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I am done. I give up

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: I am done. I give up

#141

Post by jraby3 »

You seem to be getting a lot of advice, some good some I disagree with.

But I would say that this post on the front page of hacker news is an amazing opportunity for you to promote your three failed startups. Maybe one will get the traction you need.

Re: I am done. I give up

#142

Post by jacquesm »

WA wrote: post #138
jacquesm wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sucks. I know quite a few stories like that. I'm more active as an investor these days than as an entrepreneur, the projects I still run are more for fun than for income (or even potential income) and I can't tell you how happy I am that that pressure has abated somewhat. It's annoying that even the successes tend to screw over the employees and more often than not the founders as well. Typical dilution by the t…

Do opportunities like these still exist?

Yes, absolutely. Looking at one right now actually (NDA, so I can't tell you about it but it's a gem).

Re: I am done. I give up

#143

Post by louison11 »

Have you considered stopping trying to be successful, and instead figuring out what would really make you happy? Just a thought. The most successful products in the world have come from people following their heart, trying to share something with the world, not people trying to get something FROM the world.

Re: I am done. I give up

#145

Post by devdude1337 »

Let me just give a few opinions. First, social media is bad for mental health in general. From a business view it’s a marketing tool - use it as such and don’t follow anyone - why waste time reading stuff there anyway? As a founder you must run a business. A business is meant for earning money, not for fulfilling a dream. All the shiny posts about how successful a startup is, is just marketing. Smoke and whistles. It should attract the reader into buying the product or service. Your failure and bad feelings are you not realizing you still have a consumers mindset not that of a business man. Also there are endless business ideas and as such an idea has zero value. Execution is what adds value. Ideas themselves are worthless. As soon as you understand that a business is just about money, and you accept that cold reality of capitalism, the sooner you will find ways to success. Luck plays a role, too. But you need to be in places around people where opportunities are plenty. Successful businesses are built around successful people and their networks! Not social media networks!

Re: I am done. I give up

#146

Post by fragmede »

hef19898 wrote: post #71
vineyardmike wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A big fact of the entrepreneur world is that it is hugely based on luck. And for anything with bigger ambitions than a lifestyle business, don’t forget connections. Most founders are still men from Ivies or Stanford. Just look at the “PayPal mafia” to see how inbred tech investing can be. Not that most entrepreneurs need or should expect VC funding, but this is HN, run by a VC. You can totally run a business and be…

Personally, I have a problem with the term lifestyle business. Without plenty of VC money, building and running a business is hard . VC backed up start-ups fit the "lifestyle" business definition a lot better, IMHO. One can play CxO, or chief engineer or whatever fancy title one wants to hold without putting the effort and years in, without actually worrying about those nasty things like profitability, cash flow or a…

Even with VC money, running a business is hard. Just look at all the VC-funded startups that go bust! The term lifestyle business is useful because it frames and contrasts a VC-funded business that must have explosive growth and then IPO or be bought out or else die, and a business that's fine just existing with no need to take over the world, ever. A lifestyle business is one that can be trusted because it didn't take VC funding; it doesn't have the dying need to sell out to Apple or Amazon or Google or Microsoft or Adobe or IPO.

Re: I am done. I give up

#147

Post by jacquesm »

pirate787 wrote: post #66
vineyardmike wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A big fact of the entrepreneur world is that it is hugely based on luck. And for anything with bigger ambitions than a lifestyle business, don’t forget connections. Most founders are still men from Ivies or Stanford. Just look at the “PayPal mafia” to see how inbred tech investing can be. Not that most entrepreneurs need or should expect VC funding, but this is HN, run by a VC. You can totally run a business and be…

I wasted a decade of my life on the notion that you can bootstrap a startup. It is hard mode and the folks that are so dismissive of VC funding should have that disclaimer.

You can bootstrap a startup, but not every startup. And woe to you if you are bootstrapped and some VC funded club starts poaching your customers with a product subsidized by their financiers.

I wrote about these options long ago:

https://jacquesmattheij.com/three-roads-to-the-top-of-the-mo...

Re: I am done. I give up

#149

Post by jacquesm »

gadders wrote: post #139

I always like this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076 "Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they c…

That's a fantastic comment.
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