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

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

#201

Post by mgkimsal »

ghaff wrote: post #180
dominicr wrote: post #175

I have about 10 years working in the tech side of large B2B events, so comments are based on that. 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…

Re: networking I don’t know how many networking apps (including hardware devices) I’ve seen over the years. They’re at best a novelty and more commonly unwelcome. I suspect the friction with just scribbling down an email, exchanging a business card, or later connecting on LinkedIn is superior to people using the tech to mass spam people.

what would be the most useful is something which everyone would need to use. phone app that tracked your location and time, and would show you the info on people you stood near for... maybe a min of 30 seconds? location tracking may not be good enough for this indoors all the time, but for me, that's the one thing that I've wanted at conferences - a way to remember who i was talking with without interrupting the conversation to ask for cards/emails (especially in larger group discussions).

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

#203

Post by ghaff »

mgkimsal wrote: post #201
ghaff wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re: networking I don’t know how many networking apps (including hardware devices) I’ve seen over the years. They’re at best a novelty and more commonly unwelcome. I suspect the friction with just scribbling down an email, exchanging a business card, or later connecting on LinkedIn is superior to people using the tech to mass spam people.

what would be the most useful is something which everyone would need to use. phone app that tracked your location and time, and would show you the info on people you stood near for... maybe a min of 30 seconds? location tracking may not be good enough for this indoors all the time, but for me, that's the one thing that I've wanted at conferences - a way to remember who i was talking with without interrupting the conv…

With all due respect, I do not want to be fracking tracked when I'm at an event. And loaded in a database somewhere. I can maybe be persuaded for event organizer use if it's truly anonymous--though given the difficulty of truly anonymizing I'm uncomfortable.

The existence of such data has huge security/privacy implications given that people meet at shows to discuss all sorts of things that aren't on the radar.

Maybe opt-in? I certainly wouldn't.

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

#204

Post by Jefff8 »

I've worked in the same market as you, I think, from the hints in your comments.

I've run or had a hand in running conferences and trade shows, as well as having built software and systems to keep the show on the road, from registration systems, management systems, surveying and apps. And I know the business side of startups too.

Perhaps you want to have a chat. HN has my email.

Without knowing anything, I'd speculate that if you aren't finding traction, then it's related to the structure of the conference/exhibition market which is a tough space to crack.

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

#205

Post by mgkimsal »

ghaff wrote: post #203
mgkimsal wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what would be the most useful is something which everyone would need to use. phone app that tracked your location and time, and would show you the info on people you stood near for... maybe a min of 30 seconds? location tracking may not be good enough for this indoors all the time, but for me, that's the one thing that I've wanted at conferences - a way to remember who i was talking with without interrupting the conv…

With all due respect, I do not want to be fracking tracked when I'm at an event. And loaded in a database somewhere. I can maybe be persuaded for event organizer use if it's truly anonymous--though given the difficulty of truly anonymizing I'm uncomfortable. The existence of such data has huge security/privacy implications given that people meet at shows to discuss all sorts of things that aren't on the radar. Maybe…

I probably didn't clarify enough, just alluded to 'everyone would need to use it'.... and should have added... "but I know that will never happen".

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

#206

Post by tyingq »

Wow, if you're able to "return funds" and start over, why not? I suspect that's not the usual situation.

Returning funds means you might be able to tap the same pool again. Continuing on risks that rare situation.

Sounds like you could pull back, re-assess, and take a second run. How many get that chance?

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

#207

Post by swami26 »

nautilus12 wrote: post #162
rajacombinator wrote: post #59

Read your OP and all follow up posts in the thread. My advice is take 2 weeks vacation (travel somewhere), and do not work during this time. You need to step back and digest what you’ve learned so far. Don’t feel guilty about taking this time, it’s necessary for making an important decision. If you come back after 2 weeks and feel the same way, shut it down and return funds to investors. Your investors and advisors a…

Arent you advising them to take a vacation during the most critical juncture of the business? Isnt this just promoting more of the perceived or real iresponsibility that led the business to where it is now? Seems like if they are serious about the business they wouldnt be able to take their mind off the issue. Id only take a vacation if Id decided definetely that i was shutting it down to decompress and think about m…

Sometimes when moving fast it is tough to see clearly. People say 'vacation', but it is two weeks where you are forced to face the reality of the situation instead of distracting yourself with 'work' and getting no sleep.

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

#208

Post by swami26 »

Retric wrote: post #167
nautilus12 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arent you advising them to take a vacation during the most critical juncture of the business? Isnt this just promoting more of the perceived or real iresponsibility that led the business to where it is now? Seems like if they are serious about the business they wouldnt be able to take their mind off the issue. Id only take a vacation if Id decided definetely that i was shutting it down to decompress and think about m…

Without product market fit there is nothing time sensitive about the business other than burn rate. Taking two weeks off would be a hail mary pass that might work but would probably fail.

Well said.

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

#209

Post by spyckie2 »

One thing I learned about startups is that you have to detach yourself from the success and failure of your work and concentrate on two things:

The first is runway. How much time and resources do you have? How are you generating runway? Runway is the master summary of your revenue, expenses, and investment. If you are good at managing runway, you can exist forever until you find a good idea. Being good at runway is knowing when to raise, when to focus on revenue, and when to invest.

The second is willpower. This is not motivation. Your willpower should be a combination of many things - your stubborn personality maybe, your insistence on finding a solution, your determination to succeed, your obsession with the space that you are working in. Motivation should never be relied on as it's an emotional state and not a character trait.

Willpower is your tank size. Morale is how much fuel is left. Make sure to upgrade your tank and keep it full.

Managing these two things is the primary goal of founders. Finding product market fit is the goal of a startup, but your responsibility as part of the founding team is, using the runway you have, to maximize the combination of time, skillsets and expertise to generate as much forward moving business activity that you can.

As a founder, you should also get into fighting shape. This means that you need to step back and look at yourself. Learn to detach yourself emotionally from failures and success; none of that matters, there is only your current state of productivity.

And learn to guard the resources that matter; specifically in this case, your morale. It's run dangerously low. When it is this low, you can be unconsciously reducing the morale of the team as well, which you should never do. (If you quit, quit gracefully, don't drag the team morale down in order to shut down).

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

#210

Post by markbnj »

techstrategist wrote: post #130
superplussed wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the "fools" line is an indicator that you are burned out and have lost your belief in the mission. You'd be lying to yourself and others if you continued.

That's a pretty common expression and probably doesn't indicate anything additional about OP's mindset. https://www.forbes.com/sites/richwinley/2015/08/21/friends-f...

I didn't read the Forbes reference because ad block, but I'm willing to bet that is a pretty common expression among _observers_ of the tech startup/financing scene. Coming from a founder who's been cashing the "fools" checks... well I can only hope it's a lot less common.
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