151–160 of 239 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The term "startup" originated during the dot-com bubble. Wow, you get some bullshit ideas about business if you get your mba at wikipedia.
I may have quoted it wrong. Wikipedia says it became popular during the dotcom bubble.
And in 90 days, you will be served with divorce papers.
This is a community meant for us, hackers and entrepreneurs, to help and support each other out. Posting shit like this when a guy is exposing his deepest anxieties to the world and reaching out for help should make you ashamed.
My biggest regret was allowing my VC to convince me to not worry about money...but you live & learn.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There isn't consensus on what the vague term "startup" means. Here's a different definition, from Steve Blank: > "A startup is an organization formed to search for a > repeatable and scalable business model." [1] [1] http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-princ...
This is still a growth focused definition: "repeatable and scalable" is really saying "growable".
> Steve Jobs often speaks of Apple's "startup" culture.
> ... an article in the New York Times referred to
> the seven-year-old airline Virgin America
> as a startup. [2]
So, it sucks, but it happens, and it won't matter nearly as much in June 2014 as it seems to right now. Your co-founder will, hopefully, not find out about this through guessing "Is this my company?" on Twitter, but rather in hearing it from you. You may be heartbroken about it, you may cry a bit (totally OK). Then, you will put on your Responsible Adult pants, call your employee into the office, and tell them the si…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is more about an internalized understanding of the type of business you are building for the founders than it is about external perceptions. That can be difficult for some, particularly with the prestige we in this community attribute to the word "startup". But understanding the needs of your business and how you want to grow it are key. If you're thinking of your business as a startup, that massive growth is th…
I think we understand that you believe businesses that don't aim for shoot-the-moon growth shouldn't call themselves "startups". The problem is, not everybody agrees with you. I've done both kinds of companies and don't think growth trajectory is the defining feature of a "startup". I'm also not particularly interested in debating the point, since it has very little to do with the story we're commenting on. (I also u…
I think creating a business can be one of the most rewarding things a person can do, and I want as many people to find success in that as possible.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would call any new business a startup, but call the VC-driven, exponential-growth-seeking model "growth startup". I think you make a great point, but out of curiosity, what do you suggest are the best avenues for funding a tech business in the more traditional revenue-driven-growth model, if you're not bringing enough seed capital to get off the ground on your own? It seems like what's missing is an accessible happ…
>I think you make a great point, but out of curiosity, what do you suggest are the best avenues for funding a tech business in the more traditional revenue-driven-growth model, if you're not bringing enough seed capital to get off the ground on your own? Traditionally, you start the business after you have some experience in the field, and either have some skill you can use to drive some revenue, or some capital. Thi…
Perhaps it's cheaper than a psychologist, but in the process of being "stretched so thin" why are you spending time and effort into something that won't materially help you.
Dude, you have 30 days left. Don't be one of those football teams that gives up with :30 left on the clock. If you're going to lose anyway, throw the ball into the fucking end zone and try your hardest until the game's officially over.
Use your name. Tell us and the world about your company. Ask for ideas and help. Take advantage of this medium to try and turn it around with a Hail Mary pass instead of quitting early. There may be plenty of time for psychoanalysis in August, so what have you got to lose?
There are already 148 people on HN who care enough to comment. And thousands of readers, all of whom are tech savvy and perhaps more. You just never know.
Even if it fails, you'll go down a fighter instead of an anonymous blogger bemoaning his bad fortune. Which would you rather be?
Good luck,
KenEarlier quoted context omitted.
If you know you're screwed, and you've made a couple of million bucks, why aren't you just closing up the company and going home to have a money party? That probably sounds quite harsh if it's something you love, but a million bucks is like economic freedom for life, and you can try again with a different idea later where there's less active competition. Sounds to me like you did pretty well for yourself.
In this day and age, a million bucks is not even close to an economic freedom. @webwright has a good post on what he calls "Fuck you money", the amount you'd need to retire rich. Well worth the read. http://www.tonywright.com/2010/no-you-cant-retire-rich-at-30...
Most people can live quite comfortably for far less than $200k/yr when they are debt free and (figuratively) sitting on a giant pile of cash, especially if they aren't tied to living in SV, NYC, etc.
So, it sucks, but it happens, and it won't matter nearly as much in June 2014 as it seems to right now. Your co-founder will, hopefully, not find out about this through guessing "Is this my company?" on Twitter, but rather in hearing it from you. You may be heartbroken about it, you may cry a bit (totally OK). Then, you will put on your Responsible Adult pants, call your employee into the office, and tell them the si…
The one time so far in the history of Shadowcat I've had to cut people for no reason other than lack of money, I talked to managers I knew at other companies who might have an interest in the sort of talent that I was about to force onto the market.
Two people finished working for me on a friday and started a new job on the following monday. The reduction in stress and guilt and hence increase in my capacity to focus that resulted from knowing that was the outcome for them repaid the time spent finding them new gigs within a handful of days. Maintaining a positive relationship with those people afterwards - and the attitude of people who saw how I'd handled it - was effectively just gravy.
Or: Handling this sort of situation with honour tends to help turn it into a positive sum game.