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My Startup has 30 Days to Live

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Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#201

Post by peterarmstrong »

greghinch wrote: post #156
tptacek wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

My only point is to offer hopefully helpful advice to the legions of folks who come to HN wanting to learn how to start their own business for the first time. Many unintentionally assume they need to operate like a startup to their own peril, when in fact they could have had a successful business if not for chasing that label. Certainly no intention of being "mean-spirited". The fact that it might come off that way l…

All funded startups are startups, but not all startups are funded.

It is possible to create a business with a very ambitious growth trajectory regardless of whether you have taken VC or angel funding or whether you are bootstrapping. It's just a lot easier to do this if you've taken funding.

In the valley, most plausible ambitious growth trajectory businesses are VC-funded of course; this is not necessarily true elsewhere. As someone who has lived in the valley for many years and before starting a startup outside of the valley, it's easy to understand why: not all funding climates are created equal.

The thing is, your comments come off as extremely dismissive: the implication is that anything not-funded is a "small business", which is the equivalent of a pat on the head and "nice lemonade stand, son" (or, Italian restaurant, if you're DHH).

Finally: say a startup has a high growth trajectory and closes a Series A round. Was it a startup before it closed the round? I'd argue the investors thought so...

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#202

Post by eaurouge »

greghinch wrote: post #29

I'm going to say this knowing that I may get down voted to heck. And I don't mean it as a "told you so" to the OP, but rather hopefully some cautionary advice for would-be founders. I have come to the opinion that if you are bootstrapping, you have no business calling your company a startup. You are building a small business. And there is nothing shameful about this. You are among solid companions with your local plu…

Nonsense! To start with, "startups are about growth" is Paul Graham's thesis, and it's just one way to define a startup. There are others; see jt2190's comment for a reference to Steve Blank's: "A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model." I'm sure there are others.

There was a Silicon Valley decades before Internet/Web 2.0/somolo startups started colonizing San Francisco, and back then, there were startups in other non-Internet industries - heck there still are. There are startups in biotech, medical devices etc, that take several years just to develop a commercially viable product. Those startups don't use metrics like "5% week over week". They are, however, scalable businesses that may eventually justify VC investment.

There are lots of reasons to want to grow a business quickly, but a business doesn't automatically cease to be a startup because you have decided you don't "need to build it up fast", whatever that means.

Bootstrapped businesses can be startups, obviously. The cost of starting almost any business has fallen sharply in the past few years. You don't need VC funding to build a startup, fast or slow, unless you're building a capital intensive business or you can't fund your startup otherwise.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#203

Post by hobs »

mst wrote: post #160
patio11 wrote: post #97

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…

Ask yourself: who did you compete with to hire that developer? Are they still short of somebody? 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 t…

I like this because even the most calculating selfish person can see how building these connections is a long term win. Talk about behavior like that goes a long way in establishing your company as a good actor.

Thanks.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#204

Post by ryanhuff »

greghinch wrote: post #29

I'm going to say this knowing that I may get down voted to heck. And I don't mean it as a "told you so" to the OP, but rather hopefully some cautionary advice for would-be founders. I have come to the opinion that if you are bootstrapping, you have no business calling your company a startup. You are building a small business. And there is nothing shameful about this. You are among solid companions with your local plu…

Your description of what defines a startup is myopic and one dimensional. Would you consider a SpaceX competitor to be a startup? They would certainly not be about 5% week over week growth.

I bet the race to reach the "hockey-stick" kills more companies than it helps. In many cases, there is no reason why you can't end up at the same place in 5 years if you let the business growth organically, rather than force-feed it in the beginning in search of that 1-2 year pop. But how many VC's want to see their investment wandering through the wilderness for 2-3 years before things start to "click"?

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#205

Post by RyJones »

throwit1979 wrote: post #26
damon_c wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you wait till he gets back so he can have a good vacation?...Although I've seen the whole "got fired upon returning from vacation" thing happen a few times. That sucks too! Sorry for both of you.

Apparently you missed the part about not meeting payroll. There are few things worse( legally, in employment law )than missing payroll.

I've alerted firms that missed payroll of the law violation via a couriered legal notice from a labor lawyer. I got my money when nobody else did.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#206

Post by prakster »

patio11 wrote: post #97

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…

And one more thing: Don't wait for the 30th day. Do it tomorrow.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#207

Post by tptacek »

peterarmstrong wrote: post #201
greghinch wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My only point is to offer hopefully helpful advice to the legions of folks who come to HN wanting to learn how to start their own business for the first time. Many unintentionally assume they need to operate like a startup to their own peril, when in fact they could have had a successful business if not for chasing that label. Certainly no intention of being "mean-spirited". The fact that it might come off that way l…

All funded startups are startups, but not all startups are funded. It is possible to create a business with a very ambitious growth trajectory regardless of whether you have taken VC or angel funding or whether you are bootstrapping. It's just a lot easier to do this if you've taken funding. In the valley, most plausible ambitious growth trajectory businesses are VC-funded of course; this is not necessarily true else…

I think he actually means to communicate the opposite --- he's dismissing "startups" as he defines them, and chiding the author of the post for pursuing that model.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#208

Post by fairywings »

That's unfortunate but this is business, most successful people go through this many times.

Best thing to do now is man-up, spend your last dollars taking your guys out for a drink and try and leave it with relationships in tact.

Best of luck on re-entering the workforce and don't lose hope. You may find an opportunity you can get started in your spare hours without all the extra sparkly bits that brought you down this time.

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#209

Post by _niss »

I think the team should understand you and stand-up with you. Accepting a job in startup means be ready for an adventure where things like this could happen. Talk to them and look for a key feature or PIVOT

Re: My Startup has 30 Days to Live

#210

Post by fxthea »

mindcrime wrote: post #192
fxthea wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think he's arguing about semantics of startup vs. small business. I believe he's trying to explain that new businesses fall into a path where they think they are a "startup" thus must take VC funding. He's trying to explain that there's also the "small business" route where you just bootstrap and fund your business from customer revenue.

He's trying to explain that there's also the "small business" route where you just bootstrap and fund your business from customer revenue. But funding from customer revenue does not automatically imply "small business". If you manage to generate a reasonable margin off that revenue, but you reinvest the profit back into the company, you can grow that way, as opposed to growing by taking outside money.

Again, it's not about semantics. Replace small business with whatever term you want. The point is that the blog writer built a certain type of business then tried to take it onto a different track that put pressure on faster growth and got in over his/her head.
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