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There's already a word for a lifestyle startup: a business.
In fact most startups that are not businesses do not have a very good prognosis, though quite a few still get acquired for technology or team.
There's already a word for a lifestyle startup: a business.
Considering you're an excellent writer, I figured you must have a reason for employing redundancy. Is there a reason you don't say "starting a business" or "starting a company"?
There's already a word for a lifestyle startup: a business.
PG, this is only tangentially related, but I've noticed you quite often use phrases like "starting a startup". Considering you're an excellent writer, I figured you must have a reason for employing redundancy. Is there a reason you don't say "starting a business" or "starting a company"?
What can happen is (and this is an amazing thing about the times we live in) that a side project takes off, slowly becomes profitable, allows the founder to quit his job, focus on it full-time and then one day, he looks up and thinks "wow, I could swing for the fences." I guess that could be classified as a "lack of ambition" for not having a vision in the first place. OTOH it could be considered a smart move because the founder has already made something people want.
Mailchimp, Balsamiq, DuckDuckGo to an extent, and in a smaller way, my own "startup" are examples.
I think this stigma exists because on some level, sometimes, when things suck at your high growth crazy startup (even if its just a bad day or week) you think, "man I wish I ran a skate shop in Huntington Beach with an online store". And it stings to see other people doing that. It's a lot harder to delay gratification and swing for the fences, not just intellectually harder but emotionally harder. Sometimes I feel l…
Lifestyle startups aren't a myth. They're just working on a different scale of problem than the VC backed startup. I don't know that there's anything inherently better about either, but treating a lifestyle startup as a scalable startup, or vice versa is a mistake. They're separate entities, with different goals. Each has it's pros and cons.
There's already a word for a lifestyle startup: a business.
PG Says: "Please don't even use the word startup when describing what you do."
Meaning sometimes even if your business is profitable (like my little business), VC will not invest since it lacks growth potentials.
So business goes like this:
"find business model" -> "optimize business model" -> "scale your business"
I think this stigma exists because on some level, sometimes, when things suck at your high growth crazy startup (even if its just a bad day or week) you think, "man I wish I ran a skate shop in Huntington Beach with an online store". And it stings to see other people doing that. It's a lot harder to delay gratification and swing for the fences, not just intellectually harder but emotionally harder. Sometimes I feel l…
I disagree. You need to solve a problem you're passionate about. Not all problems are BIG problems that require massive scale or raising money. Lifestyle startups aren't a myth. They're just working on a different scale of problem than the VC backed startup. I don't know that there's anything inherently better about either, but treating a lifestyle startup as a scalable startup, or vice versa is a mistake. They're se…
I wouldn't call it a stigma. I'd call it a general disinterest. It's the same kind of disinterest that follows bootstrapped businesses or any business that chooses to make money instead of burning it. As the cofounder of a bootstrapped business myself, I'm no fan of the shadow we operate in, but I understand it. The story of a company that doesn't have the luxury of positive cash flow to fall back on when things get…
If the average person could work 20 hours a week and make $15,000 a month, they'd feel pretty rich. (even at 60 hours a week)
If you want to make somebody else rich, you've got to make a lot more money, particularly if the person is an investor who's already rich.
I wouldn't call it a stigma. I'd call it a general disinterest. It's the same kind of disinterest that follows bootstrapped businesses or any business that chooses to make money instead of burning it. As the cofounder of a bootstrapped business myself, I'm no fan of the shadow we operate in, but I understand it. The story of a company that doesn't have the luxury of positive cash flow to fall back on when things get…
"narratives with more risk, more reward, and higher drama, are the kind of narratives human beings love" I love human beings.