(Both)
Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#32This question is so naive and it's loved by the lazy because it lets them indulge the fantasy of either telling their boss to get stuffed and getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz), or getting paid millions and never have to work again (exit). I really dislike this question and I tend to distance myself from entrepreneurs having these kinds of conversations. Even if you want to exit early or have lifestyl…
>This question is so naive and it's loved by the lazy because it lets them indulge the fantasy of either telling their boss to get stuffed and getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz), or getting paid millions and never have to work again (exit).
No, the question is loved (sic) because it's an important decision to make, and it leads to totally different ways of business development, relationship with investors and such.
>I really dislike this question and I tend to distance myself from entrepreneurs having these kinds of conversations.
Well, it's not like it's their loss.
>How do you think Steve Jobs would have answered this question?
Judging from what he actually did, he would answer that "fuck exits", he's going all the way.
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#33It's ironic... Doesn't it seem businesses you build with the goal of an exit turn into lifestyle businesses-- while the ones that you build as a lifestyle business tend to be the ones you get the most offers for.
I guess it goes back to the YC teachings of "Build something people want".
I think therefore you need to strive and be happy for your company to be a lifestyle business, even if your ultimate goal is an exit- or else you'll never have the passion to actually turn it into something worth exiting.
I chose option 3 because I think every business is therefore a bit of both. Because conversely, even a business which someone builds as a lifestyle-- will eventually exit if the "price is right".
For anyone that's going to claim snapchat as an example of this not being true-- I'd argue they're waiting for a higher valuation or to monetize and then go public-- both exit strategies
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#34The phrase "lifestyle business" is reductive and simplistic.
What about: High-quality, mission-driven, sustainable, impervious to fashion, self-motivated, resistant to the incursions of finance capital . . .
I could say similar things for the word "exit," since there are many different kinds of "exits," but I will leave that for someone else with more skin in that game.
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#35I am mostly interested in using my technical skills to solve long-standing problems in education. I want to get paid close to market rate for the work I'm doing, but I am much more interested in leading a long-term project than building something quickly and selling. Most of my work is open source, but I would also like to use my growing skills to build something closed at some point, in another domain. Even then, I…
Traditional education is really tough for venture. Teachers are probably the most change averse folks in the world. I applaud your desire make things better. VC hasn't historically mixed well here.
You might consider alternatives like http://www.newschools.org/, http://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do
I've Spent time trying this myself (both writing software and in the classroom). Its a hard nut.
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#36This question is so naive and it's loved by the lazy because it lets them indulge the fantasy of either telling their boss to get stuffed and getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz), or getting paid millions and never have to work again (exit). I really dislike this question and I tend to distance myself from entrepreneurs having these kinds of conversations. Even if you want to exit early or have lifestyl…
> getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz) You couldn't be farther from my understanding of what a lifestyle business is. I understand a lifestyle business to be one that you plan on making part of your life for the long term. It is meant to provide enough income to live at a certain level (ie lifestyle), but not necessarily to become filthy rich, or result in an IPO, or some other exit point. What makes yo…
"Four Hour Work Week"
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#37You forgot the "long term business" option.
Maybe not so much forgot it, but bundled it into "lifestyle business".
Amazingly, people using the term to mean every kind of steady growth company (as opposed to some exponential growth byout-IPO style exit vehicle).
So, 37 Signals say, with tens of millions in revenue, tens of employees and 12+ years in business is also labeled a "lifestyle business".
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#38I went to law school thinking I would come out a lawyer. Makes sense, right? Quickly, I found that I was having to use tools and websites that seemed to be designed to actively make the job of legal research harder than it needed to be. Not only that, but anything "digital" or "electronic" really just seemed like someone said "put up the paper version on a screen" with no recognition of what web technologies were capable of.
So out of those three choices, I would say the third is most applicable assuming "exit" means a buyout/sale of shares. I'm not looking for an exit or to run a lifestyle business. I'm forming a business that I'll hand off the reigns to at some arbitrary point in the future, unrelated to financials, when I feel like I can finally be the badass super lawyer I know is possible when these tools are built.
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz) You couldn't be farther from my understanding of what a lifestyle business is. I understand a lifestyle business to be one that you plan on making part of your life for the long term. It is meant to provide enough income to live at a certain level (ie lifestyle), but not necessarily to become filthy rich, or result in an IPO, or some other exit point. What makes yo…
"Four Hour Work Week"
Yeah I've read this book to and I don't think it's a real representation of the type of person wanting to run a life-style business. I'd guess it's mostly fantasy.
Re: Poll: Are you looking for an exit, or building a lifestyle business?
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
> getting paid for doing very little (lifestyle biz) You couldn't be farther from my understanding of what a lifestyle business is. I understand a lifestyle business to be one that you plan on making part of your life for the long term. It is meant to provide enough income to live at a certain level (ie lifestyle), but not necessarily to become filthy rich, or result in an IPO, or some other exit point. What makes yo…
"Four Hour Work Week"
...yet it always seems to get amazing reviews. I suspect not from people who've actually used the advice to then go on to make a successful business, but rather from people who found it entertaining then put it down again. Thinks like this make me more inclined to stop reading 'advice' and just get on with it using common sense.