281–290 of 339 posts
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In real estate there's this idea that if you plan on dying in your home then the value of it is unimportant. That idea also applies here.
Unless you have a mortgage, or your city reassesses property taxes, or...
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> right now the business has a profit, and therefore a valuation, closer to zero You’re thinking of this like an engineer rather than a business person. 1. When selling a business like this, the $236k would be called SDI or SDE (seller discretionary income/earnings). 2. The buyer determines what, if any, of that SDE will need to go to paying someone to do what the seller does. These duties could be assumed by the buy…
He's thinking about it like a business person who is looking at buying a business. It's worth close to zero. In it's current state this business is not an asset, it's a organization doing stuff. Breaking it out into SDE + adjustment is what the comment already does, albeit without using that terminology. One cannot hire a person who can do all the things this owner does. The person is a smart former google engineer.…
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Always interesting to follow your progress Michael! I managed to sell 100 units last year and feel ashamed compared to your numbers but hey it’s better than the nothing of the previous year!
Nice work! I think units sold varies so much by business, so no need to feel shame at all. Selling 100 units per year is a nice spot to be in because you're making sales frequently enough that you probably have some knobs to adjust and see what impact it has on your results, and that makes it so much easier to improve. That's why I've always been afraid of businesses that rely on enterprise sales, where you're going…
I think people (and the founder) are focusing on yearly profits as their remuneration and comparing it to a salary... but the reality is you're creating a company that should be valued (and eventually sell) for 7-15X Earnings - and you really should be looking at that increase in value vs your increase in profits. In reality your net worth went up by over $1.5 million in the last year, in addition to earning 236k - t…
On top of being a successful founder and a great writer, Michael is also a uniquely nice and generous person. He was the second customer of my startup and, before paying, advised me to raise the price.
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He's thinking about it like a business person who is looking at buying a business. It's worth close to zero. In it's current state this business is not an asset, it's a organization doing stuff. Breaking it out into SDE + adjustment is what the comment already does, albeit without using that terminology. One cannot hire a person who can do all the things this owner does. The person is a smart former google engineer.…
These people actually do grow on a tree called Google. All the Google layoffs means there are more smart former google engineers than ever currently available for hire. More importantly, doesn't have to be a former google engineer, any smart engineer can do what he currently does, google didn't teach him anything special they just hire smart engineers when they find them.
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Apple, Google, Amazon are every bit as bad, and Microsoft is still up there, too.
Assuming that’s true, is that counter to my statement? Mine was in response to someone saying it’s clear tech companies are getting worse, and your response to mine is they are just as bad? So also in your mind not clear they are getting worse, correct?
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You should write something about what you do too. Buying businesses sounds interesting, can you expand on this?
> You should write something about what you do too. I think most of what one needs to know is already out there. The key is being adaptable to the current environment and being aware of one’s value add (skill set, network, etc.). The problem with writing specifics about what I do is that it invites competitors and/or haters (e.g., review bombers or DDoSers). Some parts of my businesses have enough moat such that I do…
For what is worth, I appreciated your comments in this thread.
Michael, You are an inspiration. I have been following your journey since your post about quitting Google hit the HN front page. And what a wild ride it has been. You tried many projects ( https://mtlynch.io/projects/ ), and it took a while for you to find your winning idea. And I have read each of your retrospectives on TinyPilot ( https://mtlynch.io/retrospectives/ ) and know that it wasn't easy. Your journey shows…
Thanks for reading and for the kind words! > Have you always been so disciplined in life? If not, how did you improve it? No, I was a lot less disciplined when I was younger. I remember as a teen trying to learn Java several times and always getting bored a day or two in. I was a good student, but I would procrastinate work and distract myself while working. I probably became more disciplined in my twenties, but I un…
Can you recommend some?