Im in a similar circumstance. Do you own it outright? Where do you live? I have a plan to access liquidity (using cyrpto) rather than a direct sale. Looking in to the risks.
Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
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Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#12I'd say that if your MVP did not convince at least one prospect to sign at least a pilot with you than no additional number of engineers will fix that. You risk to end up with a feature rich product nobody buys minus your house.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#13No, you should not. Chances of it working out are probably slim. You probably don't need funding, as many solo founders can attest. Hiring should be done once the business is already generating an income, and should be scaled based on that income. What happens is that if you do sell your house, (assuming you'll pay rent) things will get a lot more stressful for yourself financially, and this will severely hinder your…
This is an oft repeated trope — here's my issue: I'm B2B, and my clients don't want to hear "get back to you this weekend!"
What then?
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#14No. Basically zero chances any of your ideas will work. Even with funds and employees. I did a lot of side projects, maybe 30~ and 2 turned into companies which made me a great, great living and then failed for the most unexpected sh1t.
I’m sorry but you either roll the dice a ton of times with extremely small amounts and hope for a big win Which is very unlikely or you have to play with other people’s money. In case you haven’t attended Stanford, too bad I guess. You’d have to meet rich people some other way.
At this point I regret investing the net worth I accumulated through my companies and investments in more pointless companies of my own trying to shoot for the 9-10 figure net worth. It’s pure nonsense unless you use OPM. I regret not buying a home in bad conditions and fixing it up to luxury and living happily in it with my girlfriend and dog. It would’ve been fun and awesome and wholesome. Then I could’ve done that many times over, slowly building a fancy net worth in decades instead of years but living Vicariously through every minute of it. So since I just turned 24, my plan is to do exactly this.
So no don’t sell your home please
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#15Wondering if potential angel investors hesitate because: idea, market size, you.
A dedicated founder in a good market is often fundable.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#16No, you should not. Chances of it working out are probably slim. You probably don't need funding, as many solo founders can attest. Hiring should be done once the business is already generating an income, and should be scaled based on that income. What happens is that if you do sell your house, (assuming you'll pay rent) things will get a lot more stressful for yourself financially, and this will severely hinder your…
This is an oft repeated trope — here's my issue: I'm B2B, and my clients don't want to hear "get back to you this weekend!" What then?
Then it is not something they really really need. ‘This weekend’ is awesome if the problem is very very important.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#17No, you should not. Chances of it working out are probably slim. You probably don't need funding, as many solo founders can attest. Hiring should be done once the business is already generating an income, and should be scaled based on that income. What happens is that if you do sell your house, (assuming you'll pay rent) things will get a lot more stressful for yourself financially, and this will severely hinder your…
This is an oft repeated trope — here's my issue: I'm B2B, and my clients don't want to hear "get back to you this weekend!" What then?
Find a way to resolve it? You could negotiate or find another job that lets you manage the time you need to run your business. I don't think the options are necessarily limited to either quit employment and go full-time on the business or just working on the business during weekends. There's probably more options.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#18i don't think anyone i've ever known owned a house by 25.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#19Absolutely not. TLDR bootstrapped myself years ago before I had paying customers and market validation. Don’t sell your home. Just don’t.
Get someone to pay for what you are selling. Then find another customer. Iterate and keep building from there.
Once you have established some traction, then you can start thinking about (and ask HN) how to approach outside funding/how to scale the business.
Money follows money. So if you start having success, ultimately you will be able to find outside investment, if you even want it.
Side note: I have worked for several startups. Most in the beginning had investments from friends and family.
Re: Ask HN: Should I sell my house to fund my startup? Anyone with the same story?
#20Absolutely not. Get a business planner / financial adviser ideally from a reputable bank to review your business plan. They will ask you the right questions. Incorporate your business and keep all funds separate from your personal funds in accounts tied to your business. Get to know other entrepreneurs and network with people. If people believe in your plan they will invest in it. Investors will determine if your plans have acceptable risks.