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How to start a company with no free time

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Re: How to start a company with no free time

#91

Post by cocktailpeanuts »

magic_beans wrote: post #40
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not really related to this thread since this is about how to "start a company with no free time" (hint: there is no such thing as "no free time"), but to answer your question, I did reach my goal and went above and beyond.

How was your health after such little sleep? Did you ever take breaks?

Yeah, i'm not advocating that you do this until you burn out or die. I think the most important part is that I would sometimes just stop working when I don't feel like it. And don't do anything, or sleep for 12 hours, or whatever. Then soon enough I will want to come back.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#92

Post by olalonde »

ryandrake wrote: post #29
ggregoire wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by the points 1 and 3. I started a company 2 months ago as solo founder and I work everyday on the product (a SaaS for small/mid companies). I really have no free time to do marketing yet or promote my idea. I just focus on having a MVP. 1. "Decline invitations from VCs to drink a coffee" I've never received any attention from a VC, like probably most founders when they started their first company. It s…

Yea, kind of bizarre, especially as point #1. How would a VC even know you're working on a start-up? I also don't get random E-mails from VCs asking me whether I am working on a start-up and if so would I like to drink a beverage. Is this really a common problem for people?

Not saying the advice is right or wrong but VCs that "send invitations to drink a coffee" are usually lower level employees with little to no decision making power. Job titles at VC firms are a bit misleading too (e.g. "Principals / Associates" are relatively low level employees and rarely have a vote in deals). It might be common knowledge but I was surprised by this when I initially found out.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#93

Post by ThomPete »

Douger wrote: post #75
ThomPete wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.ghostnoteapp.com/

That looks fantastic. I'm assuming there aren't any plans for a Windows release though?

Thanks. We are frantically working on getting a new version out right now with many more features like a scripts creator and a notes browser.

Windows is on the way but it's taking some time.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#95

Post by FlyingSnake »

> I declined every invitation for coffee, drinks, and networking of any form. Most of these invitations came from VCs..

I find it really hard to believe that VCs are chasing the author, who had no track record in Startup land. Her advice looks solid, but how can VCs be bending over backwards for a meeting with her? I've never seen VCs do that based on what I've seen so far.

Anywas kudos on shipping, the idea looks promising.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#96

Post by _Adam »

javiramos wrote: post #84
lubujackson wrote: post #12

After having a baby I struggled to switch from marathon coding sessions to trying to punch out code in hour, half hour or even 10 minute increments. The best advice is what she said - plan and divide tasks ruthlessly. There's always bits of time to work on your task list on your phone or flesh out a bit of meta-code in your to-do list, and now I'm able to do the brunt of the "thinking" work in the shower or wherever,…

As a mechanical engineer, this is the key to efficient work. Never CAD anything until you have done mental experiments, paper drawings, and thought through all the possible issues.

I'm a software engineer dabbling in mech design. I always do mental experiments and paper drawings, but I find that until I actual model it in SolidWorks I don't know for certain it will work.

In your mind, do you see a "mental picture" of the model before you CAD it?

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#97

Post by lubos »

FlyingSnake wrote: post #95

> I declined every invitation for coffee, drinks, and networking of any form. Most of these invitations came from VCs.. I find it really hard to believe that VCs are chasing the author, who had no track record in Startup land. Her advice looks solid, but how can VCs be bending over backwards for a meeting with her? I've never seen VCs do that based on what I've seen so far. Anywas kudos on shipping, the idea looks pr…

Maybe those VCs were not used to being told "no"

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#98

Post by smaili »

During my husband’s multi-month cancer treatment, I declined every invitation for coffee, drinks, and networking of any form. Most of these invitations came from VCs who were trying to get information about what I was working on or the parenting space in general.

Given that most of the time it's the founders chasing the VC's, I was quite curious why she seemed to be on the other end of the stick. A quick click to her Twitter mentions:

> Previously #KillEricsCancer, Postmates, Twitter, YouTube, Google, MIT.

Not saying other people can't have similar success, but you may want to learn more about a person's background before getting too confident.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#99

Post by JoblessWonder »

FlyingSnake wrote: post #95

> I declined every invitation for coffee, drinks, and networking of any form. Most of these invitations came from VCs.. I find it really hard to believe that VCs are chasing the author, who had no track record in Startup land. Her advice looks solid, but how can VCs be bending over backwards for a meeting with her? I've never seen VCs do that based on what I've seen so far. Anywas kudos on shipping, the idea looks pr…

It seems like she certainly has a track record with major companies as a Product Manager at Google, YouTube, Twitter, and even Director of Product at Postmates.

She even got a dedicated write up in TechCrunch.[0] That is probably enough to get various sized VC's attention.

[0] https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/09/postmates-and-twitter-prod...

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#100

Post by JoblessWonder »

ryandrake wrote: post #29
ggregoire wrote: post #24

I'm surprised by the points 1 and 3. I started a company 2 months ago as solo founder and I work everyday on the product (a SaaS for small/mid companies). I really have no free time to do marketing yet or promote my idea. I just focus on having a MVP. 1. "Decline invitations from VCs to drink a coffee" I've never received any attention from a VC, like probably most founders when they started their first company. It s…

Yea, kind of bizarre, especially as point #1. How would a VC even know you're working on a start-up? I also don't get random E-mails from VCs asking me whether I am working on a start-up and if so would I like to drink a beverage. Is this really a common problem for people?

She had an article written about her on TechCrunch. That would likely put her on a lot of VC's radar.
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