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Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#141

Post by TrackerFF »

I think the problem was that you mainly entered typically saturated (product) markets. All those ideas have been on the 101 "first product" lists to programmers, for as long as you've been trying.

And the fact that you worked alone(?) just makes things even more difficult. You have entrepreneurs in SF with networks and capital to launch products in mere months - hell, their marketing budget the first months would be more than your revenue the first x years. Point is, it's incredibly hard to compete against players like that, and if you have some easy / low-hanging fruit idea, there's a good chance you'll be playing against those. Remember to do your market and product research!

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#142

Post by zerbin »

robocat wrote: post #138
zerbin wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's undoubtedly got to be hard for the "entrepreneur" without novel ideas or an ability to notice market shortcomings and imagine patches to them. Like you, I read this post with a bit of incredulity - sure, you might want to "be your own boss" and "launch a successful product" but in order to actually do that... you kinda have to do something novel. I don't want to crap on OP's dreams, but I don't see the link mana…

> but I don't see the link manager thing turning into a billion dollar unicorn. I suspect for every $1000M unicorn, there are 1000x $1M businesses. 1. Many of those 1000 $1M businesses can be very derivative, but with some focus that is just too specific for competition (vertical, market, # of clients, feature focus, whatever). That link manager could easily be a yummy small business. 2. I suspect one can make as muc…

Sure, then I guess the question is how likely any of that is and if we’re adjusting for risk, what’s the opportunity cost vs just working for someone else? My guess is that in 10+ years of saving or investing zero dollars, each subsequent year of dream chasing is going to have an opportunity cost so high that the big payout ending would be the only thing that could balance the scales

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#143

Post by toss1 »

toss1 wrote: post #50

Yup, switched industries from software to advanced composites (like carbon fiber, kevlar, etc.) design & fabrication in 2003. Been up and down ever since, running both as a job shop and always working to design & build products. Persistence and flexibility, always looking at new opportunities and technologies with an eye to goals (other than what is fun). Every lap around the field gets a bit better, and now there's…

additional note:

>>Seem to have heard something about: Seek and ye shall find...

also keep in mind that no one ever said finding it would be quick...

(give yourself some runway, and cut yourself some slack when things aren't as expected)

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#144

Post by orasis »

majani wrote: post #101
orasis wrote: post #59

I’m sincerely not trying to be mean, but it’s possible you were previously simply bad at entrepreneurship. There is this dominant narrative that entrepreneurship is primarily about raw willpower and persistence despite the odds. As a 20+ year entrepreneur I do not believe this to be the case. I believe the primary skill is observation. Yes, we need to try different ideas, but what really makes a product work is liste…

Have you had multiple significant business successes?

Yes, and to the point where I no longer care about business success. I just continue to practice creating value for others.

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#145

Post by cultofmetatron »

GDC7 wrote: post #136
cultofmetatron wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

latin america too is great from a cultural perspective. Dating prospects being much better as well.

they don't have an abundance of people like the other 2 tho

I'm here in latin america right now. they definitely do. Especially if you are in a city like medellin or bogota

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#146

Post by robocat »

zerbin wrote: post #142
robocat wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I don't see the link manager thing turning into a billion dollar unicorn. I suspect for every $1000M unicorn, there are 1000x $1M businesses. 1. Many of those 1000 $1M businesses can be very derivative, but with some focus that is just too specific for competition (vertical, market, # of clients, feature focus, whatever). That link manager could easily be a yummy small business. 2. I suspect one can make as muc…

Sure, then I guess the question is how likely any of that is and if we’re adjusting for risk, what’s the opportunity cost vs just working for someone else? My guess is that in 10+ years of saving or investing zero dollars, each subsequent year of dream chasing is going to have an opportunity cost so high that the big payout ending would be the only thing that could balance the scales

The “unicorn plan” is highly leveraged, high risk, and founders ignore the Kelly Criterion for their costs (especially their time).

I would love to see the average return for the founders of ycombinator startups. Given the power law (Pareto) distribution, it can probably be calculated by knowing the number of founders from 2005 to 2010, and some rough estimates of returns for the major ycombinator success stories.

VC as an fund category has poor returns (“the Cambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Index averaged just 5.06% per year between 2000 and 2020”). Also VC returns compared with founders equity: have higher seniority (preferential), lower volatility, diversity, and the chance of getting the necessary outlier success story returns.

The median/average founder in the market is a loser.

Do a funded startup for social status, to learn, to gamble, or for kicks. Don’t become a funded founder because it makes financial sense for an individual.

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#147

Post by dctaflin »

I wish you all success. I'm intrigued by people who are determined to take primary control of their money-making, because I'm so different from that. I am so grateful that companies exist that can manage annoyances like medical insurance, taxes, payroll, etc. so that I can just show up, do stuff I'm good at and enjoy, and then go home in the evening and forget about it all until the next day. I have little skill or interest in finding exploitable markets, but in general I get along with people well and have no problem with other people deciding what large-scale projects to work on, as long as I have a bit of autonomy on actually implementing them. Thank God not everyone is like me, or nothing would get done! But I think without people like me, very little would get done as well. Good luck on finding your ideal niche.

Re: Failed for the past 12 years as an tech entrepreneur

#148

Post by ctvo »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #119
start123 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was naive back then and had very little understanding of how things work. I jumped into things because I felt they were cool and not really worrying about solving a problem. And I wish I could share some pics of my failed ones, I did try my best to differentiate.

So how is your current project different? It feels like you're jumping on trends when they have existed for years already without bringing anything new to the table. That'll never get you anywhere.

> It feels like you're jumping on trends when they have existed for years already without bringing anything new to the table. That'll never get you anywhere.

With all due respect, who the fuck are you? And who the fuck do you think you are telling anyone they won't get anywhere? OP's current project has paying customers. That's more than most people ever get to.

Much respect to the persistence, and please ignore these naysayers. I have no doubt you know your space and customers better than they do.

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