Ask HN: My startup has basically failed. What now?

It's easy to know when to get out when you're making nothing. It's easy to stay with it when you're growing.

The hardest part is when your stagnant.

If you no longer believe in the product/service GET THE FUCK OUT.

OP doesn't believe so he needs to shut it down or turn it over to someone else IMO.

I'm on startup #8 right now and it's slow going but turning a nice profit. I only bootstrap shit now (well since startup #4) so I'm not worrying about money or investors.

I have worked both as an contractor and as FTE for product/service companies (and startups), and I'm a bit tired with fighting with this prejudice.

The core business of software houses is ... making software, and making it such way that a client is happy with the outcome, pays for what he really need and returns with more projects.

Startups / product companies focus on various business domains and software is a byproduct of their operation. Byproduct that is often driven by chaotic business decisions. Good software houses enforce specification on clients (real specification, not wishes) to make sure they know what they want or need. Good software houses implement and follow correct software development process that enables success of a project (not pseudo Scrum with slapped Kanban sticker on it).

I could can add the many FTEs are stuck for years with deprecated technologies, they don't have practical overview and hand-on experience with new technologies and paid, off the shelf solution. Large part of startups literally burned resources on reinventing wheels, because FTEs where convinced that they can do something better than using a ready solution, or they had no idea that such solution existed.

Software houses are familiar with dozens of technologies because they create and maintain dozens of different, large and small projects from various domains.

It’s fine to start a business in an industry you’re not crazy about but most people who make a success this way know there’s a ready and waiting market to earn money in with an existing product. People need plumbers and roofs need tiling.

Most “start-ups” should be founded on the principle of “We’ve identified a problem and we’re the best people to provide the solution” and even then most of them fail. Even pivots are based on that principle (“what we built didn’t solve a problem but we identified another problem we can solve”).

It sounds like you’re gone the route of “I’ve identified a market that I want to provide a solution for.” The events industry is big, which means there are a lot of people thinking the same. During my time I integrated our system with several companies that no longer exist. Many of these products didn’t solve actual attendee or organiser problems or desires and so uptake or return was very low.

Attendee needs are fairly simple and limited (easy to buy tickets, get information about what’s on, and easy conference experience) and they rarely want anything more (e.g. only a tiny fraction or marketing types actually want networking apps).

Conference organiser needs are many and they want to use as few suppliers as possible as each additional supplier means extra work on integration. So most of the businesses doing well in the event space are companies that can provide a large, near holistic product for them which covers a lot of needs. So to complete against them you’ll need a lot more resources than it sounds like you do.

Reading between the lines it sounds like you already know what you need to do. If you’ve lost the drive and conviction that this will be a success then and unless you can find a real problem you can build and sell a solution for quickly and easily, then it’s probably time to call it a day. Try again in a bit and if possible without the pressure of money from family and friends.

I had thought I failed this past fall on a project to buy a tropical Island. I went deep into the emotions and confronted them.

From that space I got a strange flash of insight, shot an inspired email to the owner of said island with creative terms and an offer.

Last week we signed the contracts on the property and are moving ahead (http://Majagual.org)

We are turning the place into a sacred space to help visionaries find inspiration and healing and get clarity.

I’d be happy to gift you a “golden ticket” to the island to support your journey (now or in the future).

2. Do not return the money, that's not how investing in startups work

3. Apply to Y Combinator

4. Keep on going, think about "pivoting"

5. Read the book "Founders at Work"