Putting your code and documentation into a third party source code escrow is a common solution.
Code is not a company.
It is still some legacy you can leave behind.
Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
11–20 of 52 posts
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#12I run a business that entitely runs itself on cron.
I guess the customers that ask for support would just churn, but the stable set of customers that know what they're doing would keep enough cash in the accounts to keep the lights on until AWS permanently shuts down.
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#13No measures at all. If I die, the business will most likely die as well. Since it’s not a huge business that can support lots of employees, the impact to my family will be negligible too
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Code is not a company.
It is still some legacy you can leave behind.
I understand, but my point is that if your company as a "got hit by a bus" problem, having the code in third party escrow is probably not gonna solve that. It kinda suggests to me that someone who believes that putting the code in escrow is a solution to that problem, also believes that the biggest problem with the founder getting hit by a bus is that only the founder knows where the code is. That's not the biggest problem, not even close.
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#15Look before you cross.
I grew up in a somewhat vehicularly lawless society where mopeds going the wrong way down a one-way street are an everyday phenomenon.
I legitimately look _thrice_ before crossing: expected traffic side, other side and back once again.
I am paranoid about getting hit by a bus/car/...
I'll likely be done for by a falling piano.
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#16Look before you cross.
I grew up in a somewhat vehicularly lawless society where mopeds going the wrong way down a one-way street are an everyday phenomenon. I legitimately look _thrice_ before crossing: expected traffic side, other side and back once again. I am paranoid about getting hit by a bus/car/... I'll likely be done for by a falling piano.
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Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#17I run a business that entitely runs itself on cron. I guess the customers that ask for support would just churn, but the stable set of customers that know what they're doing would keep enough cash in the accounts to keep the lights on until AWS permanently shuts down.
Or until your credit card expires and AWS switches your account off.
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#18Why? I don't think you would be in any relevant position at all to care about a startup which is run by you in case you die. Your family can't run it, others can't just take it over and you are 6 feet under. Get life insurance and stop worrying about this if you haven't brought the company far enough yet.
Once we are dead, our legacy is what is left of us. Since it all amounts to nothing, might as well try to make a dent in history. Maybe we'll be one of the ones people are still quoting two thousand years later without even realizing it ([... do]lorem ipsum dolor sit amet).
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Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#19Why? I don't think you would be in any relevant position at all to care about a startup which is run by you in case you die. Your family can't run it, others can't just take it over and you are 6 feet under. Get life insurance and stop worrying about this if you haven't brought the company far enough yet.
Once we are dead, our legacy is what is left of us. Since it all amounts to nothing, might as well try to make a dent in history. Maybe we'll be one of the ones people are still quoting two thousand years later without even realizing it ([... do]lorem ipsum dolor sit amet).
Nobody even thinks about your legacy after you’re dead. Nobody has that much time. They’re all worried about themselves.
Re: Ask HN: Solo founders, what’s your got-hit-by-a-bus strategy?
#20None. The company has trouble staying alive with me alive. It will be gone when I'm dead. Heck, the one that got acquired died even with me in an advisory position.
There will always be competitors. Some may spawn or be inspired later. Someone eventually does the same thing but better.
It's probably overengineering to try to keep a company alive longer than me. The primary responsibility is keeping my kids alive should I die within the next two decades, so I'd rather focus on that first.