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Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

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Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#21

Post by keyle »

twidlit wrote: post #9
adrianwaj wrote: post #3

Maybe you should just quit for the sake of your family. I am not being defeatist, or else just work out some milestones that you'll obtain from here onward. If you don't meet them, then quit.

Quitting is not an option and even ridiculous to me. I dunno if its the founder optimism at work but I am sure this is gonna play out great after launch. We are just 6 months into the startup and have yet to release our v1.0 with the iphone / android app. (ETA 2 months). Its tough but not impossible.

Can it be finished after hours or part time?

1- launching is always later than envisaged 2- you won't strike it rich on day 1 of release 3- doing something else on the side might actually make you more productive on your own project

Just don't crash and burn yourself. I'm a contractor and I work after hours. I rake a very decent hourly rate and I work my own hours.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#22

Post by d_mcgraw »

twidlit wrote: post #11
d_mcgraw wrote: post #4

I took the first job I could get out of college. I am paid, like you, 1/3 of what I should be making (according to state stats). I have a mortgage, and a puppy to take care of. I barely squeeze by, but the company would be screwed if I left. I've tried to get other jobs with no success so far. I'm starting to feel like I'm stuck not only in my current job, but in New Mexico. Sorry for the rant, but I feel where you'r…

Dude, drop the puppy. :)

Man after work every day I need that cute little bastard to play with and hang out with. He's amazing.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#23

Post by garrettgillas »

This post actually makes me feel kind of grateful. I have kept my day job while working on my startup and am still single. I'm 27 & I work from home. The upside is that I have a place to live and work comfortably, I'm not broke and I can support my "startup habit". The downside is that I never get much sleep, my girlfriend hates it, almost everyone I know says that I should quit my startup and get married like a normal person, my student debt isn't going anytime soon, and the stress of that and everything else never seems to subside much these days.

Overall though, I feel like the chips are up for me right now. I've been in a spot once or twice in the past where I felt pretty desperate and depressed like you have mentioned. There's few things worse than professional failure with conveniently ill-timed personal trials happing simultaneously.

Luckily, this time around I've prepared a little more for the hard times that might soon come due to professional trials. Also, my past hardships have helped me prepare better mentally, knowing that I've pulled myself out of slumps before and that I will do it again when the chips are down.

I guess my point is, keep at it and remember that you're going to make something amazing. I always tell myself that I'm here to "create epic shit". It helps restore my ambition and makes me giggle a little. Maybe I'll have to say it more often if and when I take the startup full-time...

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#24

Post by sabj »

d_mcgraw wrote: post #22
twidlit wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dude, drop the puppy. :)

Man after work every day I need that cute little bastard to play with and hang out with. He's amazing.

Absolutely - puppy is a really great investment. I think great ROI for happiness and unconditional love.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#25

Post by garply »

I graduated from college (thankfully without debt) and started righted away. Developed product / failed for about a year, which left me just as broke as when I was in college - but I was used to that standard of living, so it wasn't a huge deal. A little more than a year from that, things are starting to look up, my quality of life is only improving.

The downside is my fellow students who went straight to jobs after college lead much cushier lives than I do and sometimes make me envious, but I expect that to change given a few more years.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#26

Post by onwardly »

I have over $100k in student loan debt from undergrad, and have nearly run through savings for the startup I'm working on. My loan payments kick back in in two months.

We're launching in 2-4 weeks, and the nature of the project is such that if it doesn't take off immediately then it may never take off. Talk about a fire under your ass!

That said, I'm loving it. I'm actually living in India at the moment, working from my laptop. Its dirt cheap over here, and during the breaks I take I get to experience India. And did I mention its cheap? $5/day food, $6/day housing, $5/day miscellaneous.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#27

Post by themullet »

klahnako wrote: post #15

I am in a very similar situation: Mortgage, kids, wife and in an almost failing startup. First, you need to know how much risk the wife can stomach. Second, the money does not matter to children; they may be better off if you have more time to spend with them. Third, always have small contracts on the side to balance the startup losses. Fourth, it is important that you contract to other companies, instead of being em…

So true with the contracts on the side. A lot of start ups end up taking years, need something for living/server costs so you can keep following the dream.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#28

Post by akshayubhat »

onwardly wrote: post #26

I have over $100k in student loan debt from undergrad, and have nearly run through savings for the startup I'm working on. My loan payments kick back in in two months. We're launching in 2-4 weeks, and the nature of the project is such that if it doesn't take off immediately then it may never take off. Talk about a fire under your ass! That said, I'm loving it. I'm actually living in India at the moment, working from…

not to forget $3 per month mobile phone service.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#29

Post by PStamatiou »

onwardly wrote: post #26

I have over $100k in student loan debt from undergrad, and have nearly run through savings for the startup I'm working on. My loan payments kick back in in two months. We're launching in 2-4 weeks, and the nature of the project is such that if it doesn't take off immediately then it may never take off. Talk about a fire under your ass! That said, I'm loving it. I'm actually living in India at the moment, working from…

I am in the same boat (except for living in SF not India). Been doing startups since I graduated 2 years ago. Near $100k loans from undergrad, needing to pay off the convertible note from my first startup that didn't convert to equity, car payment and a few months into working on current startup where I haven't taken salary yet. Though the best thing I did was cancel my credit card a year ago.

On the "up" side, I have never had a real, structured, paying job so I have never made real money. Just some scraps that my blog makes each month. So being broke and (trying to) live within my means has become natural.

Re: Ask HN: Who is currently broke due to being in a startup?

#30

Post by spotted_at »

mgkimsal wrote: post #17
spotted_at wrote: post #12

I am. I usually pull about 150 - 175 a year contracting and now I am making 0 because I am working on my startup. Money starts to disappear fast when none is coming in.

Can I assume you meant 150k per year? Obviously money going out with no income depletes cash on hand. However, it would seem making 150k for a year or so should buy you a pretty big runway. I'm guessing you have a lot of outgoing if it feels like it's disappearing 'fast'.

Yea, 150k. I thought I had enough savings to last about 2 years; I was wrong so I am seriously cutting back.

If mainly feels like its going fast because I was accustomed spending what I want and not seeing my bank account drop.

Now that I don't have anything coming in thats not the case. The impact of what I spend is much more visible now.

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