He has it right about many companies who are more interested in building a organization rather than build a company. I've seen it many times. I think it is tied to economic strength. When the economy is strong, you see more "culture based" companies who just want to hire their buddies and go through the motions. When the economy is strong, you see more companies putting effort into building a product and really trying to go after a market. Right now we're in a market slump, so most startups you come across are mainly looking to hire for cultural fit.
Build Your Product, Then Your Business
21–23 of 23 posts
Re: Build Your Product, Then Your Business
#22What if formally incorporating your business is a prerequisite for getting real user feedback (i.e. feedback that's not from friends and family)? Like accepting credit card payments to a merchant bank account from real customers, or setting up an iOS developer account for a premium app to accept payments from Apple? One of the pieces of advice YC gives to startups struggling to find direction is to "charge users for…
> I suppose you could accept payments into a personal bank account and incorporate later, but most tax authorities would frown heavily on that. In my country many online retailers accept payments on personal bank accounts, but being a total novice to receive payments i have some questions : is there an amount of monthly flow of money where tax authorities start checking your transactions in your bank account? also, h…
In the US -- there is no "minimum amount when authorities check bank accounts" -- they can't legally do that. You are required to report all income to the IRS regardless of source and it's generally not a good idea to mix personal and business accounts. An LLC, EIN and bank account take about 1 hours worth of paperwork and you're generally set to start exploring the business side of an idea.
Re: Build Your Product, Then Your Business
#23I disagree. Just as many startups fail because they don't have an actual business to be the foundation for their product. It's important to have someone on your team (founder, advisor, investor, or whoever) thinking about how to build a business, as well as someone thinking about the product. If you do, then you're more likely to succeed than if you're just focused on product. IMO.