Say you had several start-up ideas, most ad-supported, and you had a 50-100K loan to develop it. What steps would you take to begin generating revenue to support yourself full time? I am thinking of taking the plunge into full time start-up and have to decide how to begin generating revenues quick enough to support my family.
Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
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Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#2How averse to raising funding later are you? My advice would be to develop which ever idea you think is best, don't worry about advertising revenue now, and then try to raise funding. Then you'll get a salary to support the fam.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to startups going the self-funded route and pursuing revenue from the get go, but that's almost impossible with ads. If you really don't want to raise money, go with the best idea you have that has some other business model.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#350-100K doesn't sound like much runway for an ad supported site. I'd say you have 2 choices: sell subscriptions or build enough of a proof of concept to find an angel.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#4I'd pick an idea that doesn't rely on ad revenue. It takes time to build enough traffic to generate a good amount of money.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#550-100K is more than enough to support you for a year. That means you need to start making $4200 a month by then. You'll know if this is doable by month 6 at the latest. If it doesn't look good, pack it up and find a new/return to the old job.
You're in a really good position, and for some reason you seem to be waiting for something...I'm not sure what.
Get out there and build it.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#6How averse to raising funding later are you? My advice would be to develop which ever idea you think is best, don't worry about advertising revenue now, and then try to raise funding. Then you'll get a salary to support the fam. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to startups going the self-funded route and pursuing revenue from the get go, but that's almost impossible with ads. If you really don't want to raise mone…
I completely understand. I have a subscription based product as well. I think that may be the product i launch with. Any tips?
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#7That's probably a rather common situation for someone getting ready to take the plunge. I'd quit my job right now if I had 50K to get off the ground. You could probably live off that for a whole year, working full time on your idea(s).
I've also got a few ideas, ranging from simple to grandiose. My plan is to start with the simplest (fastest to create, simplest revenue model, smallest potential) as a moonlighting effort. I hope that it can generate enough to keep me alive to buy time to start pursuing the grandiose ideas. YMMV.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#8How averse to raising funding later are you? My advice would be to develop which ever idea you think is best, don't worry about advertising revenue now, and then try to raise funding. Then you'll get a salary to support the fam. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to startups going the self-funded route and pursuing revenue from the get go, but that's almost impossible with ads. If you really don't want to raise mone…
I completely understand. I have a subscription based product as well. I think that may be the product i launch with. Any tips?
Well, there's all the typical stuff you'll find here. Launch early, get a few users who really like your product, iterate rapidly. You have to be a lot better than any free competitor because people will choose a free alternative over a premium one if they're equal.
Beyond that, try to think of creative ways to market the site. Going the subscription route is very hard, but if whatever it is you have up your sleeve is compelling enough you can make a lot that way.
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#9I'd make my own theme park! With blackjack! And hookers! In fact, forget the theme park!
Re: Ask YC: What would you do with 50K
#10it cant be said enough: make something people want.
then again, you could also try: make people want something.
however, you said you were a programmer and not a marketer.
alternatively: want something? make people.
nobody ever went broke betting on people's urge to reproduce.
permutations are fun: something people make? want.
desire in the world comes from attachment to expectation, we are the fabricators and stewards of that desire. want-creation is a multibillion dollar industry, ads are just the way to tap into that market with the lowest barrier to entry.
wheeee: want something people make.
aggregate other people's content. for text, scribd, for video, youtube, for audio? (i consider this one still out there for grabs.) increasingly, micro-markets (like etsy) are going to flourish, facilitating trade between craftsmen and consumers. make your mother proud, become a middleman.
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for real advice: dont pay an accountant or a lawyer until you start giving other people money or taking other people's money. before you do either of those things, get the go-ahead from both. things take twice as long and come out half as good as you think.
also, make sure there is always forward progress on what you are actually intending to provide. you provide someone with resources something (goods or services) that they perceive as valuable. unless you continue to create more/better goods or provide more/better services, you're stagnating.