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My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

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Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#221

Post by hessenwolf »

brianmcc wrote: post #205
_pmf_ wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "... but it's important to remember that it's all just a game. What's most important is that we are good too each other, and ourselves." These things are easy to say for a very rich guy.

Doesn't make it false though. Perhaps the opinion of someone who's "got there" and looks back counts for something more - in some cases - than that of someone early in their journey. I'd rather this than "Yep - it's all just about the money" anyway...

It's weird how rapidly money ratchets down the priorities hierarchy... once it's in the bank.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#222

Post by hellbreakslose »

Ye now off you go to your next thing writing books about how much you struggled in life and how much you worked eh?

Reading this article made me spit on the floor, on how you describe your work as being soooo hard... When I first moved in new york I was working 3 jobs 18 hours a day minimum everyday to make a living. From Construction to Serving tables and rude people like you. And at least I had a degree and CS experience. I feel so sorry for you little princess but you deserved it. Take it up and live with it. And failure is not a bad thing.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#223

Post by Fuxy »

GuiA wrote: post #47

I met Nikki while I lived at a Hacker House in Mountain View for a few weeks in January 2012, having recently moved to the Bay Area. I remember being impressed at the time by her intensity, and by the fact that she actually had a real product with real users that solved a real problem. An audible "oh no" came out of my lips when I clicked this link and realized I was reading about someone I had shared a few dinners w…

Sad to see her fail she's a very driven person and admire her for that, most likely if she had a little more funding she would have made it.

I think the most important lesson here is that the team makes all the difference and getting a awesome team is the most important especially for a non technical founder.

She spent a large amount of time and money just getting to the point where she had a reliable team.

Keep one eye on your team and the other on the product and be brutally honest with your team all the time if they can't handle it or can't decide to stay or leave this will make them leave sooner giving you more time to find someone else.

Don't shield the team from bad news this is a group effort and they need to feel a part of it.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#224

Post by wellboy »

nikkidurkin wrote: post #123
Theodores wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi Nikki Consider one more roll of the dice, this time in the UK. We speak English and we have a postal delivery network. Rather than chase the $$$ consider taking your idea to Oxfam - a British charity known for selling donated clothes. Your app will enable them to introduce a younger audience to the work they do. They also have people to pick up the phone, a marketing budget and that network of stores. From a custo…

Thanks! Will look into it. I want to sell the assets if I can, but I think I'm just ready to move on and take a break.

Take a break for half a year or something anyway, and then have a look at the Oxfam thing, it sounds cool. You can also do that part-time, no need to force it. Good luck nikki!

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#225

Post by brianmcc »

hessenwolf wrote: post #221
brianmcc wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't make it false though. Perhaps the opinion of someone who's "got there" and looks back counts for something more - in some cases - than that of someone early in their journey. I'd rather this than "Yep - it's all just about the money" anyway...

It's weird how rapidly money ratchets down the priorities hierarchy... once it's in the bank.

Exactly. Not in that position myself, but I'd guess once you have a certain level of comfort, security and perhaps the option to indulge in some of life's luxuries, it's much like electricity or running water: desperately, terrifically important and yet so easily taken for granted.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#226

Post by BrandonM »

madaxe_again wrote: post #208
GuiA wrote: post #47

I met Nikki while I lived at a Hacker House in Mountain View for a few weeks in January 2012, having recently moved to the Bay Area. I remember being impressed at the time by her intensity, and by the fact that she actually had a real product with real users that solved a real problem. An audible "oh no" came out of my lips when I clicked this link and realized I was reading about someone I had shared a few dinners w…

I'm kinda failing to see the failure here. Yes, the business failed, but this reads like a fairy tale. Support from family and friends, investor backing, media coverage - all while failing to make a dime. Try running a successful and rapidly growing business for 8 years while everyone around you tells you you're a crazy fucking idiot and that you should give up and get a job. No investor interest as we make money, wh…

While I feel for your situation, I had to downvote you because your comment smacked of No True Scotsman and attention hogging. Sorry.

A startup folded and left several people with nothing to show for years of effort. It seems pretty callous to me to assert that she didn't fail, when several measures say she did, and she feels like she did.

I'm glad she shared her story. Do you think your comment encourages others to do the same?

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#227

Post by dennisgorelik »

trevmckendrick wrote: post #159
austenallred wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. As a former non-technical founder (now semi-technical), the worst part of the fear of failure is that your "job" is keeping companies alive. If your company dies, not only is your company a failure, but your only "skill set" is called into question. Knowing that fact and simultaneously being unable to contribute directly to the product, wondering how hard you can push your technical co-founder/team (or how fa…

A thousand times this. The worse case scenario is much, much worse for non-technical cofounders. They often don't have a deep, specialized skill that is easily used by other companies.

Sales is a skill that is in a high demand by many companies.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#228

Post by nl »

fizzle83 wrote: post #97
Theodores wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi Nikki Consider one more roll of the dice, this time in the UK. We speak English and we have a postal delivery network. Rather than chase the $$$ consider taking your idea to Oxfam - a British charity known for selling donated clothes. Your app will enable them to introduce a younger audience to the work they do. They also have people to pick up the phone, a marketing budget and that network of stores. From a custo…

The UK also has favourable visa arrangements for Australians - certainly more so than the US, which seems hell bent on rejecting any desirable immigration.

That's not the case. It's not very easy for an Australian to get a UK Working Visa in their own field (as opposed to "working holiday" arrangements).

OTOH, the E3 US Visa is quite simple - it's generally considered to be the easiest US skilled worker visa to get.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#229

Post by ryanjshaw »

Omniusaspirer wrote: post #204
_pmf_ wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "... but it's important to remember that it's all just a game. What's most important is that we are good too each other, and ourselves." These things are easy to say for a very rich guy.

Your personal health and well being are much more important than your startup that just failed, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. Nothing will teach you that faster than losing your health or talking with people who have.

And what if you don't have personal health and well being to begin with? What if you need money to pay off the medical bills, money that you know an ordinary job will never suffice for? Making money is not just a game for everybody, just because it's a game for you.

Re: My startup failed, and this is what it feels like

#230

Post by VLM »

balls187 wrote: post #145
mindcrime wrote: post #54

One thing Nikki has going for her is that she's young. At 22 and already having the experience she's had, she has a great opportunity to learn from those lessons, tap into the network she's built, and ultimately do something great. I love the aggressiveness and the spunk she clearly has. Looking back on my own life (I'm one of the "older crowd" in HN terms), I wish I'd been that ambitious at that age. Or, maybe ambit…

Flipside, if she started 99dresses at age 32, would it have failed for the same reasons?

At that advanced age, due to ageism in the tech field, by the time it failed, she would be lucky to be hired as a people greeter at walmart, much less be permitted to "ultimately do something great". At her current age, she will be OK.

You can do great things as a retail cashier, or a waitress, its just easier to do great things when your job has at least something to do with it.

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