31–40 of 74 posts
You're right, and this doesn't just apply to I.T. Startups. My step father (who is 70 years old, and still on the board of 6 companies) used to always say to us kids it takes "2 years" to start a company. In the article it says you break even somewhere through year two, which I think is what my father was referring to. My own experience this seems likely too, I started my own startup about 6 months ago,( solo founder…
You're right, and this doesn't just apply to I.T. Startups. My step father (who is 70 years old, and still on the board of 6 companies) used to always say to us kids it takes "2 years" to start a company. In the article it says you break even somewhere through year two, which I think is what my father was referring to. My own experience this seems likely too, I started my own startup about 6 months ago,( solo founder…
I usually break up the day with the run. The great thing about being an iPhone developer is so easy to break even. In my first 2 weeks I broke even, it helped getting a mac for work. I continued to work for the next 15 months, until I had some savings, and was sure I could survive if things turned bad for a while.
My cofounder and I quit our jobs and had "12" months saved up according to our plan. 9 months in, and no revenue yet, we found ourselves with no runway left, and needed to get contracting jobs on the side. As Jacques mentions, when you take this approach, a lot of your "good time is spoken for".
Great post, Jacques. Thanks for your kind words. People might even consider doing business with you, but nobody wants to be 'first' for fear of being burned. This can also work in your favor... It's rare, but sometimes you can find someone who does want to be your first customer. When this happens, it's solid gold and one of your fastest shortcuts. Others call them "champions"; I prefer "sugar daddies". I have had th…
That is the situation I am in. I have developed solutions to problems for the US's 4th largest company in a space with hundreds of other competitors. I own the technology but they would certainly take a dim view of me selling it to their competitors - and stop using me thus cutting off my only source of income.
Any ideas how to capitalize on what I have developed?
Great post, Jacques. Thanks for your kind words. People might even consider doing business with you, but nobody wants to be 'first' for fear of being burned. This can also work in your favor... It's rare, but sometimes you can find someone who does want to be your first customer. When this happens, it's solid gold and one of your fastest shortcuts. Others call them "champions"; I prefer "sugar daddies". I have had th…
Do you have any advice for finding such people and the problems they face? Do you have examples of the things they wanted built? I think that if you wrote an article detailing your experiences and what you learned/inferred from the experiences, that it could be quite a popular article. It is basic economics, "build stuff people want", and every time I think about things that I should do for money, I think I should be…
http://edweissman.com/53640595
The pawn shop guy, the employer of the friend I met for lunch, and the stranger I met at an industry dinner all turned out to be sugar daddies.
Great post, Jacques. Thanks for your kind words. People might even consider doing business with you, but nobody wants to be 'first' for fear of being burned. This can also work in your favor... It's rare, but sometimes you can find someone who does want to be your first customer. When this happens, it's solid gold and one of your fastest shortcuts. Others call them "champions"; I prefer "sugar daddies". I have had th…
Do you have any advice for finding such people and the problems they face? Do you have examples of the things they wanted built? I think that if you wrote an article detailing your experiences and what you learned/inferred from the experiences, that it could be quite a popular article. It is basic economics, "build stuff people want", and every time I think about things that I should do for money, I think I should be…
Great post, Jacques. Thanks for your kind words. People might even consider doing business with you, but nobody wants to be 'first' for fear of being burned. This can also work in your favor... It's rare, but sometimes you can find someone who does want to be your first customer. When this happens, it's solid gold and one of your fastest shortcuts. Others call them "champions"; I prefer "sugar daddies". I have had th…
Your original sugar daddy did not mind that you sold the solution that he helped develop to other companies? That is the situation I am in. I have developed solutions to problems for the US's 4th largest company in a space with hundreds of other competitors. I own the technology but they would certainly take a dim view of me selling it to their competitors - and stop using me thus cutting off my only source of income…
You could make them a partner so that they can make a little extra money selling the clever solution they conceived, but that's really hard to do at the enterprise level. That works much better with a small business alpha male owner.
Some of the things to consider when taking your sugar daddy's solution to market:
Are they enterprise? If so, this probably isn't worth the trouble. Too much red tape and illogical thinking.
Does the solution provide them with a distinctive advantage over their competitors? If so, it only makes sense that they'd want to keep it for themselves. If not, they may gain favors among their peers by sharing it.
Is is a horizontal solution? Then there's really not much of a competitive threat by sharing it.
How opportunistic are they? Some people want to be sugar daddies because they're jealous of our IT margins. They can make as much sharing their technology as they do in their primary business.
Does wider use of the technology help their primary business? Some solutions become geometrically more effective if your trading partners are using them too.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Congrats man! What are you working on?
I dont work on a single "Next Big Idea" .. I have several small projects that I am advancing, all of which use A.I. somehow, because that's what I'm interested in, that's what I love. Some projects are: Optimal restaurant placement in large cities (based on demand and existing restaurants) Prediction of mechanical failures in industrial systems (sorry I cant be more specific on this point) .. basically I predict mech…
If you ever want to bounce ideas off someone, I'd be happy to talk.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your original sugar daddy did not mind that you sold the solution that he helped develop to other companies? That is the situation I am in. I have developed solutions to problems for the US's 4th largest company in a space with hundreds of other competitors. I own the technology but they would certainly take a dim view of me selling it to their competitors - and stop using me thus cutting off my only source of income…
You bring up something I failed to mention: this can be a touchy situation. In your case, it sounds like you have a great customer, but not a sugar daddy. I would never do something to upset a current customer. You could make them a partner so that they can make a little extra money selling the clever solution they conceived, but that's really hard to do at the enterprise level. That works much better with a small bu…
But, don't forget with enterprise customers you can offer to sell the company to them. 2-20 million for a long term strategic advantage plus your proven track record can be seen as net win for everyone. And if negotiations break down they are less likely to think they already own you.
I would be cautious of any sort of long term profit sharing, but offering to share a few years revenue from any 'connections' made in the industry can offset the feeling you are burning them by sharing the secret sauce.