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How Not to Die

paulgraham.com

21–30 of 154 posts

Re: How Not to Die

#21
Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! But:

> We're taking on some consulting projects, but we're going to keep working on the startup.

All good if you're single, but what if you've got a wife and family and just need the cash? (Okay, feel free to say you shouldn't start a startup with a family, but it's too late... :-)

Re: How Not to Die

#22
post #19

A good friend of mine once described pg as a "modern-day Horatio Alger for hackers".

I really like that description. I think the phrase "luck, pluck, and virtue" has been permanently grafted into my brain ever since reading Ragged Dick in HS. That and, "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em."

Re: How Not to Die

#23
post #21

Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! But: > We're taking on some consulting projects, but we're going to keep working on the startup. All good if you're single, but what if you've got a wife and family and just need the cash? (Okay, feel free to say you shouldn't start a startup with a family, but it's too late... :-)

Why not ask the wife to be the temporary breadwinner while you concentrate on your project?

Re: How Not to Die

#24
post #21

Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! But: > We're taking on some consulting projects, but we're going to keep working on the startup. All good if you're single, but what if you've got a wife and family and just need the cash? (Okay, feel free to say you shouldn't start a startup with a family, but it's too late... :-)

It seems like the success rate for that situation is minuscule, if you define 'success' as getting rich and not just supporting yourself.

Re: How Not to Die

#25
Fear of humilation and fear of failure is also the most significant thing to overcome in terms of applying to Y Combinator at all. I'd far rather be rejected from the start, having failed at the application process, than to get into the program and disappoint everyone.

Re: How Not to Die

#26
post #21

Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! But: > We're taking on some consulting projects, but we're going to keep working on the startup. All good if you're single, but what if you've got a wife and family and just need the cash? (Okay, feel free to say you shouldn't start a startup with a family, but it's too late... :-)

This can still be a totally inspiring essay for that situation.

The real threat posed by taking on consulting is not what it does to your time; seeking funding would eat up lots of time as well. The threat is what it does to your determination. When the startup seems hopeless you can easily drop it and make consulting your focus.

If you're determined enough, you'll come up with a plan to maintain that determination even if consulting goes well and the startup goes terribly.

Re: How Not to Die

#27
post #26
post #21

Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks! But: > We're taking on some consulting projects, but we're going to keep working on the startup. All good if you're single, but what if you've got a wife and family and just need the cash? (Okay, feel free to say you shouldn't start a startup with a family, but it's too late... :-)

This can still be a totally inspiring essay for that situation. The real threat posed by taking on consulting is not what it does to your time; seeking funding would eat up lots of time as well. The threat is what it does to your determination. When the startup seems hopeless you can easily drop it and make consulting your focus. If you're determined enough, you'll come up with a plan to maintain that determination e…

Absolutely! Sometimes I think that I'm "startup cursed" because I find it so easy to pound the pavement and rustle up a few bucks. Ironically, what is an asset in the real world is a liability in the startup world. I haven't completely turned my back on other income while I code my startup, but I have to look at it very carefully. All other activities must pass an additional acid test: "What will this endeavor contribute to my startup?" If I don't have a good answer, I pass on it and get back to coding.

Re: How Not to Die

#28
This is probably among the most operational focussed essay I have read from PG on startups. Its so true - nothing focuses the human mind more than deadlines and public statements to live upto. I go around telling everyone I know, including people at work that I want to start a company and it has a very subconcious effect on me, when people are constantly asking me so whats happening on your startup front.

Also very good point about how peers motivate each other. When I am sitting in my weekly target meetings and see that my peer did 110% of his target and i did only 95%, it immediately triggers me to go and re-examine my methods.

Re: How Not to Die

#29
post #5

>> We've done this five times now, and we've seen a bunch of startups die. About 10 of them so far. So, not counting this batch (19), 10 out of 39 [1] startups died so far. So, the survival rate is 72%. Not bad! I know that some more YC companies might die at some point in the future, but the numbers so far seem impressive. [1] The following article quotes 58 companies funded in all: http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_n…

There are several more that seem moribund, but we give them the benefit of the doubt, because there have been cases of startups coming back from the dead.

There were 38 before this batch, 20 new ones this summer, 1 of which immediately merged with a startup from a previous round = 19 in Cambridge.

Re: How Not to Die

#30
post #12
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a good idea... >>I'm sure one of you is already thinking of how to make this a Facebook app, but I think a personal phone call would work best. Actually, my first thought was meetup group in a certain area.

That would be better, but also easier to flake on.

Why not set up regular conference calls so those of us not near a startup hub can participate?
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