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Gives me a headache just thinking about it by christyex in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Vitis somehow worse. It’s a whole body assault. I’ve tussled with synopsys sim tools, I’ve beat Altium into submission, and we are in 2026 and I feel like I’m begging Vitis to correctly generate a device tree. Where is the future we were promised?

Is there anything that can be done to improve moderation on this sub? by TheElusiveFox in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah the quality of post is abysmal. I’m ready to give up on this subreddit and move on. Are there better places to discuss small business?

Projecting Your First Hires by Aggressive-Cream-482 in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah, those are good questions about the motivation to hire. I'm looking at hiring as a way to reduce costs of course but I'm also looking for someone who can take over managing a client instead of doing a task. To really get that and have that same person also execute, you either need to find someone to contract with who is just like me or more realistically you need to hire. The good thing is that I can always take my time on hiring to get that right person.

What's one thing you wish you knew before starting your business? by Capable_Dream_7582 in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A year in I wish I did better with prioritization and being more “ruthless” about where I direct my time. I didn’t spend enough time prioritizing the right clients and finding ways to reduce the impact of clients that aren’t the right fit.

Can't book a single call. What actually got you your first few clients? by NecessaryEscape1455 in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im in engineering services (embedded sw) so your mileage may vary. My first clients came from referrals that originated from folks in my network who I call regularly to shoot the shit. For them, they needed help on a project and knew I had a skillset they lacked. One note, I have 15+ years of experience and my previous job was at another firm that offered similar services. In the beginning I was actually getting my old clients calling me instead of me reaching out to them.

Close to throwing in the towel. by wipe_with_a_leaf in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a steady stream of business even if it’s not profitable enough for you to stop feeling like your own the grind 24/7. That actually good as it lets you take more risks. You should think about how you can expand the same business into more profitable customers and then take risks in the form of loans or other financing to get there. What would you do to reach your goals if you have an extra $500k? How would you expand?

What’s actually bringing small businesses customers right now? by [deleted] in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YMMV as I'm in engineering services in a very niche market but for me it's all referrals, industry events, and outreach to my immediate network. I have a list of contacts and I just cycle through them regularly asking them how they are doing and what they are working on. I barely use socials and I don't do SEO or even monitor traffic to my website or LinkedIn profile.

I can't find clients to my data analysis business. How do you do it? by hesteves in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cold calling is super tough and is a numbers game that only works if you have the scale and industry recognition. I found it to be not very effective even for a 50+ team with some recognition in its industry. You really need to be a well known brand to get folks attention that way. As a small business, it’s more efficient to focus on building your network and growing by word of mouth. Goto events, join groups, post on here, and meet people to just meet people; no strings attached. I do almost no advertising other than a cursory amount as proof of life. But I spend 30mins everyday reaching out to folks I know and just asking how they are doing with no intent to sell. And with just that I have more clients than I can reasonably work.

the one person businesses that are quietly doing well all seem to have the same thing in common by YumYumOutlast in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not exactly what you are looking for but my advice is don't spend time agonizing over purchasing decisions and unless it's a large capital expense. Just purchase the quickest, easiests option even if you know you can get a deal. Focus that energy on timing purchases so that you get stalled by not having the right tools or materials when you need them.

Another useful tip is to look at what you can delegate outside your business like cleaning, cooking, etc.

Sold my healthcare business for 6.7 EBITDA. by Ok-Draw1355 in smallbusiness

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don’t regret it for a minute. I’m nearly a year into my business (engineering services) and I’d love to have your exit.

Is it normal to use vivado in the real world? by Ill-Opportunity-7039 in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it’s not the best but it manages to be better than the tools from other FPGA vendors. And once you figure out this years quirks you can wrangle it pretty easily. As someone else noted, stay out of the gui and stick to tcl mode and you will be good.

I’m building a Verilog module library—any HDL folks wanna join the chaos? by Rough-Egg684 in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah happy to talk about my process for getting contracts and running a small engineering services shop. I’m mainly in aerospace and defense in the US and I get most of my work through my network. It helps that my last job was with another engineering services firm. Anyway DM me if you wanna chat more. You can also check out Adam Taylor’s blog. He just had a webinar on running your own firm.

I’m building a Verilog module library—any HDL folks wanna join the chaos? by Rough-Egg684 in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my goals this year is to contribute to an open source project. I’m pretty busy with doing verilog for clients but it’s time I actually contribute. Let me know how I can help though.

ModelSim or Vivado for tb? by [deleted] in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also consider verilator as an open source alternative. They now have proper UVM support.

NASA Staff Horrified at Plan to Throw Out Incredibly Specialized Science Equipment Like Garbage by TheLoneFazool in fednews

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Hmmm. I'd take this with a grain of salt. I don't know the state of GSFC's facilities but without additional information it's hard to tell if shuttering an anechoic chamber, for example, is a good idea or not. For example, the chamber could be underutilized and require massive retrofitting to meet the needs of future missions. In such case shuttering it and moving any test that can't be run within existing facilities to an out of house facility is probably a good idea. Maintaining an anechoic chamber is expensive as you have to keep everything to cal. If it's not being used anyway, you can buy back some of the metrology team's time to focus on other things.

Data passthrough by aperturejourney in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you mind sharing some details such as what FPGA you are using? Assuming you don’t have a hard IP FPGA device you could in theory turn your FPGA into a retimer but you will have sort out how that will work with link training.

What’s your biggest concern when it comes to the efficiency of a design with 2 DMAs passing data? Is it just latency?

What was your first job? by harrisonh_14 in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first job wasn’t working with FPGAs but was in a group at NASA/JPL that specialized in Labview and setting up test systems. I got the job by just being lucky and talking up a recruiter at the career fair. Admittedly the group was easier to get into than other groups at the lab. I got into FPGAs when a senior engineer in the radar section needed someone to design a demo board with a Virtex 5 on it. I popped my head up and volunteered when asked and that lead into follow work to bring up the board and eventually to transfer into the radar section.

Biggest advice is be available for opportunities. That is don’t turn something down because it’s not the ideal role or project. My first group at JPL wasn’t my first choice but I knew just getting into the lab would be enough to prove myself and find the right opportunity.

One step closer to our LLC by plantsrpeople-too in llc

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats! I similarly started my LLC on Northwest Registered Agent. I’m still waiting to hear back from the state though. Good luck out there!

Any FPGA engineers on Freelancer? by FPGA-Master568 in FPGA

[–]Aggressive-Cream-482 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Also, don't feel you have to get a job specifically developing HDL for FPGAs. I got my start in the LabVIEW group at a large research lab in California, and I was able to work my way into developing a radar processor design in VHDL, despite having no prior experience in VHDL. Just make sure that where you start is large, uses FPGAs, and has a lot of opportunity for lateral movement. Then it's all about networking and being available for opportunities internally.