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I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

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Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#21

Post by mootothemax »

iqonik wrote: post #8
pm wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get your health right first. Your side project will always be there, the time you spend with your daughter will not.

Unfortunately being first to market is key (I think). But yes, you're right, she is already changing so much everyday :-)! Either way, I need to find a better balance, is 3 months too young to teach her to code?!

being first to market is key

How many real-world examples of first-mover advantage can you find?

I think that the advantage might not be as great as you'd think.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#22

Post by fatass »

mindcrime wrote: post #2

Yeah, this hits a little close to home. My own (mis)adventure is pretty well documented[1], so I won't bore anybody with details, except to say: I'm living proof, and very nearly dead proof, of important parts of what Rui says. It's so easy to let your health go by the wayside, pushing yourself harder and harder, and thinking "I'll lose the weight next month" and then "next month" is "in six months" and then it's "ne…

> It takes decades for the bad nutrition, lack of exercise, too much sugar, smoking, etc. to do their damage.

Well what if those decades were your childhood? I've been fat since the day I was born, because I was a child of a lazy welfare queen who thought food equals bag of potato chips a day. I dropped out of high school and went on to sick leave because of severe sleep apnea. (Slept 0-4 hours a night, I had so much fat on my body that it blocked my breathing in certain positions and the weight on my lungs caused them not to work properly.)

My future was already ruined because of malnutrition and the only thing I have left is sitting at home on my computer. I've already disowned my mother, but it won't bring my health back. Just the thought that I have to work on my body the rest of my life and it still won't be presentable just makes me want to kill myself.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#23

Post by rab_oof »

Notes from the trenches:

There's a million and N ways to die, both as a company and an individual, if you let them. Basically, expect failure as a default state, don't (or try not to) take it personally. Don't give up on something that people want (and will pay money for)... you may hit 2 to 5 patches where it's "this sucks, I wanna die" times. Get over it (you can if you really want it bad enough), move ahead. (If not, take a break and recover... Working crazy hours/conditions if it kills you doesn't help anyone.) Even if you have to live in a car or tent, put in the effort to make the best shot possible. It's basically impossible to die of starvation in Amerika at least... More caffeine, exercise and less "ambient eating"... Self-restraint is paramount. Get back in the saddle, get up off the ground, another biz model awaits expermentation... Maybe have some survivor bias eventually, if not start a practical business. It'll all work out, on way or another. Have a good time along the way. :) No one has a perfect formula or perfect advice, just do the best possible and hire people that do whatever it is much better.

(Picking cofounders carefully as one would their SO, because it's effectively marriage.)

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#24

Post by zikzak »

[deleted] wrote: post #9
davyjones wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went cold turkey and it was very unpleasant. I cut it down gradually and it worked for me. Good luck!

[deleted]

Use green tea (you can make iced tea with it if you don't like the flavor) to get off coffee. It provides just enough caffeine to prevent withdrawal. Then after three days you can go cold turkey. This method has worked for me several times when I had a massive coffee habit and had to reset for a while. I am older now I have one or two in the morning and usually tea in the afternoon.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#25

Post by rab_oof »

iqonik wrote: post #3

I am addicted to Coca-Cola and need the caffeine to stop the headaches, my diet consists of quick easy takeout so I have enough time to work in the evenings and spend time with my 3 month old daughter. I am currently working on a side project that I hope will prove itself worthy of "giving it a shot". Now I'm thinking I need to get my health right before I even consider that...for want of a better saying, it's defini…

Nodoz (caffeine pills)? A fraction of one will help with the headaches associated with withdrawal vasospasms.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#26

Post by pjc50 »

iqonik wrote: post #17
mseebach wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unfortunately being first to market is key (I think) No knowing the first thing about your product or market, I'll still go out on a limb and propose that you're most likely wrong. If I had a nickel for every time I thought something was absolutely key, and it turned out to be a wrong assumption - well, I could probably buy a Starbucks latte. Hey, by all means, work hard, push forward and do awesome stuff and win,…

The market is recruitment (in house and agencies) - and knowing the types of products they still use because it "works for them" and how hard it is to get them to change workflows etc; I believe early adoption will be key. Only time will tell I guess, I'll be sure to do a "Show HN" when I am done!

