GeekStack Postmortem
geekstack.com
GeekStack Postmortem
1–10 of 38 posts
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#2I'm sorry to see this. Peter was a friend, and it was great to meet someone else in Chicago working on similar stuff. (We joked that you can tell us apart because he's the Peter in Chicago bootstrapping a social game built in Rails, and I'm the Peter in Chicago bootstrapping a social game built in Rails.) I'm hoping he finds a way to reactivate this project or starts something else great. I had similar issues working steadily on my project and eventually started a little contest at http://www.soplayweall.com to help keep myself accountable.
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#3I'm sorry to see this. Peter was a friend, and it was great to meet someone else in Chicago working on similar stuff. (We joked that you can tell us apart because he's the Peter in Chicago bootstrapping a social game built in Rails, and I'm the Peter in Chicago bootstrapping a social game built in Rails.) I'm hoping he finds a way to reactivate this project or starts something else great. I had similar issues working…
I'm not dead, just resting :)
This was mostly about me not wanting to face reality, and then finding out that reality didn't care whether I was paying attention or not. Lesson learned.
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#4i found your article to mean a lot to me, personally, as i saw a lot of the reasons for my past projects abandoned in your analysis. best of luck for the future!
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#5Goddamnit, now I want to try writing my own online trading card game.
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#6Thanks for this honest post-mortem. It sure wasn't easy to describe your shortcomings in our world filled with infinite news of shiny web successes. I think one of the main takeaways can be that attacking a large project like this should not be done alone. It's a huge amount of tasks and context switches for one person to handle, and the risk of loosing motivation and even running into a burn out is much higher.
I think the way to go for solo devs is mobile (Android + iOS), since the project scope is often more limited / condensed and it's easier to get users with little marketing efforts.
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#7Goddamnit, now I want to try writing my own online trading card game.
Well don't forget to read the part where I split it into three tasks - the web part, the game engine part, and the game design part. For game design, I highly recommend A Theory of Fun for Game Design [1] and the column Making Magic by the head designer for Magic: The Gathering[2].
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Fun-Game-Design-ebook/dp/B004D4... only $4 on Kindle or $12 on paper
[2] Look for the ones he gives 4 and 5 stars. WARNING: Lots of reading
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#8Wow, your story is very familiar. I experienced similar challenges with my first and second startup attempts. The nice part is, you can try again and bring these lessons with you.
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#9Very honest analysis. It did make me wonder if the author really wants to be an entrepreneur. For me, starting a business is something I feel compelled to do -- I don't think I can be happy if I'm not in control. I'm certainly happier in my current job than I have ever been in any job where I worked for anyone else. Knowing that if I don't make the business work the kids don't eat and the mortgage doesn't get paid is pretty motivating as well. The author says he's happy in his current job -- so why not stick with it?
Re: GeekStack Postmortem
#10That's such a good article!
It puts "get-rich quick" hot heads under cold shower.
It shows why startup must be something to enjoy even if there is no money there.
It shows that quick growth is highly unlikely.
It shows that ~5-10 years of consistent effort is the must for success.