You're getting a lot of this in this post, but I'd be happy to connect you to my network as well. Email me at mkijewski (gmail).
p.s. I have a fractional child as well. I'm familiar with the stress.
Started a stupid company. Failed.
141–150 of 436 posts
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#142pls put up a paypal acc and we can all chip in..
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#143Hey man, sorry to hear. I really hope things work out for you. I really do. But, even if things go south for a long time, I sort of envy you. At least you've tried. I haven't done shit. I keep wanting to try. At least I can say at the end of my life, "You know what? I wasn't a success, but I followed my dreams and passions."
But, I still hope your situation will be better several years from now.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#144Hey, other comments are going to give you a few lines telling you to not quit, that you should hang in there, and that it'll be alright. That may be true, but to me it sounds like you're possibly not doing well enough to make any of that possible, and you probably need to find work fast. Here's what I want to do: 1. I have a little list of companies looking for employees that I'll send you. Not much just companies th…
you rock, zed
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#145Hey There. 138 comments in, it may seem trite, but if you're in NYC, please shoot me an e-mail (info in my profile). I'm hiring across the board; even if it's just freelance to get you back on your feet, we can work something out. Please e-mail.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have for a while thought of you as (total honesty here) a bullying cock (though talented at what you do), but this comment which is sincere, genuine and offered to someone for whom this could be greatly helpful has made me seriously reconsider. Kudos.
It strikes me that Zed has been on the receiving end of way more bullying than he has given out (including being called a cock by you in this very post)
Well, he did call _why a dick (which is just a no in my book), but when all is said and done I think this is irrelevant. He's giving a guy in need a hand, and I think we should all look up to Zed for it.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#147If you are in India, shoot an email at abhididdigi[at]gmail.com.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#148My wife cried reading all of your comments. I guess we were looking for some sign that someone somewhere is pulling for us. During the first hour this post was up I hovered over the delete more than once. It doesn't seem right to bring an entire ecosystem of ambitious and wonderful people a story of failure. I guess I learned that hitting delete would be worse. Thank you from the 5.3 of us.
These stories should be required reading. To that end the community would benefit massively from you documenting it. Just as there are Journals of Negative results [1][2] so too should there be a journal of failed startups. Your detailing of what caused the failures could save thousands of man hours and potentially someone falling into the same traps. Goal #1 for you right now is to get your family in order and steel…
I'm sure that would be nice to have. I'm can relate to OP, I'm out of pretty my all of my savings and trying to think of ways to shutter my co. I already have four kids. When a friend of mine said to me, "perhaps we should disect this failure", the zing from that made it all that much worse.
I'm sure there's plenty of lessons to be learned from failed startups, but even 5 years after my first failed startup, I still don't like thinking about it, least of all documenting what went wrong.
Now, fortunately I do have a venture that's been somewhat of a runaway success, in spite of me. The only truth I can relate do what you must and then get lucky. There isn't some secret method to success(despite what your methodical brain tells you).
It may be survivor bias or whatever, but I still don't like harping on my failures. I know the severe guilty feeling that I get knowing that I not only risked my own but my family's well being possibly, but then again, at least I tried. Life's tough, live to fight another day & survive long enough till you get lucky. I for one am not looking to revisit my failure any more than I already do, it's too traumatic to relive.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#149Hey man, I've been there (two failed startups). Whatever you learned during that time should be valuable assets/skills in many startups. Hang in there. You gotta be there for your family.
I appreciate your kind words to the OP, but... is that really true?
"Whatever you learned during that time should be valuable assets/skills in many startups"
I can not imagine for one moment failing in a business, taking a job at a startup, and having the owner(s) or others say "well... you've tried this before and failed - what's your input on XYZ?" In fact, I essentially went through this years ago, and could not find anyone who ever put any stock or value in my failures.
In one particular case it was very maddening because I watched the owners make several of the same mistakes I'd made just 2 years earlier, which ended up in me folding my company. Less than a year after I joined, they laid off half the workforce, then folded later. Try as I might to help in some way (not to take over, but to keep my job!), my previous experience of failure was not a valuable asset to that company.
Maybe it was just all the situations I was in aren't "the norm", but I just don't see it actually happening.
Re: Started a stupid company. Failed.
#150My wife cried reading all of your comments. I guess we were looking for some sign that someone somewhere is pulling for us. During the first hour this post was up I hovered over the delete more than once. It doesn't seem right to bring an entire ecosystem of ambitious and wonderful people a story of failure. I guess I learned that hitting delete would be worse. Thank you from the 5.3 of us.
Don't feel bad about bringing a story of failure. You're keeping it real and there's nothing more valuable than a dose of reality sometimes.