Recruitment has been around for years, including over the internet. Given that you're talking about workflow it sounds more like a regular LOB application; that's far more likely to be a question of getting sales one-by-one in a high-touch way rather than the first person to launch something getting millions of users.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#27

Post by mseebach »

iqonik wrote: post #17
mseebach wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unfortunately being first to market is key (I think) No knowing the first thing about your product or market, I'll still go out on a limb and propose that you're most likely wrong. If I had a nickel for every time I thought something was absolutely key, and it turned out to be a wrong assumption - well, I could probably buy a Starbucks latte. Hey, by all means, work hard, push forward and do awesome stuff and win,…

The market is recruitment (in house and agencies) - and knowing the types of products they still use because it "works for them" and how hard it is to get them to change workflows etc; I believe early adoption will be key. Only time will tell I guess, I'll be sure to do a "Show HN" when I am done!

Ok, so I'm confident in declaring your assumption false. This isn't a green-field market where the first credible entrant has a reasonable chance of capturing a large part in one go, it's a mature, slow and conservative market. They are extremely unlikely to read about a new shiny thing on a blog, decide that afternoon to start using it, and in that decision cut out the superior product that launches two months later.

Sure, by the time they've decided to use a new thing, they are unlikely to change again soon, and if, at the time some team is evaluating a new system yours isn't on the market, you wont be considered.

So take a deep breath, stop sweating "first to market" startup tropes, build a good product and start thinking about how you're going to sell into this market instead that's probably a much bigger challenge than building the product in the first place.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#28

Post by thenomad »

There's one takeaway - no pun intended - that leaps out from this.

Learn. To. Cook.

I run a small, scrappy company that's been in startup mode multiple times over the last 20 years. Being a good cook might well be the most valuable skill I've used over those years.

It lets you drop to very low personal expenditure very easily - far lower than you could manage on all but the junkiest of ready food - whilst still eating well and keeping your health up.

Thinking about it, would a "How To Cook For Hackers" video / ebook / webseries be of use or interest to HN? With the right instrumentation, absolutely anyone can learn to cook nutritious, tasty, cheap meals.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#29

Post by mtrimpe »

mseebach wrote: post #27
iqonik wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The market is recruitment (in house and agencies) - and knowing the types of products they still use because it "works for them" and how hard it is to get them to change workflows etc; I believe early adoption will be key. Only time will tell I guess, I'll be sure to do a "Show HN" when I am done!

Ok, so I'm confident in declaring your assumption false. This isn't a green-field market where the first credible entrant has a reasonable chance of capturing a large part in one go, it's a mature, slow and conservative market. They are extremely unlikely to read about a new shiny thing on a blog, decide that afternoon to start using it, and in that decision cut out the superior product that launches two months later…

Having sold a product to the recruitment market for a while I can wholeheartedly confirm this.

There's no first mover advantage here; there's only a "most able to convince people to switch from 90's tech to 00's tech"-advantage.

FWIW We sold video interviewing software and decided to abandon recruitment because the market had low requirements for software quality / innovativeness and high requirements for stability and track records; which was the polar opposite of what we offered.

Additionally; ATS integration was paramount for all large players. ATS providers knew that and charged for it at levels only heavily funded companies could afford.

Re: I Almost Let My Failed Startup Destroy Me

#30

Post by mkesper »

fatass wrote: post #22
mindcrime wrote: post #2

Yeah, this hits a little close to home. My own (mis)adventure is pretty well documented[1], so I won't bore anybody with details, except to say: I'm living proof, and very nearly dead proof, of important parts of what Rui says. It's so easy to let your health go by the wayside, pushing yourself harder and harder, and thinking "I'll lose the weight next month" and then "next month" is "in six months" and then it's "ne…

> It takes decades for the bad nutrition, lack of exercise, too much sugar, smoking, etc. to do their damage. Well what if those decades were your childhood? I've been fat since the day I was born, because I was a child of a lazy welfare queen who thought food equals bag of potato chips a day. I dropped out of high school and went on to sick leave because of severe sleep apnea. (Slept 0-4 hours a night, I had so much…

You need professional help!
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