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Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

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Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#61

Post by netmau5 »

presidentender wrote: post #32
hajrice wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind elaborating on that? Staying at a Hackerhouse is relatively inexpensive(~550/mo). Food? ~700. Cali Taxes are, of course very high, but I don't see how SF is less expensive than Boston/NYC. Then again you could get by with $2k/month in SF but it's a question of how the quality of your life would be.

Staying at your parents' house might be free ($0/mo). Food? I think $700's a high quote, even for SF, but you can save quite a bit eating at home in Bumblefuck, Alabama relative to San Fran. Most people don't live in Boston and NYC, either. I'm not talking about stretching living expenses from 6 months to 8 months - I'm talking about stretching them to 24 months.

I live in B, Alabama and can attest to the excellent cost of living here. My runway lasts over twice as long here as in the NE or SV.

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#62

Post by mindcrime »

jhrobert wrote: post #46

Are we seeing "The Rise Of the Solo Founder"? Being solo myself, I wonder if we, solo founders, should build a league? "The League of the Solo Founders". As a solo founder, I feel like an "only child", there is always that suspicion that something might be wrong...

Well, there is already the ##solofounders channel on Freenode IRC.

I'm also solo at the moment, but won't necessarily stay that way. I'm looking for 1-2 other co-founders to join the team. (So if you're a marketing/sales/bizdev guru in NC, or an ace web-designer / css/html/javascript guru in NC, gimme a shout.)

The nice thing about being solo at the moment is, I get to do everything. For example, I've had to dig into a pile of CSS/HTML/Javascript stuff lately and start trying to reinvent myself as at least a half-assed Web UI person, since I don't have anybody else to do that stuff. The downside is, I have to try and reinvent myself as at least a half-assed Web UI person, when it's not my strength (I'm more of a backend coder.)

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#64

Post by sudonim »

chr15 wrote: post #22
sudonim wrote: post #18

Firstly, best of luck with your startup! That's an exciting move. I'd also recommend moving somewhere like New York, SF, Boston, Austin where there is an active community of technologists with whom you can bounce ideas. I wanted to point out though that your startup's name brings forth strongly negative connotations. Your startup is photo sharing site called Hard Candy. There's a movie called Hard Candy about a 32 ye…

Thanks. Yeah, I'll change the name. It's not intended to be the final name. Just until I can think of something better. I've never seen that movie.

If that never came up again I would personally just ignore my comment. But for me the photography link was a little too close that anyone who has seen the movie will probably make the connection.

Kind of like the tea party tea bagging thing.

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#65

Post by SupremumLimit »

Good luck, I hope you succeed! I'm in a similar situation, although I have a couple of products bringing in modest revenue. I found that there's always heaps of things to do when you're a solo founder, and it can be overwhelming. Also, things always take longer than you expect.

Would be happy to exchange thoughts (email in the profile).

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#66

Post by eps »

You should've really started on a project without quitting the day job. But since you did, try and work as if you have only three months left instead of twelve. A year of carte blanche is a LOT, it will entice you to sidetrack and spend time on stuff that doesn't matter. So assume you are already running out of time and set your priorities based on that.

In any case - good luck. It's going to be interesting :)

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#67

Post by rokhayakebe »

keeptrying wrote: post #55
jhrobert wrote: post #46

Are we seeing "The Rise Of the Solo Founder"? Being solo myself, I wonder if we, solo founders, should build a league? "The League of the Solo Founders". As a solo founder, I feel like an "only child", there is always that suspicion that something might be wrong...

Created this: https://convore.com/single-founders

Convore needs to let me join by emailing (maybe they do, but I couldn't find how) and without signing up.

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#68

Post by Travis »

I'm doing the same thing, except leaving my corporate job (moving to half time there, to keep bennies/some money). I have spent 3 years on this startup, but only my last pivot got me to where I'm willing to take this move.

It's part scary, part exciting, but mostly I'm pleased at making a major change that I believe will move my life in the right direction.

Re: Tell HN: I quit my job to bootstrap my startup by myself.

#69

Post by chr15 »

eps wrote: post #66

You should've really started on a project without quitting the day job. But since you did, try and work as if you have only three months left instead of twelve. A year of carte blanche is a LOT, it will entice you to sidetrack and spend time on stuff that doesn't matter. So assume you are already running out of time and set your priorities based on that. In any case - good luck. It's going to be interesting :)

Thanks for the advice. I'm about 90% done with my project so I would much rather go all in at this point.

I wouldn't have quit if I had more responsibilities such as a mortgage, kids, family, etc.

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