I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020) • Hacker News Board

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#131

Post by synergy20 » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:53 PM UTC

jdsleppy wrote: post #121

synergy20 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a half-baked product in the making for 4 years but never had enough time (and skill) to fully make it, every time I asked potential customers all of them wanted it right away except I could not finish it. Tried to apply for HN to no avail. I just need some investment(500K should do it in one year) to hire one or two developers to help to ship the product really, but I don't know how, which is why I'm back to w…

If you had contact information in your profile, someone might reach out. But since you don't: what kind of help are you looking for? Web development?

browser-based web UI for a network device, like a (better) UI for a wifi router for example.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#132

Post by JAlexoid » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:55 PM UTC

rmason wrote: post #82

Barrera wrote: post #15

The main reason this didn't work is that the founder didn't identify a customer willing to spend money . A lot of startups fail because they never identify a customer. Or even a problem. This one failed because before writing a line of code the founder did not take the next step and ensure that the prospective customer was willing to spend money on a solution. This is why so many failing startups try to pivot to two-…

OK, how about a startup that built something that was better for a completely solved problem on the web? They had no idea at all how they'd make money but there was a significant cost building and running the product. Yet VC's had no problem funding this moonshot startup. Then another startup invented a solution that could allow them to monetize. Only problem was that it was very controversial and there were dozens o…

They made it better and wrestled the position from the others.

Yahoo and AltaVista weren't great and Google Search was far superior.

Making things work better is way easier, than creating a completely new market.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#133

Post by hgomersall » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:56 PM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #123

jasfi wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why MVP exists. However validation is often needed much earlier. I think a prototype that works visually only, then collecting pre-orders, is the way to go.

As the name implies, the Minimum Viable Product exists as a way to build the least amount necessary to start generating enough revenue to keep the business viable while you expand the scope of the product to realize your full vision. The MVP isn't for proving the market, but rather capturing a small segment of the market to fund expansion into the much larger market. The validation that there is a market should take…

This is completely different to an MVP as defined in The Lean Startup. It's absolutely about proving whatever needs proving.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#134

Post by jomoho » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:57 PM UTC

b20000 wrote: post #128

this should probably have been pitched to health insurance orgs.

This, or some other source of grant money focused on health. Clearly not every good idea is able to be monetized through its users.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#135

Post by lkrubner » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:57 PM UTC

Barrera wrote: post #15

The main reason this didn't work is that the founder didn't identify a customer willing to spend money . A lot of startups fail because they never identify a customer. Or even a problem. This one failed because before writing a line of code the founder did not take the next step and ensure that the prospective customer was willing to spend money on a solution. This is why so many failing startups try to pivot to two-…

Over the last 20 years I've consulted with maybe 30 entrepreneurs, and what I find is that some of them get too caught up in the dream of some day being rich and famous. The ones who are successful are the ones who remain pragmatic and stay focused on what they need to do today. The irony is that, even for the dreamers, all their dreams can come true: they might some day be rich and famous and yet, perhaps paradoxically, the best way to make that happen is to not think about it, and instead stay focused on what you can do for your real customers, right now, today. (At the risk of too much self-promotion, I recently wrote a book, "One on one meetings are underrated; Group meetings waste time" and I devote a long chapter to 2 stories of pragmatic success contrasted with 2 stories of failure due to dreaming.)

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#136

Post by tonymet » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 6:59 PM UTC

Not just 40k, also the opportunity cost of the time spent on the startup, which is more than $30k/mo in lost income. so $40k + $270k (9 mo, estimated) = $310k lost

Not saying it wasn't worth it. People should take risks. Just be sure to fully account for them.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#137

Post by WalterBright » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 7:02 PM UTC

fartcannon wrote: post #105

ilamont wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's right. A lot of founders don't make it to #3 in your list, or they only get the "make something people want" part. It's not enough. Build something people want and will pay for . Not just say they want. Not just say they'll pay for. Make something that they see and will immediately take out their cash/cc/paypal/venmo and pay for on the spot .

Then you'll just end up with samey expensive garbage. People don't know what they want until they're told what they want. It's important to create a society where ideas that have no current market can be developed. This is how the future is made. Not by making it aluminum and jacking up the price.

> It's important to create a society where ideas that have no current market can be developed.

We have. It's the free market.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#138

Post by xwdv » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 7:03 PM UTC

He got lucky, he only wasted $40k. Some people waste some of the best years of their lives chasing startup ideas, paying huge opportunity costs and retarding their progress in life. He got off cheap.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#139

Post by scottndecker » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 7:03 PM UTC

$40k learning exercise. And great job shutting it down sooner rather than later when it would have been $200k and your marriage.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea (2020)

#140

Post by wilihybrid » Mon, Mar 28, 2022, 7:04 PM UTC

synergy20 wrote: post #106

Barrera wrote: post #15

The main reason this didn't work is that the founder didn't identify a customer willing to spend money . A lot of startups fail because they never identify a customer. Or even a problem. This one failed because before writing a line of code the founder did not take the next step and ensure that the prospective customer was willing to spend money on a solution. This is why so many failing startups try to pivot to two-…

I have a half-baked product in the making for 4 years but never had enough time (and skill) to fully make it, every time I asked potential customers all of them wanted it right away except I could not finish it. Tried to apply for HN to no avail. I just need some investment(500K should do it in one year) to hire one or two developers to help to ship the product really, but I don't know how, which is why I'm back to w…

What does "apply for HN" mean in this context?