My Startup has 30 Days to Live • Hacker News Board

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#11

Post by calinet6 » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:31 PM UTC

I've been through all of this, it sucks. But this line sticks with me:

"Honestly think the only thing that keeps my health and my marriage intact is my running."

I gotta start running. That's the one thing I always get wrong.

Good luck. Just remember, this happens all the time. For you, it will be a learning experience. In a year's time, you'll be in a new situation with almost a completely new life, and your experience will be valuable to that next step.

Next time will be a little bit better. You'll be a little more trusting of yourself, with a little less naivete, and you'll create something again. Or you'll help someone else create something. Either way, your life will get better, because you're a capable person who started a company, and you're capable of even more. Do the best you can right now and stay positive. The future will be brighter.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#12

Post by hidingmyname » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:31 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #9

[deleted]

Pivoted, pivoted, then pivoted again. The other founders can't stand any more and don't want to "give up" on the latest baby.

At this point, I'm running out of options and have a dev team that I can't afford to pay for much longer.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#13

Post by crabasa » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:31 PM UTC

Could the OP chime in as to why he is writing and publishing this blog? It appears to be a cautionary tale, but I'm not sure what anyone can learn when all the particulars are removed. Why not just write a retrospective after the next 30 days?

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#14

Post by chrisstanchak » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:32 PM UTC

I think the best way to look at this is as a learning experience. You have "scar tissue" now and won't make the same mistakes again.

Since you are an entrepreneur, you will inevitably build another successful startup - except this time you'll make it happen in half the time with twice the wisdom.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#15

Post by speedyrev » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:32 PM UTC

Failure is a part of growth. This may be a monumental failure, but this blog is both therapeutic and introspective for the author. Examining failures helps us as we move forward. We get the added benefit of looking in from the outside. Kudos for coming forward with this kind of honesty.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#16

Post by makerops » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:33 PM UTC

hidingmyname wrote: post #4

makerops wrote: post #2

I am curious, as to why you didn't listen to your gut, and how old you are?

The tempting lure of a big convertible note and a set of drooling investors saying that we were building "the next big thing".

Did you have the self-awareness at the time to realize that what you were building is something DHH would be proud of, or was that only in retrospect? I'm asking these questions, because I struggle with listening to outside advice vs listening to my gut, and Ive been trying to strike a balance as of late.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#17

Post by martinkallstrom » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:33 PM UTC

I have complete understanding of your situation, having been in the position of having to let people go from a very small team a couple of times. It's hard and feels awful, but you are doing what you see needs to be done which is great in comparison to not having the willpower to act.

If the developer you need to let go is as good as you say, he won't have a problem finding a new job. You feeling shitty will not help him nor you so continue working to remedy the situation to the best of your ability. That's all you need to do and I think it sounds like you will be able to look back to all of this and be proud of you being able to make hard decisions even in a situation when it's so much easier not to.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#18

Post by calinet6 » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:33 PM UTC

mathgeek wrote: post #3

"This week, I need to speak to the other founder and fire our first employee before he leaves on a planned vacation. He’s a good developer, but I won’t fucking make payroll next week if I don’t clear him and his severance out of the company." Is it wrong that I feel worse for this employee than for the author? He's looking forward to a (probably well-earned) vacation, and he's about to be forced into a job hunt inste…

This happened to me 6 weeks ago. I'm now happily employed at another (slightly more stable) startup with good work and a better situation.

Trust me, any employee would be happier to be in a stable and improving startup than in one that's going downhill anyway. If they're a dev with startup experience, they'll have no trouble finding a new job and will be better for it.

Don't worry, just be honest and open with them ASAP. The worst thing you can do is keep them in the dark.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#19

Post by rafe33 » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:33 PM UTC

Maybe I missed it, but WHY does your startup have 30 days to live? You ran out of money and have no raise potential? How could your employee and cofounder not know this already?

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#20

Post by hidingmyname » Tue, Jun 25, 2013, 2:34 PM UTC

crabasa wrote: post #13

Could the OP chime in as to why he is writing and publishing this blog? It appears to be a cautionary tale, but I'm not sure what anyone can learn when all the particulars are removed. Why not just write a retrospective after the next 30 days?

Not a cautionary tale, just a blog to vent my frustrations and record the experience.

I'm not in a position to give "advice" nor do I suggest anyone follows "advice".

If you're a new founder and about to get on the VC train, through the accelerator and out again at light speed, it's good to know that this is one way it can all end up. (Nobody really speaks about it anyhow)