Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#81

Post by ChefboyOG » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:41 PM UTC

warent wrote: post #20

orasis wrote: post #2

Serial single founder here. Start building and start selling. If you can’t deliver a product to a paying customer solo then you’re not cut out to be a sole founder.

I agree with this except switch the order. First, start selling. Then start building. It is so easy to waste so much time building something nobody wants, and you won't know until it's too late if you try to sell it afterward. Selling first will inform your decisions on what to build.

This is completely rational and works well for some people, but speaking from experience, there is another side to this coin.

If you are the sort of person who enjoys the making side of things, and aren't naturally gifted at selling, this can be a trap. I've seen so many solo founders try to validate a product by selling before building, only to get talked into different features and use cases until they're stuck building some bloated mess of a service. Not super enjoyable.

That said, if selling is your strong suit and you have the discipline to sell a product idea without deviating from your product idea to chase sales, then selling as a validation tool is fantastic.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#82

Post by kkarakk » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:43 PM UTC

throwaway_chan wrote: post #71

Sorry to hijack someone other's question. I have a question of my own. I co-founded a company with one of my family friend around last year and made the silly mistake of trusting blindly by not signing a partnership agreement. I completed the whole development of the project and there has been inflow of cash but since then there has been radio silence from their part. So i have registered my own company and ready to…

go talk to a lawyer so you don't get sued. how can you prove YOU didn't take the money and run?

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#83

Post by DrNuke » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:44 PM UTC

It really depends on your niche, your product and the amount of work you need to keep the entire startup going? As a rule of thumb, you just want a functional MVP that sells, which is your first milestone. After that, it’s open waters.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#84

Post by sky_rw » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:45 PM UTC

throwaway_chan wrote: post #71

Sorry to hijack someone other's question. I have a question of my own. I co-founded a company with one of my family friend around last year and made the silly mistake of trusting blindly by not signing a partnership agreement. I completed the whole development of the project and there has been inflow of cash but since then there has been radio silence from their part. So i have registered my own company and ready to…

Get a lawyer and get a contract ASAP. This gets harder every single day that passes.

Also IANAL but if you wrote it all with no agreement you probably have the rights to all the code you developed, unless you biz partner's last name is Winklevoss.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#85

Post by matte_black » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:46 PM UTC

smt88 wrote: post #50

huhtenberg wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ideas have no values Fully fleshed and well-justified ideas worth hell of a lot.

No they’re not. You can’t even patent or copyright business ideas. The only justification for a business idea is a customer, so GP is correct: no business has value without sales.

Then give us your best ideas.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#86

Post by CalChris » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:47 PM UTC

kristiandupont wrote: post #19

It's still too early to declare my new project a success but compared to several failures, it seems like I've finally cracked the code. There are a number of things I am doing differently this time, but the most significant seems to be that I am now using a coach. This would have made me laugh earlier but it's been great value to me. As a single founder, it can be very hard to stick to commitments and keep a clear vi…

All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#87

Post by pbnjay » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:48 PM UTC

lbriner wrote: post #64

pbnjay wrote: post #26

It doesn't matter if you have a strong idea if no-one is willing to pay for it. Get some sales commitments first, even some "soft" commitments will go a long way. Will you even be able to build the company at the rates people are willing to pay?

Good advice. I met a guy who was selling screenshots of a product to ensure it did what people expected. He then got a team and built it and recently sold his company for some good dollars so this isn't as weird advice as it sounds! Also be careful about using a single customer to "co-design" your product since it can affect appeal to other customers.

Yeah a single customer is dangerous, you're more like a consultancy if that continues for too long.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#88

Post by dpenny » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:50 PM UTC

warent wrote: post #15

dpenny wrote: post #9

First, don't. Actually, its good you ask about attracting co-founders and talent, that's a critical part of success. You're going to want a strong, like-minded cofounder and strong team to help you succeed. The journey is more fun and will likely be more successful with he right team...So, how? Network.....

Of course what you're describing is the ideal, but I think the odds of finding a good co-founder (particularly via "networking") is vanishingly small. In fact I bet that the odds of finding a good co-founder is smaller than the odds of successfully starting a business as a solo founder. So I'd say yes, do it, but simultaneously be on the lookout for a potential co-founder. If one arises, great. If not, don't let it b…

Fair enough

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#89

Post by kowdermeister » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:52 PM UTC

sonnyblarney wrote: post #73

kowdermeister wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's easy to say. I can deliver the product, but I'm worried about sales taxes, VAT, compliance with laws, administration, support, etc.

Taxes, VAT, compliance are mundane. Marketing/Selling, and building the right thing ... this is the hard part. If you can do the later, most of the ops becomes ... just ops. It's just work. It can be done.

So what do you suggest if the ops thing freaks me out to the extent of stress? I'd be happy to take on a cofounder to handle that.

Re: Ask HN: How to found a company as a single founder?

#90

Post by headalgorithm » Tue, Jan 08, 2019, 4:57 PM UTC

warent wrote: post #20

orasis wrote: post #2

Serial single founder here. Start building and start selling. If you can’t deliver a product to a paying customer solo then you’re not cut out to be a sole founder.

I agree with this except switch the order. First, start selling. Then start building. It is so easy to waste so much time building something nobody wants, and you won't know until it's too late if you try to sell it afterward. Selling first will inform your decisions on what to build.

I totally agree.

I've found Steve Blanks book "The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company" very insightful.