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Ten Loaded Questions: David Young

In this, the first of a series of Ten Questions Posed to Various Joyeurs (That You May Know Them Better), I talked with David Young, Founder and CEO of Joyent. – Dean Allen

1. Can you share with us your placement on the political compass according to politicalcompass.org?

Economic Left/Right: -0.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.64

The results were surprising to me. I consider myself an “agrarian conservative” as defined by Chesterton. Which means I prefer farmers to technology (yeah ironic), small business to big business, family over the many modern “freedoms”. Some would say: “confused and idealistic”.

2. What are your seven dream Jeopardy! categories?

• Hokey Homer
• Papal Bull
• Grades of Beef
• The Minor Prophets
• Italians in Purgatory
• Music of Wagner
• Macintosh Toolbox (Before System 7)

3. You read Classics in university. How many times in a given week will you feel a resonance between the goings on of the company (or, for that matter, your family life) and those of the ancient Mediterranean world?

Oh, some days I feel like a person in Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius is exploding: doomed. It’s difficult working for a start-up like Joyent with so many ambitious plans for the future. Being self-funded, Joyent has limited resources to accomplish our goals. That’s why I like to call to mind the opening lines of Caesar’s Commentary on the Gallic War: gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Basically, Caesar begins the task of conquering Gaul (which encompassed modern France, Belgium, and part of southern Germany) by listing the tasks to be accomplished. I like that approach to problem solving. Discreet chunks that are digestible.

4. Uh huh. You’ve stated that you prioritize your activities in order to benefit other people first, God second, and then finally yourself. Given this hierarchy, how important is a round of golf?

Actually, the “I’m Third” principle I learned at summer camp way back when went “God first, others second, and I’m third”. Thanks to my parallel-bus exegesis of this principle, a round of golf is very important since I can praise the Creator in creation, give succor to my neighbor by listening to his life concerns during the round, and provide myself with some needed rest and relaxation. The fact is, I rarely get to play.

5. Describe the ideal home you’d build for your wife and daughters.

A combination of traditional Scandinavian elements and lots of steel and floor to ceiling glass. A couple courtyards. About 10,000 square feet. Six bedrooms. Lots of hidden passages. A swimming pool. Natural light. Solar powered. Heating in the floor. A place for a large vegetable garden. A view of Mount Tamalpais here in Marin County. A sound and video studio. A sound proof room for the girls. A big stove. My brother is an architect and home builder in the Chicago area and we modify these designs on a fairly regular basis.

6. As one who rises early almost every morning, you benefit from a good deal more serene, solitary time than, say, me. What’s it like?

Lately my early mornings have been interrupted by my 14 month old daughter’s early mornings. Some people love the quiet of a late night. I prefer the very early morning. I do most of my writing and thinking during that time. It’s a habit I developed when I worked on Wall Street. The culture there is to be into work to plan for the day around 6 AM.

7. How long after leaving it behind would you deem it appropriate to mess with Texas?

After living in New York City for a number of years, I went back to mess with Texas. I was born in Dallas, grew up in Fort Worth, still say “y’all”. We Texans, when abroad, often introduce ourselves as Texans rather than Americans. I’m proud of my Texan heritage and my fellow Texans such as Coke Stevenson, Steven Austin, Sam Houston, “Cactus” Jack Garner, LBJ, Sam Rayburn, Roger Staubach, Carol Burnett, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Janis Joplin, Larry Hagman, and ZZ Top. You gonna mess with that?

8. Er, no. Top 5 OSX utilities?

• Visor
• Quicksilver
• VirtueDesktops
• Soundsource
• Handbrake

9. Best sandwich of your life?

Savory: Wonder bread with baloney, mayonnaise, and catsup (note the spelling).
Sweet: Wonder bread with peanut butter and honey (I call it “goober honey”).

10. Does it bug you when I smoke?

As you know, I used to be a smoker, too. I quit in 1996 and quickly ballooned to enormous proportions. Only in the past couple years did I feel like I can walk around the office with my shirt off without embarrassing myself. So yes it bugs me when you smoke because I know you want desperately to quit but the tobacco has its grip of you. But you will quit, you will grow very, very fat (every quitter does), and then you will go on Jenny Craig and all we’ll hear when you’re here is “You shouldn’t eat that prime steak with creamed spinach” and that is really going to drive me nuts. So it’s a quandary. I believe there is lots of pain ahead in our relationship.

Probably so. Thanks Dave!

No, thank you.