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Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

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Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#61

Post by fudged71 »

legitster wrote: post #16

Work a job as normal and boring as you can find. Boring is, boring. But boredom is a good way to build up energy for a future run at a startup. Also, one thing you lose working in a startup for a long period of time is perspective on what "normal" problems are. Which is why so many startups look like they only target other startups. The best ideas come from working in an industry long enough to understand the specifi…

I became a personal trainer. It was a great way to work the other side of my brain, learn a few things, but also have bandwidth to keep thinking about startups without the burnout. Certification was easy.

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#62

Post by daseiner1 »

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #55
endymi0n wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Playing a game or watching a movie feels good — but at the same time, you're living someone elses' dreams. All this dopamine, all this adrenaline will feel so good and make you tired just enough to conveniently forget about your own.

what about reading books? either fiction or non fiction?

the distinguishing benefit of reading, particularly more challenging works (of any genre), is improved reading comprehension and likely improved written ability as well, skills that have immense value in day-to-day life. Arguably video games and movies don’t have the same trickle over benefits. That being said I have an immense respect for the value of film and I imagine video games have certain benefits as well.

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#63

Post by websitescenes »

I went through this recently and have come out the other side with a successful new venture. It took some self reflection, humility and creativity to get here.

What did it for me was putting aside my ego and realizing that maybe my ideas weren’t the pinnacle of human thought. Up until this point I had been building what I wanted, believing that as an engineer I knew better than everyone else and therefore what they needed and should want. I think Silicon Valley and VCs have this problem in general and this is why most of them fail.

It wasn’t until I immersed myself into searching, networking and communicating, that I finally understood that there is a huge divide between what people need and what engineers think they need.

With that said, my suggestion would be to network with people outside of your normal circle and find someone or a business that is doing remarkably well without engineering or automation. Figure out how to pitch the bigger picture to them and co-opt them into a new venture. Their idea is already working with manual, redundant workflows. Imagine what you could do together to make the business scalable.

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#64

Post by predictmktegirl »

pm wrote: post #56
predictmktegirl wrote: post #48

After I exited my last business, it took me 3 years to finally get up to feeling ready again. I also went to a dark place for a while. My best advice is to keep your head up and think more about the present than the future, at least for a little while. Keep yourself busy and avoid things that feel too cumbersome or dreadful. Exercise and treat your body well. In between battling depression and anxiety over the years,…

What field did you come from and what did you end up going into?

Well I am still in computer engineering, but I've always considered that engineers always have a "minor" in whatever discipline in which they are working. Of course you can be a generalist web-dev; however, anything more interesting usually requires specialization into either a technology or domain.

To answer your question, I used to be an engineer more focused on front-end work, UX, and design. These days, I've gone back to my educational roots in economics and mathematics and moved more towards ML and prediction markets.

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#65

Post by itake »

jbob2000 wrote: post #20
itake wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the big companies are freezing hiring. This doesn't seem like practical advice.

Starting a business right now probably isn't a good idea either, so if that's the position you want to take, then there's no practical advice right now.

Why do you think starting a business right now isn't a good idea? To me, it seems like the perfect time.

In there next 6 months, there will new opportunities that never existed before. For example, there are many companies that are realizing they will get left behind if they don't let their workers, work remotely. I am sure there will be a new set of companies that specialize in making certain job roles more remote friendly.

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#66

Post by throes_death »

websitescenes wrote: post #63

I went through this recently and have come out the other side with a successful new venture. It took some self reflection, humility and creativity to get here. What did it for me was putting aside my ego and realizing that maybe my ideas weren’t the pinnacle of human thought. Up until this point I had been building what I wanted, believing that as an engineer I knew better than everyone else and therefore what they n…

Thanks for your advice. Your suggestion re: success businesses with manual, redundant workflows is great food for thought!

Re: Ask HN: Starting over after business failure

#67

Post by literallycancer »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #57
throes_death wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. I do need to forget about things but I also feel I need to feel as if I've earnt a paycheck. Does that make sense? I have not "won any bread" for the last 4 years and even some casual hours doing unskilled labor, I think, might make me feel energized.

I totally understand. Personally I would do some contracting. Having somebody tell you what to do and making some money without much stress can be good for the soul for a while.

I would expect contractors to be let go and/or contracts not refreshed at the nearest decision point at nearly all companies.
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