1. put on your X hat
2. make your life miserable
3. no profit
4. quit
what is wrong with that, where is the error?
After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
81–90 of 153 posts
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey. I've been working (with a co-founder) on a side project that's about to pan out for the past 2.5 years. About 1.5 years of that was working after hours, then about 10 months or so of 6 hours at my day job and 2 hours in my company, then just recently I quit my job with about a years worth of savings and am full time in the company. The risk I took, until recently at least, was almost nothing, since I had a job a…
'Working on the side' doesn't work so well for me. I've tried it, and I really struggle to make any progress. I also make art and usually that's where my productive free time goes. And switching off the artistic side is bad for me, mentally. Side projects and art draw from the same pool of mental energy as my day job and they both get the back seat, unfortunately. That's part of why I would really like to make a clea…
Want some cake with it too?
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to be harsh, but that seems even worse. If you can't handle failures and set backs, you even more so should not be in the start up business because those things are definitely going to happen, a lot, if you are running any sort of business. Its the same as if you are terrified of heights, being a professional mountain climber is a very bad plan. You either need to get over it somehow quickly or choose a different…
I am confused by this sort of comment pointing out that he was not cut out for the life of an independent developer... well, yeah, that is what his essay is saying - that he is not cut out to be an independent developer. He thought he was, did it for a year, and realized he was not cut out for it. I don't understand this comment and the other similar ones acting like they are somehow adding insight... yes, he couldn'…
I'm responding to what the parent wrote not the original article.
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#84The regret you feel having lost a year would probably pale in comparison to the lifelong regret at not having tried to achieve your dream.
There's plenty more positives you can take from this experience.
1. You learned how crippling your social anxiety can be (perhaps you already knew?), so maybe you can take some steps to work on that.
2. The door of indie developer is now firmly closed, which means you can explore new possibilities (whatever they may be), with wholehearted commitment not distracted by the siren's call.
3. You learned just how supportive your partner is. They stuck with you and are still with you. That's gotta be a good thing right?
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#85> All the time I think people are going to hate me, tell me that I am an idiot, a con maker, that my ideas are terrible, that I suck.
so..... what's the problem here?
> And they did many times, and I can't handle that while making $0.
OOoooh.
Yeah that makes sense. Better to sell shares of your SaaS company at 40x revenue and let your customers and investors lob the con man sentiment at you. Survivorship bias breeds this behavior :)
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#86This is a difficult post to respond to Firstly, your issue doesn't seem to be anything other than social anxiety If you have to 'lose sleep' after contacting someone on LinkedIn about your product, then you are just not suited to doing a startup Secondly, there is nothing to feel bad about Vast majority of people are not suited to starting a company or working in a small startup Lots of good jobs in middle and large…
Ever thought that his anxieties are the result of his failing business and not how he started? And life is telling nothing. There is no guaranteed way of success. You can have all the abilities and knowledge you need and still fail miserably. Luck is a large part of every success story. Nobody has really unique capabilities.
That is certainly not how it came through in his post. I thought he made it pretty clear he had terrible anxiety promoting his ideas and products.
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#87The regret you feel having lost a year would probably pale in comparison to the lifelong regret at not having tried to achieve your dream. There's plenty more positives you can take from this experience. 1. You learned how crippling your social anxiety can be (perhaps you already knew?), so maybe you can take some steps to work on that. 2. The door of indie developer is now firmly closed, which means you can explore…
Is that really a silver lining? This is just a cautionary tale to everyone that even a story of redemption is not fulfillable and you always have to live with that.
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
>relocating to a third-world country There is a large part of Europe (and I'm sure the US) where the standard of living is decent and you can easily get by on <15k€/year.
Average gross salary in Poland is ~$1400 if you are looking for options. But please do some research before relocating, current political climate is one of the reasons why I'm not really considering moving back there...
As much as I would like to relocate to Europe, I don't have a Shengen passport and I would prefer to avoid the kind of region-hopping one needs to do to live long-term on a tourist visa.
Right now I have my eye on either Latin America, rural Northern California, or Nevada. Humboldt area is very cheap right now, I am seeing 2br houses renting for $1000 and studio apartments for 3/4 that in Eureka (which isn't all that bad; I just visited)
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#89This is a difficult post to respond to Firstly, your issue doesn't seem to be anything other than social anxiety If you have to 'lose sleep' after contacting someone on LinkedIn about your product, then you are just not suited to doing a startup Secondly, there is nothing to feel bad about Vast majority of people are not suited to starting a company or working in a small startup Lots of good jobs in middle and large…
I think you are confused, this was posted on Indie Hackers under the self care section, not to hacker news directly. Besides that, there is no point to compare risks and suffering, both are relative and subjective experiences. And lastly, social anxiety could be (or not) by it self a major problem, bigger than losing a Green Card, your comment sounds too condescending and not really useful.
Thanks for saying this ! It was akin to responding to someone suffering from something that people in Africa have it worse and they shouldn’t be complaining ...
Re: After losing my savings as an indie hacker, I can't do it anymore. I quit.
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
'Working on the side' doesn't work so well for me. I've tried it, and I really struggle to make any progress. I also make art and usually that's where my productive free time goes. And switching off the artistic side is bad for me, mentally. Side projects and art draw from the same pool of mental energy as my day job and they both get the back seat, unfortunately. That's part of why I would really like to make a clea…
Want some cake with it too?
I don't really see how trying to find a way to sacrifice one's cushy job and income instead of free time is "having your cake and eating it too"