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When we have money we'll do X

blog.antoniocangiano.com

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Re: When we have money we'll do X

#3
I hear this sentiment a lot from people. In fact, I use to have this line of thinking. I've found that the only cure is to convince yourself to take action now or realize that it's not a priority.

It's kind of like when people say that they don't have the time when what they really mean is that it's not a priority.

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#4

Maybe the startup version of this is "when we have users, we'll do X."

Could be; but in my startup it was still "when we have money, we'll do X." It ended up being one of the big disagreements between me and my co-founder-- a lot of the compromises (on quality and process) that I was willing to make when we were bootstrapping were, in my mind, no longer serviceable once we took VC money. He still wanted to do everything quick and dirty, and incur all kinds of technical debt.

From where I sit, the message of the OP is still to the point-- do what you want to do, now. Don't live for the future.

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#5
I think many (bad) startups suffer from this exact same mindset of "when we have [some external resource] we'll be able to do X."

To quote Tony Robbins' TED Talk: "it's about resourcefulness, not resources." (1)

Successful startups just make it happen with what they have. Unsuccessful ones tend to always look externally for solutions. "If we only had more engineers"... "If we only had VC"... "If we only had more users"... etc.

There is a long list of reasons why this mindset will doom any startup. Two, important ones are:

1) It makes you less creative (to look externally for solutions)

2) It slows you down (to wait on external resources)

And what do startups have going for them, but for creativity and agility?

(1) http://www.ted.com/talks/tony_robbins_asks_why_we_do_what_we...

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#6
post #5

I think many (bad) startups suffer from this exact same mindset of "when we have [some external resource] we'll be able to do X." To quote Tony Robbins' TED Talk: "it's about resourcefulness, not resources." (1) Successful startups just make it happen with what they have. Unsuccessful ones tend to always look externally for solutions. "If we only had more engineers"... "If we only had VC"... "If we only had more user…

I think that's a really good point--and it makes a startup seem like they're the victim. That being said, it's always a telling question to ask a founder what the first 3 priorities would be if he/she closed X amount of dollars today. It can really give insight into long term vision, as well as self-awareness (i.e. knowing what you don't know).

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#8
Great thoughts, and definitely inspiring.

Truth is, with everything, start with what you have and grow it. Don't know how to make a website? Get a WordPress.com/Tumblr/Posterous blog, learn little by little, try out some CSS/HTML, then get your own hosting when you can, branch out, and eventually you never know where it might go. It might go good, you might love it and learn a lot, but it could fail ... you'll never know if you don't try. And if trying doesn't cost anything, why not? Go with your basic resources, and give it a shot.

"Just do it" may be the best slogan ever.

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#9
It's good to have the goal so long as you work towards achieving it. So (in my family at least) we say "We'll do X when we have Y money and we're saving Z amount off the top of each paycheque towards it"

Re: When we have money we'll do X

#10
post #5

I think many (bad) startups suffer from this exact same mindset of "when we have [some external resource] we'll be able to do X." To quote Tony Robbins' TED Talk: "it's about resourcefulness, not resources." (1) Successful startups just make it happen with what they have. Unsuccessful ones tend to always look externally for solutions. "If we only had more engineers"... "If we only had VC"... "If we only had more user…

[EDIT]

bit.ly link corrected. Thank you.

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