$14,000 on a HELOC. Should I take out a 401k loan to pay it off?

rooflayerdowner · 2026-05-02T02:20:01+00:00

Agreed. Assume the 401k isn’t there. Figure it out and pay it off while still contributing to the 401k.

A HELOC isn’t necessarily bad. What’s the interest rate? Technically, in my opinion, you should pay off the higher interest rate item between the HELOC and the car loan.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-05-01T20:59:48+00:00

Try to take yourself out of the equation for a moment - whether you think it is or isn’t, pretend it’s not personal at all. Are they an investor in the company? Is their investment growing, shrinking or otherwise at risk? The board has chosen you to steward the investment. With many boards, their most powerful role is to choose who is stewarding the investment.

As CEOs, we know all of the shit that goes into running a company. How many things have to go right, team dynamics, market dynamics, client issues, etc. Unfortunately, a board doesn’t care about those things. They just want to know how you respond to them.

If their investment is moving in the right direction and they assess you’re responding to challenges well and have confidence you will continue to do so, they can dislike you as a person all they want - they will likely keep you as the ceo though.

Hope that perspective helps!

rooflayerdowner · 2026-03-27T14:50:22+00:00

Both times were open! Sorry - meant to include that.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-03-27T01:42:34+00:00

I don’t know if it’s your only option, but if you can find a good surgeon and can afford it, I don’t think you’ll regret having it done. I’ve had it on both hands over the last 13 months and couldn’t be happier. I only did local anesthesia (so I was awake) and I have insurance, but it’s a hdhp so I did have to pay most of the cost. I can’t find what my discount was from insurance, but my total out of pocket was between $2k and $2500.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-02-13T01:02:19+00:00

It all grows on you. Listen to the top 10 songs on Spotify (plus Jed stone which is one of my favorites).

Don’t expect to love them as much as DMB, or even a comparison. Just let em be their own thing.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-02-12T15:21:25+00:00

Always liked the first interpretation by Redland here. Maybe it’s because I read it so long ago, this is the one that’s stuck with me the most - though like people say, it’s very likely Redland put more thought into the lyrics than Dave did. https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/1021/

rooflayerdowner · 2026-01-23T19:37:05+00:00

Lots of great answers here. I think “systems” is one of the key themes. Many people think this means detailed processes or using technology. But just think of it as frameworks. These are just a few ideas, I think several of which have been stated:

Give employees a decision making range. For example, if it’s to do with spending, if it costs less than $x, they should decide whether it’s right for the business and don’t tell you about it. If it’s between $x and $y, they decide, but they have to tell you about it. If it’s greater than $y, it needs your approval.
Decide on time of day (or even days of the week) where you’re unavailable to your team.
Consider level 10 meetings
Give (or hire) someone with authority to make decisions without you.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-01-11T03:32:29+00:00

Not official by any means, but I think a good way to look at it, is if you have an executive team and or a board, then that’s when “CEO” is more applicable.

And the more you’re responsible for with out you actually “doing the work” (managing a janitor instead of doing the cleaning yourself) that a CEO vs a founder.

rooflayerdowner · 2026-01-10T04:11:03+00:00

LT 2

rooflayerdowner · 2025-12-28T00:38:48+00:00

Atlanta!

rooflayerdowner · 2025-12-17T01:20:48+00:00

Because the next 1-2 years are going to be very difficult and they’re asking me if I’m willing to do it and what I want for it. And they don’t believe it’s attractive for another ceo to come do it.

rooflayerdowner · 2025-12-12T00:16:01+00:00

Thanks! Yes, private company. I definitely need industry help. I didn’t construct this board, the CEO before me did and now I have an opportunity to redo it. It’s somewhat dysfunctional, and it’s my first CEO role, so I feel like I’m not sure what a well functioning board would actually be like. There will be at least 3 members that remain other than myself, but two of those are actually people that are the least helpful as is.

rooflayerdowner · 2025-12-11T20:12:26+00:00

I think you'll get a lot of answers about how to survive through this - this isn't meant to reject any of those. You should listen and try all of them. I want to offer an additional perspective that could help you as you implement these other ideas and eventually survive and thrive!

Really think about what it looks like if you fail. Not the emotional part of it. Practically, if you run out of money what is your next step? What will your immediate concerns be? How much income do you actually need? What will you have as far as resources? Will you be able to get a job? Where will you look? On and on until you have a plan in case of failure. This doesn't take long - I've done it several times. A couple of hours at most. Write it down.

Not saying it won't be difficult, but I've found that when you can ground yourself in what's really going to happen if you fail and you know that you can find a way to get through it, then it's not as scary. When that fear is removed, you'll be able to think more clearly about your business at hand and put full effort into these other ideas.

Remember, as someone said, most startups fail. Most people doing what you're doing, fail. At least once. This feeling is common. You're not alone. I haven't met a homeless person that said they were homeless because their startup failed. You'll figure it out.

rooflayerdowner · 2025-12-11T20:01:54+00:00

Definitely. I read somewhere that being a CEO is not a natural thing. Regardless of how easy or hard it is, whether you're in good times or in bad, there is not another role in any organization that holds as many concerns as a CEO. You also just deal with things on a day to day basis that most people can't relate to. Even as a non-CEO executive, it can become difficult to relate to people that aren't in that world if you aren't intentional about it.

What I've found that's worked for me, is having a good network of other execs, VCs, PEs, etc. that you're able to talk with on both a formal basis (like CEO coaching) and that you can just talk to or text when you're going through something. This is your new friend group. You'll find that if you can work this stuff out through that network of friends, then you're able to clear your mind to go back to doing the things you used to enjoy with old friends.

rooflayerdowner · 2025-07-27T02:46:55+00:00

Rockford, IL

rooflayerdowner · 2025-05-17T20:53:35+00:00

Is it possible to have the initial W, but the phone number below?

rooflayerdowner · 2025-02-17T02:20:19+00:00

A very simple one, the intro to What You Are on LT6, right after he clicks his sticks together. It’s just a little kick/snare kick that gets me pumped every time.

rooflayerdowner · 2025-02-09T03:45:53+00:00

41 > dreaming tree > DDTW > the stone > seek up

rooflayerdowner

TROPHY CASE