I think most of the people I have talked too that are getting out of the game really are just tired of the webmaster grind. The life of a webmaster is the same thing day in and day out. Doing your updates, and so forth. It gets old after a decade. Leaving them to believe the grass is greener.

As you get older, you priorities change. Whether with a family and kids, or you no longer like to ride the ups and downs of working for yourself, the economy, the industry, and alike. Some just want health benefits, and a pay check. No skin in the game. No risk. No thinking required.

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Enough Said.

"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

peterk

Getting a job selling incubators is a sure way to make sure you can stay well rounded.

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Sarah_Jayne

There is a lot to be said for getting out there in the market before you *need* to do it. For me, deciding it was time to be okay with not working remotely after over a decade of doing so was a huge choice but has paid off. Congrats and be proud of making the right decisions for you and your family.

peterk

you know a guy for 15 years you know him as a boss for 1 day.

I am not huge success, I am not delusional either. come back in a couple months and tell us how great your job is after you do it for while.

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Socks

All very good points. I still do alright with my adult projects and I earn a living, but it's a far cry from what it used to be. It's hard to see a catalyst on the horizon that will turn things around, too.

I think the grind is a lot more appealing when you know you're going to see good results. There's a breakeven point in each day. So when you can make your daily nut in 1-2 hours and worked 10, you were doing well. But now that you have to put in 6+ hours a day to get the same results, there's not a lot of room for growth, and you're not as excited to do the work.

One of the real bonuses of riding this out maybe a bit longer than I should was family for sure. This allowed me to stay home with my kid from birth to first day of school, month long trips to Mexico where my wife is from for him every year, sometimes more than once. Will be hard to give those things up.

Maybe I'll learn some new skills, set some new positive routines and get back to my own thing one day.

Barefootsies

Summed up toe perfection.

Most of those I have talked to who are getting out of the game cite this (paraphrased) as the reason. They have to work harder for less money then they used to make "back in the day". Despite the money they made for a few hours of work was unrealistically sustainable. Additionally, most now have families, and want a steady pay check and benefits.

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Enough Said.

"Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

Socks

He invested $250,000 in my company when I was 17 years old. Then his company went public. What I started there is still online today.

Socks

Yeah things have changed considerably over the last few years. There are just so many people trying to start so many things, it's unsustainable really. Where everything used to be very private, now people get up on stage and pitch to hundreds of people at once, even with their competitors in the same audience. New reality I'm trying to learn about.

The idea is just to get in early for cheap, make the investors work on a shoestring budget, get them additional funding if they deserve it later and get out before a bang or bust. They can invest in many more companies this way too, spreading their eggs around.

Tim

Congratulations!

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peterk

hey nothing wrong with getting a job if you have to everyone needs to pay the bills it just funny to see how hard you trying to make you self think you doing something really great by using words like challenging well rounded great place great pay it feels good positive. it's a job once you been doing it for a couple months you will hate it or the job will be gone. PIRIOD!!

Chosen

Congrats man

mineistaken

How is it possible to work not as employee?
Even if you are partner and WORK in the company you are also an employee. If you are a partner and do not work that means you do not work. If you work than you are also and employee.

BlackCrayon

thats not what he means.

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CurrentlySober

Congrats ! Enjoy the new challenges. Pussy can get a bit boring over time.

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Socks

I'm sorry if my happiness offends you, I'll try to be less happy going forward.

peterk

lol no need for you to try to be less happy it will happen on it's own in the near future guaranteed.

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lazycash

Sounds interesting, I'm curious what you were doing for your buddy at the WSOP?

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mineistaken

I think he meant:

"I would not be an employee"

But since he said it in different words I am curious how is that possible to work and not be an employee at the same time. Being a volunteer maybe, but thats definitely not what he meant either

peterk

lookin at other players cards

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Socks

Peter is exactly right, I was looking at other people's cards.

Everyone's cards on the two feature tables, on monitors in the TV truck. Basically we input the hole card and community card values so they can populate graphics for the TV broadcast.

I'm going to do WSOP Europe a week from now, 6 days in Cannes, France for the show and 4 days in Belgrade, Serbia afterwards for fun.

Jeppe

Congrats on the job! That is awesome

I can definitely relate to this. I sometimes miss a "real" job and consider what kind of job I would fit into... It's kind of difficult when you don't really have a lot of experience or points on your resume - only your own web business - adult on top of that.

I am glad you found a good opportunity and hope it all turns out successful

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wehateporn

Well done on the new job!

Feels strange for me reading this, as I've only been full time in adult for 2 years, so working for myself is still very exciting. I've had many day jobs over the years and have always dreamed of having my own business, but it was hard to find enough time, so it took me 3 years of part time adult before I could make the break.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your new role; you never know where it will take you

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Socks

Thanks! We went through a similar thing that you guys did a few years ago, investing about the same amount of money you did in a project that never went anywhere. We really believed in it, and it was a lot of factors as to why it fell apart.

One thing I can say is to tell the story from a different angle about what you've done. You started a business, employed X number of people over the years, made over X million dollars, first of its kind, etc. The story can be told a lot better than "I ran some porn sites".

Also expect a certain level of job based on your experience, don't assume you have to start at the bottom again.