Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#1

Post by tonytpa » Thu, Dec 28, 2017, 7:37 PM UTC

I'm wondering how many people on HN want to start a startup, but don't know where to start? Maybe you don't know what idea to start it around, or you have an idea but aren't sure if it's any good and don't know how to validate it.

Maybe you feel like you need a cofounder to have a better chance at success but don't know anyone who is interested.

This all describes me. I'm wondering who else out there this describes?

From those who have had these same feelings and started successful startups, how did you get around these problems?

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#2

Post by byoung2 » Thu, Dec 28, 2017, 7:59 PM UTC

The same is true of nearly every "glamorous" profession. Actor, performing artist, doctor. In the abstract sense they look exciting, pay great money, but they take hard work to get there. There are far more people who say they want to be doctors, actors, or rock stars than there are people willing to dissect cadavers in medical school, endure endless auditions, or shop demos to record labels.

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#3

Post by tonytpa » Thu, Dec 28, 2017, 10:12 PM UTC

byoung2 wrote: post #2

The same is true of nearly every "glamorous" profession. Actor, performing artist, doctor. In the abstract sense they look exciting, pay great money, but they take hard work to get there. There are far more people who say they want to be doctors, actors, or rock stars than there are people willing to dissect cadavers in medical school, endure endless auditions, or shop demos to record labels.

I don't think the doctor comparison is very appropriate to what I'm describing. There is a very prescribed path to becoming a doctor. You go to school, pass some exams, become a resident, etc. You know exactly what you need to do to be successful.

The same is not true as a startup founder. You can read about what other people have some, but you can't do exactly what they did. Your idea will be different, market will be different, timing will be different, team will be different, etc.

Anyway, I'm looking for other people who want to work on side projects/startups but aren't sure how to get started/want to meet other people in the same boat.

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#4

Post by byoung2 » Fri, Dec 29, 2017, 6:11 AM UTC

tonytpa wrote: post #3

byoung2 wrote: post #2

The same is true of nearly every "glamorous" profession. Actor, performing artist, doctor. In the abstract sense they look exciting, pay great money, but they take hard work to get there. There are far more people who say they want to be doctors, actors, or rock stars than there are people willing to dissect cadavers in medical school, endure endless auditions, or shop demos to record labels.

I don't think the doctor comparison is very appropriate to what I'm describing. There is a very prescribed path to becoming a doctor. You go to school, pass some exams, become a resident, etc. You know exactly what you need to do to be successful. The same is not true as a startup founder. You can read about what other people have some, but you can't do exactly what they did. Your idea will be different, market will…

The doctor comparison is more apt than you may realize, as there are very many specialties and lots of different paths to get there. Especially with the residency match program no doctor can say for certain which program he or she will get accepted to or where he or she will practice.

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#5

Post by Rjevski » Fri, Dec 29, 2017, 3:13 PM UTC

Same here, I feel like I'm just not ready to manage the entire thing, raise money, etc. I've got the tech pretty much worked out, but that's the easy part - the hard part is actually make it scale, deal with customers, money, investors, legal/regulatory issues, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#6

Post by tonytpa » Fri, Dec 29, 2017, 5:43 PM UTC

Rjevski wrote: post #5

Same here, I feel like I'm just not ready to manage the entire thing, raise money, etc. I've got the tech pretty much worked out, but that's the easy part - the hard part is actually make it scale, deal with customers, money, investors, legal/regulatory issues, etc.

I'd love to learn more about what you're doing.

Re: Ask HN: Who wants to start a startup?

#7

Post by Rjevski » Mon, Jan 01, 2018, 10:00 PM UTC

tonytpa wrote: post #6

Rjevski wrote: post #5

Same here, I feel like I'm just not ready to manage the entire thing, raise money, etc. I've got the tech pretty much worked out, but that's the easy part - the hard part is actually make it scale, deal with customers, money, investors, legal/regulatory issues, etc.

I'd love to learn more about what you're doing.

Working on a mobile MVNO with good customer service and innovative features (multiple mobile numbers, etc). The main issue is that the industry is a race to the bottom and it's hard to compete with the existing players and their extremely low prices (given that I plan on actually doing things right, so can't just outsource everything to the lowest bidder like the competition does).