Why Should I Start a Startup?
blog.ycombinator.com
Why Should I Start a Startup?
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Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#2Hey folks - happy to answer questions here
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#3Loved this post, thanks! You mentioned the 3 constraints under which you (and many founders) thrive in:
* Being the underdog
* Hard challenges most people shy away from
* Personal responsibility for outcomes
Why are some people best under those conditions? Is it something trainable, or inherent?
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#4Should one also do a startup, when a startup seems to be the only possible path to "see something happen"?
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#5What does your data show regarding success rate for people like you vs those who build companies because of the need to have something exist?
What are specific challenges you see in each case?
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#6[deleted]
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#7> 1. The vast majority of startups are not successful
This alone is why 90% of people will not choose to work at a startup. You will work long hours, for crap pay, and you'll be waiting in line if there is an exit.
The odds of there being an exit worth anything to anyone other than a founder are small enough to not even worth considering.
If you are a founder you're gambling on your chances. There are ways to mitigate the risk but there's no sure thing.
Don't start a startup if you do not have the financial security to basically lose everything you put in.
Don't start a startup if you have family that depends on your income. You could choose to eat ramen and sleep on the floor of a college dorm room. Your kids (and CPS) might not appreciate it.
I agree the motivation is very important. I disagree that you cannot find the same motivation in a more stable organization (or can't motivate yourself). I recently finished reading, Extreme Ownership [0], and I bring that with me to work. People need to be responsible for outcomes: that's not unique to startups. You can also find that motivation internally and share it with your colleagues as you go.
[0] https://www.amazon.ca/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs-ebook...
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#8Great post! I love reading pre-company autobiographical accounts from successful founders, as I find it to be a great way to get ideas for what pre-company experiences might best prepare me to be successful myself.
Some additions I would make to Michael's list for "Why to start a start-up":
- As a founder you get a level of control over what problem you're solving that you'll rarely have as an employee.
- You also get a level of control over who you're working with that you'll rarely have as an employee.
- You also escape having your income determined by the market for labor, and instead have it determined by the market for your product.
Those three things are very, very important to me, and I suspect also to many other founders.
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#9> 1. The vast majority of startups are not successful This alone is why 90% of people will not choose to work at a startup. You will work long hours, for crap pay, and you'll be waiting in line if there is an exit. The odds of there being an exit worth anything to anyone other than a founder are small enough to not even worth considering. If you are a founder you're gambling on your chances. There are ways to mitigat…
If you have the entrepreneurial itch and don't have the financial security to back it up, becoming a bootstrapped micropreneur is a great first choice.
Start your business on the side, when it revenue is high enough to live on, make the jump. It's slower than a funded startup, but a lot less risky. Does come with a high social opportunity cost due to lack of time, however. But so does starting a startup.
If your sidehustle does well, you can even leverage it later to fund your big startup idea. Or, hell, live a good life on a lifestyle business making a few hundred thousand per year.
$150k/year revenue won't get you any headlines, but it's plenty to live on and run a solo business.
Get to $500k/year and you prob have a higher expected ROI over N years than any startup founder.
Disclaimer: my sidehustle is at the $50k/year level, but that's on 60 hours per month. If I didn't insist on living in SF, I could have a very cushy life back in Europe.
Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?
#10> 1. The vast majority of startups are not successful This alone is why 90% of people will not choose to work at a startup. You will work long hours, for crap pay, and you'll be waiting in line if there is an exit. The odds of there being an exit worth anything to anyone other than a founder are small enough to not even worth considering. If you are a founder you're gambling on your chances. There are ways to mitigat…
Being a successful business is not all gambling luck, it's not always working long hours for crap pay, and many, many people have started companies with families and without losing everything they put in. Also, "90% of people choose not to work at a startup" seems like a really bad guess.