My first startup failed after a couple years. My co-founder and I were pretty worn out, and I had some medical issues. After a month of recovery (both from the biz and med stuff) I started contracting at two promising startups half-time. I went full-time at the beginning of this year, only to have a side project take off. Currently running that with the same co-founder and a new one.
Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
21–30 of 181 posts
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#22To the couch for 2 months.
And then back to another startup. ;)
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#23Had a startup (rather, small company that was established in the hosting space), sold it when I was 19. Took that money, paid out employees, and tried to start something new and fresh.
That failed. Had a co-founder that wasn't dedicated. Had some tech that I could sell and did sell, but I still considered it a failure because I never hit the mark I wanted.
Consulted, took some jobs with startups here and there. Those startups failed for some reason or another so I went back to consulting.
I'm now consulting and lending myself out to people/businesses with ideas, usually spending about 30 hours a week doing so. I spend another 10 volunteering and tutoring, and another 20 whipping up ideas of my own and seeing if I can find something that I'm confident enough to run with.
My plan is to keep on trying. I have a book of ideas that I want to execute. I'm mostly just waiting for the right idea and the right front-end guy. I'll usually crank out an MVP and never release it because I fear it failing (and I'm not a popularizer); sooner or later, though, I'm confident something will stick when I find the right people to execute with (or they find me)
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#24After 4 years of working to build a big VC fundable startups (3 different products), I was pretty burnt out. I am continuing the last product, but now my focus is on building lifestyle startups which brings about $1m revenue every year.
Joined a job on the side, which would help pay my bills and help my family settle down. In the meanwhile, I would be chipping along to build my small revenue generating startup.
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#25For those whose startups failed and ended up working as an engineer at another company, what would you say is the main difference between the company you work at now and your failed startup? Basically, what lacked in your startup that ultimately led to it's failure?
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#26I consulted for a couple years, joined someone else's startup, consulted again, and am currently very much enjoying a real 9-5 job with a great salary, decent benefits, excellent coworkers, and the best work-life balance I've ever enjoyed.
I may not have won the startup lottery, but I've never been happier.
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#27I've failed myself a few times. It normally consists of a month of bouncing around doing passion projects / thinking before returning to work.
You don't find "returning to work" has a stigma with the bouncing around? Meaning, startup to "big corp" or "any company" doesn't mind you were bouncing around. I'm just curious how dev's go through the interview/hiring process with the jumping around like that. As a more Operations dude, it hurts me pretty badly, even though I "jump" a lot with startups. Requires more explanation.
Not really. I've never worked for a giant corporation...
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't find "returning to work" has a stigma with the bouncing around? Meaning, startup to "big corp" or "any company" doesn't mind you were bouncing around. I'm just curious how dev's go through the interview/hiring process with the jumping around like that. As a more Operations dude, it hurts me pretty badly, even though I "jump" a lot with startups. Requires more explanation.
It all comes down to the messaging / how you position yourself when you interview. If each 1-2 year stint was a good learning experience and that made you a better ops / dev, then you need to present that on your resumes / cover letters. Also, ideally while doing startups, you've also met a ton of people where you know that if the current project doesn't work out you can always work with / for one of them!
+1. I've never really worked outside of startups and there's always somebody who needs an engineer even if it's pseudo temporary.
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#29I looked for a startup job specifically because pg says joining a startup is the next best thing, and then managed to join a growth stage startup. What's changed from doing a startup is I no longer have to think about if the company will survive in x months and I am just focusing on the technical side of things. My days have become easier and I get more positive outcomes each day, but in the long run, I feel like I have to get back in the game.
Re: Ask HN: Founders whose startups have failed, where did life take you afterwards?
#30While I was working on my own (small) startup, I took a contract at a job search engine in 2004, called Indeed.com. I ended up joining as employee #1, and stopped working on my own startup about a year later. Fast forward to 2012, Indeed.com was acquired for a cool billion. After that, I started Searchify.com (still going), and I'm currently living in Argentina, traveling through Patagonia at the moment.