Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#1

Post by resdirector » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:16 AM UTC

Over the last few days I've seen people post their lists of failed startups. What is not clear, however, is how many man-hours (or man-months or man-years), that were spent on these failed startups: were they working full-time on them, burning their own finances, or were these side-projects while working in full-time employment?

So I was wondering: how many man-hours (man-months, man-years etc) have you spent on your "failed" projects? And do you have any regrets?

(NB: I use the terms "wasted" and "failed" loosely).

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#2

Post by jaxn » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:19 AM UTC

My only regrets are the ones I didn't fully launch.

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#3

Post by patio11 » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:23 AM UTC

I've burned perhaps a hundred hours on projects which did not go anywhere in the last five years. Actually, I don't like that phrasing. Let me try again: I have spent a hundred hours learning that I have better options than two ideas which seemed like winners until I had done some work on them.

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#4

Post by siculars » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:40 AM UTC

It's not a "waste", just a learning experience.

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#5

Post by nzjames » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:51 AM UTC

Sometimes I wonder whether I'd have be better off if I had a low paying second job rather than wasting countless hours outside of my 9-5 trying to boot strap start ups.

I'm lucky I just love hacking.

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#6

Post by scottw » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:55 AM UTC

I've spent most of my adult life in failed startups in some form or another. Some were funded, most were bootstrapped. Probably 6-8 man-years if I subtract my dances with full-time employment (I'm doing contract work now and working on another startup on the side with a partner).

I have no regrets. I've asked myself a couple of times if it was worth it, and to be honest I can't think of anything else I would have rather been doing at the time. It's not like playing slot machines, hoping someday to hit the jackpot. It's more like an obscure artist trying to find his niche—you do it because this is who you are.

If I never have a big success, I'll die satisfied knowing I was doing what I felt I should be doing. I read a quote from a post on this list some years ago, I wish I could remember the source. But it was something like, "When I look back on my career, I want to say, 'Boy, that was a fun ride!' not 'Boy, I sure felt safe!'"

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#7

Post by DanI-S » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 2:55 AM UTC

No matter how many precious post-work hacking hours are burned on things that turn out to be a dead end, it probably adds up to less than the average person spends watching TV...

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#8

Post by sp4rki » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 3:10 AM UTC

Failed projects don't necessarily mean projects that failed to provide money, fun, and/or experience. If your getting at least one of those factors you are turning a "profit"

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#9

Post by webbruce » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 3:12 AM UTC

How many of your guys' startups didn't get off the ground? Because of project creep/funding/lose of interest/other

Re: Ask HN: how many years have you "wasted" on failed startups? And any regrets?

#10

Post by rrival » Tue, Oct 19, 2010, 3:14 AM UTC

Something that's kicked around here a lot: fail quickly.

If a project doesn't fit success criteria I give it about a month before it's pivoted or done.