171–180 of 205 posts
You really should look for a job. There's nothing wrong with it. Look at it as starting a consulting business with just 1 client, get to know your 'client' and start suggesting ways you can make more money together - then charge a cut to do so.
Reminder for people who are running startups and are in serious relationships: nothing should be a secret from your spouse/partner. Especially money. Maybe they're supporting you so you can recycle every dollar of revenue back into the business. Maybe you're gambling your shared savings on the success of your venture. Maybe you've got a good financial position and your family will be safe no matter what. It doesn't m…
If your spouse / partner _doesn't_ want to have these conversations, you have larger problems. One signpost that my marriage was doomed was my wife's shock at the possibility the business might fail, and her refusal to discuss the possibility.
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> Health insurance companies can no longer deny coverage based on credit scores, although apparently credit scores can impact your rates I don't believe that's the case anymore since they have to provide coverage. Smoking is the only thing I remember that affects your ACA compliant rates. It makes sense otherwise you would be forced to purchase a product that could be much more expensive for the simple act of not hav…
An insurer can also charge up to 3x rates based on age under the ACA. Prior to the ACA limiting the differential the market spread was about 5x from young to old in terms of age. Smokers only have to pay 50% more so being old will effect your rates more than smoking will under the ACA.
The business is not about you. Yes you are the founder but you are just part of the machination to make it work.
When the business fails, it's not a judgement on your character or your moral. Failure sucks. Tell the truth your employees ASAP. Deal with the fall out directly.
If you need to downgrade your lifestyle, do it. It is better than having the anxiety to put up with un-affordable lifestyle.
More importantly - don't be an ass to your wife. If you need to get a job, get a job. There's plenty of time to try again in the future.
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I'm sorry I might have misunderstood you. But if you have money in your personal bank and none in the corporate bank, why would you pay yourself (and be taxed on it) rather than just use the money (your money) to cover the living expenses?
That's what I'm trying to understand from tptacek's post. Some hypotheses that come to mind: 1.) Putting money into the corporate bank and then taking it out as a nominal salary keeps you really honest with yourself. You can't say "There's money in my bank account, there's not much need for urgency", instead you see the corporate bank account dribbling dry just as if it were someone else you were paying. 2.) It reduc…
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It is useful to have around @tptacek when the topic is not NSA-related, he speaks wonders. Good!
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=a+...
In my case we had a couple million invested in the world changing idea. Saying we failed was very very hard. Hard to tell my friends, our industry partners and my parents.
What I did - was take a long walk to my favorite rock on the lake. And I sat there in the cold and watched birds fly and fish eat and the sky change. I cried tears of frustration and of grief, for the possibilities that wouldn't be.
I then went back the office and made a list of things we needed to do. In my case our investors saw it coming because we'd missed key milestones for additional funding. Our team was small and I'd been open with them about missing the milestones.
We negotiated out of our contracts and made our final payments. In our case our board had made it clear we needed "wind down money" in the bank and we had it.
It wasn't easy, not by a long shot. At the end I was drained. I took two months off. I slept, I prayed, I read and I journaled. You may not be able to do all of that, but give yourself a break.
What I wished I had was someone to talk to who understood what I was going through. Plenty of people fail in business, but not many have a lot of money backing it, a lot of people believing in it and you feel like you let them down. Take up the offers of help to talk in person. I'd be glad to sit and listen if you want. The good news is that the sun will rise tomorrow and it will be a new day. And while it won't feel great, you will get through all of this.
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In the US? What's the kind of company you're thinking about that (a) allows for external investment and (b) doesn't have limited liability?
[deleted, i'm an idiot]
Been there. * If your payables and debts are all in the company's name, nobody is coming for your house. The likelihood that your business was going to die before you could pay all your debts was priced into your contracts. If you have employees, pay them and get them off your books first; employee wages are, depending on the state you're in, the one likely exception to that rule. * If they were in your name, well, t…
I like a lot of your posts - this is one of the best things you've written. Reminds me of Feynman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Do_You_Care_What_Other_Peo...