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I returned home from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup

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Re: I returned home from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup

#4

Post by seibelj »

Thanks for your write up. After my own failed attempt I came to the conclusion that any product based primarily on aggregating products that others sell is a failed model. You are a middle man in an already thin-margin industry and are competing directly with shops (who are incentivized to have customers come directly to them and bypass you) and other aggregators. It would be better if you became a drop shipper and sold the products yourself. Much more control, and the audience you were building with ads would have stayed.

Re: I returned home from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup

#7

Post by wtvanhest »

> This just sounds so wrong to me. If you have a good product and it brings value, then others should be able to value it by paying you back for your product or services. Period.

I completely understand this philosophy, but an attempt at building a two-sided market place is very likely going to require outside investors. This opinion that you need to be profitable from day one has been proven wrong repeatedly and while some 'unicorns' will fail or become less than worth $1bn, their achievements are still very real.

It is 100% OK to want to build a business, but entrepreneurs should be flexible enough to understand when it is appropriate to raise money, or make a product that does not generate profit up front.

For the record, I also attempted to create a two-sided market and I also failed. It was super painful and I hope you move on quickly with some really solid lessons learned.

Re: I returned home from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup

#8

Post by aherlambang »

seibelj wrote: post #4

Thanks for your write up. After my own failed attempt I came to the conclusion that any product based primarily on aggregating products that others sell is a failed model. You are a middle man in an already thin-margin industry and are competing directly with shops (who are incentivized to have customers come directly to them and bypass you) and other aggregators. It would be better if you became a drop shipper and s…

The point of having an aggregator is not to have a headache with stock keepings and shippings, on the other hand doing an aggregator leads you to have less control over the products and customer service. Each has its own drawbacks

Re: I returned home from Silicon Valley and built a failed startup

#9

Post by aherlambang »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #5

Building two sided marketplaces is no joke. It's really tough. If you decide to start something and it's a two sided marketplace be ready for a rough time.

Apart from the rough time it needs a very long time to get the ball rollin.. it's even tougher to do in a market where the people are not ready yet
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