Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

GeekStack Postmortem

geekstack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 38 posts

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#11

Post by pchristensen »

noelwelsh wrote: post #9

Very 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…

[Author]

It did make me wonder if the author really wants to be an entrepreneur

It's a question I've asked myself and one of the reasons I wrote it was to try and figure out the answer to that question. I think the answer is that I'm not a natural born entrepreneur, who couldn't have it any other way. I see it as a strategy for achieving a goal and as long as it fits with my life, I'm game. Most of my conclusions were about how to approach it to fit within my personal limitations. But my job right now is too great to leave regardless of how my side projects go.

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#12

Post by teej »

dennisgorelik wrote: post #10

That'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.

The article was fantastic, but I couldn't disagree more on your conclusions.

> It puts "get-rich quick" hot heads under cold shower.

Everyone I've known to become a millionaire in a short time (a year or less) did it by shipping blazingly fast and getting lucky. You can't get lucky if you never ship.

> It shows why startup must be something to enjoy even if there is no money there.

I agree here.

> It shows that quick growth is highly unlikely.

This article doesn't even tackle growth. You can't grow if you never ship.

> It shows that ~5-10 years of consistent effort is the must for success.

The article shows that you can't have success if you never ship.

------------------------------

Overall, I think the article is fantastic. It really hits home for me, and matches my experience attempting a side-project-into-business. But the biggest takeaway isn't "it takes hard work.". This guy obviously worked hard for a long time.

The moral of the story is:

* work hard -on the right things-

* use milestones that give you -visible progress-

* get product validation -early and often-

* actually ship

I've learned the same lessons from my past mistakes and I'm actively using these lessons in my current startup.

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#13

Post by fmavituna »

teej wrote: post #12
dennisgorelik wrote: post #10

That'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.

The article was fantastic, but I couldn't disagree more on your conclusions. > It puts "get-rich quick" hot heads under cold shower. Everyone I've known to become a millionaire in a short time (a year or less) did it by shipping blazingly fast and getting lucky. You can't get lucky if you never ship . > It shows why startup must be something to enjoy even if there is no money there. I agree here. > It shows that quic…

> Everyone I've known to become a millionaire in a short time (a year or less)

I'm honestly curious about this, can you give us a couple of startups that got rich in less than 12 months from the start of development?

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#14

Post by ww520 »

This is a honest and fantastic postmortem. The lessons teach us more than the success stories.

I had the same problem of envisioning bigger product goal than I can achieve; I simply overestimated my energy, attention, or ability. Nowadays I try to trim down feature ruthlessly and limit scope to the bare minimum. Work not needed are work done great.

Hope it's not too intrusive. Is $10K/month necessary for living expenses?

Thank you for the great self revelation. I'm sure you'll gain more from it even it doesn't pan out the way you want. Good luck.

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#15

Post by pavel_lishin »

pchristensen wrote: post #7
pavel_lishin wrote: post #5

Goddamnit, 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 an…

Where is the column?

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#16

Post by pavel_lishin »

noelwelsh wrote: post #9

Very 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…

> 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.

Weird - I think I would be very unhappy as an enterpreneur. You see it as being in control - I see it as being controlled by outside forces (investors, angels, customers, contractors, employees.)

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#17

Post by apsurd »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #16
noelwelsh wrote: post #9

Very 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…

> 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. Weird - I think I would be very unhappy as an enterpreneur. You see it as being in control - I see it as being controlled by outside forces (investors, angels, customers, contractors, employees.)

That's actually a good point.

But you can say that about all things.

It's pretty depressing to feel like I am not in control of my life, though I know at any second the will of the Universe can dictate what it wants to me ; I'm hardly in control.

For me, believing in free-will, even if we don't really have it, is necessary for a happy existence.

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#19

Post by carbonica »

ww520 wrote: post #14

This is a honest and fantastic postmortem. The lessons teach us more than the success stories. I had the same problem of envisioning bigger product goal than I can achieve; I simply overestimated my energy, attention, or ability. Nowadays I try to trim down feature ruthlessly and limit scope to the bare minimum. Work not needed are work done great. Hope it's not too intrusive. Is $10K/month necessary for living expen…

> Is $10K/month necessary for living expenses?

While at first glance, the "needing 10k/month" seems surprisingly high, it's likely he means "need 10k/month to maintain my present lifestyle." I doubt he actually means "I need 10k/month to survive," just that having a family means less compromising on lifestyle.

If kids are in school, maybe even private school, those expenses are likely something he doesn't intend to compromise on, which is completely fair. If he has a nice home in a nice neighborhood, he still has to pay property taxes. Healthcare costs more for a full family than 1 person. And so on. Sure, there's a path toward having lower living expenses, like moving where property taxes are lower and taking kids out of private school. It's just going to be a lot harder to take.

Re: GeekStack Postmortem

#20

Post by Adkron »

I wish that my customers would read this. I just don't know how to suggest it to them with out sounding like I hate them. The big problem is that most of the pain outlined I will go through. The customers I have work for the guy that will feel the pain Peter felt.
Post reply on HN