I think I'm going to stop reading any article about what it's like to run a company, until I actually create and run my next one.
Does anyone feel like reading articles has reached a point of diminished returns?
Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
61–69 of 69 posts
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#62Wow, this matches 101% my experiences self-funding my company and product. I made a lot of mistakes that I recognize in the advice given here. Kudos!
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
They need another catchy phrase to reply to this, along the lines of "if you never try, there's nothing to survive". Survivorship Bias is at the top of the list of "reasons not to try", and it's a shame to see it dragged out every time you see a success story. The thing I live on today was Job Quittin' Sideproject #5. The first four died without ever letting me quit any jobs. Is #5 "survivorship"? Or is it "persistan…
> Let's say the chance of getting a business working, even for a smart guy, is only 10%. It's much, much lower, according to any reasonable estimation. For all startups, I've seen "less than 1%" on many occasions. That obviously excludes tons of failures that are never reported anywhere -- sometimes that are never even incorporated, despite trying to build/sell a product. > Does that mean you shouldn't try? For the v…
I find that a lot of people who make this argument don't really care about other peoples quality of life/time/money/etc
They just don't want that other person to try, as if somebody else gets VC funding or launches a successful product, then it's less likely that you will be able to successfully do so, especially if you are in a similar space.
Talking somebody out of trying by convincing them that there is no chance of success is a lot easier than actually competing with them.
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Let's say the chance of getting a business working, even for a smart guy, is only 10%. It's much, much lower, according to any reasonable estimation. For all startups, I've seen "less than 1%" on many occasions. That obviously excludes tons of failures that are never reported anywhere -- sometimes that are never even incorporated, despite trying to build/sell a product. > Does that mean you shouldn't try? For the v…
I find that a lot of people who make this argument don't really care about other peoples quality of life/time/money/etc They just don't want that other person to try, as if somebody else gets VC funding or launches a successful product, then it's less likely that you will be able to successfully do so, especially if you are in a similar space. Talking somebody out of trying by convincing them that there is no chance…
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Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly; you are referring to survivorship bias - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias
They need another catchy phrase to reply to this, along the lines of "if you never try, there's nothing to survive". Survivorship Bias is at the top of the list of "reasons not to try", and it's a shame to see it dragged out every time you see a success story. The thing I live on today was Job Quittin' Sideproject #5. The first four died without ever letting me quit any jobs. Is #5 "survivorship"? Or is it "persistan…
"I think of it as persistance bias" might fit the bill.
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Let's say the chance of getting a business working, even for a smart guy, is only 10%. It's much, much lower, according to any reasonable estimation. For all startups, I've seen "less than 1%" on many occasions. That obviously excludes tons of failures that are never reported anywhere -- sometimes that are never even incorporated, despite trying to build/sell a product. > Does that mean you shouldn't try? For the v…
I suppose it depends on how you differentiate between startups and small businesses, but the failure rate might not be as bad you would think depending on how you expect to run your business. Only 50% of small businesses will have failed after 5 years[0], which is a significantly lower rate of failure than you typically hear for startups. If you decide to start a lifestyle business as opposed to a high-growth startup…
That's a good point. I was using "startup" to mean "building a new product with a new company," but that's not always what startup means. It's true that the failure rate of small businesses is lower because many are selling staples (food, clothes, home services) or are franchises.
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Let's say the chance of getting a business working, even for a smart guy, is only 10%. It's much, much lower, according to any reasonable estimation. For all startups, I've seen "less than 1%" on many occasions. That obviously excludes tons of failures that are never reported anywhere -- sometimes that are never even incorporated, despite trying to build/sell a product. > Does that mean you shouldn't try? For the v…
I find that a lot of people who make this argument don't really care about other peoples quality of life/time/money/etc They just don't want that other person to try, as if somebody else gets VC funding or launches a successful product, then it's less likely that you will be able to successfully do so, especially if you are in a similar space. Talking somebody out of trying by convincing them that there is no chance…
> I find that a lot of people who make this argument don't really care about other peoples quality of life/time/money/etc
My own anecdata disagrees -- the people I know who give this advice are older people who have built a few companies and, likely, failed a few times.
That's also where I'm coming from. I lost $50k before I ever succeeded at anything, and it was punishing on my family, personal life, and long-term finances.
It's alarming to me when I meet people who idolize entrepreneurship and have no idea how risky and expensive it is. I meet people like this all the time, and I see them on HN from time to time, although I think HN is dominated more by people like me, who know that starting a company is gambling.
If you don't believe it's gambling, read about how good VCs are at picking winners (hint: not good). If even VCs can't pick a winner, how do you think an individual can objectively assess her own likelihood of success?
Venture capital is one of the highest-risk, highest-reward classes of mainstream investment. If you're starting a company, you are your own venture capitalist, at least at the beginning.
Nothing I've said is controversial or difficult to back up with facts, but it seems there are lots of rich/privileged people who think it's no big deal to lose tens of thousands of dollars and advise everyone to do the same, even though it's not feasible for most people.
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#68Having bootstrapped a couple of successful businesses myself, I think this is chockablock with great advice/observations. I am surprised he seemed happy with his Valve experience but it is insightful of him to see that it taught him some good bootstrap lessons.
>chockablock I had to google that :) Funny it's 'x is chockablock with' rather than 'x is chockablocked with'
Chockablock is a nautical term (see:double blocked) meaning that two blocks (pulley systems used in ship rigging) are fast against each other and can't get closer. Basically it's a synonym for "full" or "can't move."
Clearly, the term "block" has nothing to do with the word, "blocked."
Re: Things learned while running your own self-funded startup
#69Does anyone know of similar articles to this that they like and wouldn't mind sharing? I always find these perspectives and retrospectives useful and interesting. Different people always point out different things, because everyone's business is at least slightly different in one respect or another. (be it funding, customer base, product scale, product type, employee count, number of concurrent projects, how successf…
In general I'd keep an eye on the articles and interviews on indiehackers.com. Specifically, I recommend checking out these articles: How Seth Godin Would Launch a Business With a $1,000 Budget[1], A Guide to Running a Minimalist Startup[2], How to Launch a Product With No Money and No Customers[3], How to Ship Side Projects[4]. For something a little more comprehensive, check out GrowthLab’s Ultimate Guide to Starti…
These are great! Thanks a lot for sharing.