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I Don't Want to Be a Founder

carolchen.me

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Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#201

Post by qppo »

x87678r wrote: post #191
thisisbrians wrote: post #156

I enjoyed this article, but I think it glosses over a very important part of my (and my cofounders') own motivation for starting a company: vision. Sometimes you see or believe something that others simply can't or don't, and you want to do something about it. Trying to find a (usually narrowly-defined) job that lets you work on these things can be very hard because there usually has to be someone looking for solutio…

> you see or believe something that others simply can't or don't, and you want to do something about it. It must be more than vision. I see things all the time that more others can't but I really dont have the time or inclination to start a company.

audacity?

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#202

Post by simonebrunozzi »

At first I wanted to add some smart-sounding comment to this, but then I took a sneak peak at the author's home page, and realized she's 18 only years old.

This made me think: even if she might not be 100% right, or she might have missed some important detail, etc, it's really impressive that at this age she's able to articulate this concept quite well. I was way dumber when I was 18. Heck, when I was double that.

To be clear and to avoid being misinterpreted: being 18 to me simply count as not possibly having several years of experience as a founder, which makes her thoughts even more impressive.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#203

Post by dumbfoundded »

x87678r wrote: post #191
thisisbrians wrote: post #156

I enjoyed this article, but I think it glosses over a very important part of my (and my cofounders') own motivation for starting a company: vision. Sometimes you see or believe something that others simply can't or don't, and you want to do something about it. Trying to find a (usually narrowly-defined) job that lets you work on these things can be very hard because there usually has to be someone looking for solutio…

> you see or believe something that others simply can't or don't, and you want to do something about it. It must be more than vision. I see things all the time that more others can't but I really dont have the time or inclination to start a company.

One of the most powerful motivations I rarely hear discussed is desperation. As stupid as it sounds, for myself, desperation to prove myself and fear of failing are what have driven me. People in general don't like to be miserable for long periods of time. You almost have to be miserable enough to think a startup is worth it.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#204

Post by jmchuster »

pier25 wrote: post #194

For me the main reason to try it is the frustration of having been working for 20 years as a freelancer or as en employee. In both cases I've been investing my time and blood in exchange for money. Then the money runs out and you start all over again, and again. I want to invest my time into something which hopefully can grow so that I can keep investing more of my time instead of just giving it away. I want to plant…

i think if those are your motivations, then you definitely don't want to start a startup. You want to start a small business where you're the boss and maybe you have one or two assistants. Or maybe you just want to start a side project. As a founder, i think you very quickly lose your sense of freedom and control.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#205

Post by opportune »

I don’t think the point about making more money in industry is particularly compelling. I feel like I would be mostly losing opportunity cost and would be pretty confident I could get at least as good a job, if not better, with the lost experience. Further, in what way is joining an early stage startup financially advantageous to being a founder? The only benefit is it being easier to walk away, but the upside is greatly reduced, and the worst case is not much better (perhaps a higher salary).

I also don’t really agree with the point that being an employee engineer can be just as ambitious as being a founder. You can do great things as an engineer but you won’t capture even close to all of its value, and for better or worse will likely not get as much recognition or influence for it either.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to start a company, and maybe there are people who feel compelled to do it for the wrong reasons. It seems to really boil down to risk tolerance and whether you would actually be comfortable running a business

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#206

Post by Mave83 »

baxtr wrote: post #142
Mave83 wrote: post #39

I successful founded startups since 20 years, starting in the age of 16. In none of them, I founded together with partners that I realy trusted like I trust my wife. However we worked together on a professional level and figured it out everytime. Why could we do that? because in the end it is a work for roughly 5y and if you stop even thinking about working 24x7x365 you have enough free time for recreational activiti…

Is there any way I can contact you? :D

croit.io

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#207

Post by Mave83 »

YungSven wrote: post #79
Mave83 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it's all Germany based. Don't go the UG way, just found a GmbH. Please note it is possible to found it with 12500€ and have to provide the other half of the 25k€ later. My first company was without the GmbH protection and benefits. It was ok but I would not do or suggest it to anyone. Hell of a pain to migrate to a GmbH later.

I‘m about to found a UG in the next few days, so I‘m curious why you say that I should found a GmbH rather than a UG.

If you found with 1€, the moment you place the signature your company is insolvent as it can't pay the resulting invoice. Even if you found with 1k it is often quite near to overwelm the newly created company.

Beside that, UG has very bad reputation and if you need something your company rating will lead to problems like prepayment when ordering goods. New GmbH is not the best either but increased quite fast.

In addition, transition from UG to GmbH is a bit of a pain, as you need a let your books be checked (costly) or by just paying the amount to reach the GmbH money.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#208

Post by jennasys »

switch11 wrote: post #86

Could someone please explain to me what the value in this article is? It's written by a 18 year old who has never started a company So, as someone who has started multiple companies and currently running a profitable albeit small startup, what insights should I get from this article?

If the article didn't do much for you, consider the value to be in the comment section. It's a good topic for YC, and I see a lot of insight here, anecdotal and otherwise.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#209

Post by jennasys »

jmchuster wrote: post #204
pier25 wrote: post #194

For me the main reason to try it is the frustration of having been working for 20 years as a freelancer or as en employee. In both cases I've been investing my time and blood in exchange for money. Then the money runs out and you start all over again, and again. I want to invest my time into something which hopefully can grow so that I can keep investing more of my time instead of just giving it away. I want to plant…

i think if those are your motivations, then you definitely don't want to start a startup. You want to start a small business where you're the boss and maybe you have one or two assistants. Or maybe you just want to start a side project. As a founder, i think you very quickly lose your sense of freedom and control.

As a 20 year freelancer myself, a side project is a good way to go. But if that takes off and starts requiring more structure, more resources, and eventually overtakes the day job, it essentially becomes a startup.

Re: I Don't Want to Be a Founder

#210

Post by gkoberger »

startup_thrway wrote: post #136
gkoberger wrote: post #21

I remember as I was starting my company, I reached out to a founder of a company you've likely heard of for advice. We grabbed drinks, and he practically begged me to not start a company, for my own sake. I thought he was a dick. But he wasn't wrong. Write down a list of why you want to start a company. I bet the list involves things like "building something nobody else has," "getting to program and design and do a b…

> But don't do it because you want to do it. Do it because you literally can't imagine not doing it. What about because you can't bear the thought of having to work 8 hours a day for the rest of your life? I realize this is probably among the "bad" reasons to start a business (and it probably sounds disrespectful to people who have and will keep on doing that until retirement), but that is how I feel currently. It ma…

The article is specifically about VC-backed startups, so I was speaking to that. If you’re worried about burnout, don’t start a company. I take a lot of time off, but you can never really shut your laptop off.

That being said, a smaller drop shipping company or something similar could work!

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