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I am done. I give up

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Re: I am done. I give up

#691

Post by silent_cal »

Archipelagia wrote: post #323

This might sound a bit assholish, but I'm writing this to hopefully help others spot a crucial mistake: Did you have anyone on your team with actual skill in sales or marketing? Because from your post it seems you tried the same channels that everyone else does (writing blog, engaging on Twitter, setting up ProductHunt launch) without any specific strategy for how to succeed. And this stuff is hard! There's a reason…

Maybe a dumb question, but where do you find people who are skilled in sales/marketing like this? I'm learning this lesson the hard way right now.

Re: I am done. I give up

#692

Post by spikeagally »

ska wrote: post #677
spikeagally wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that bootstrapped and lifestyle are different things. A lifestyle business should be able to run on autopilot with minimal involvement from the founder (hence they can focus on living their life, rather than working). A bootstrapped business is one built with your own capital - it doesn’t necessarily have to become a lifestyle business.

> with minimal involvement from the founder (hence they can focus on living their life, rather than working). I don't think this is right, most of the "lifestyle businesses" I've seen involve at least "normal" levels of work on their part, but are structured so that the work happens where & when suits other parts of their lives, or similar. At least the ones where that term made sense. They are often located somewher…

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Re: I am done. I give up

#695

Post by tracker1 »

pavlov wrote: post #200
kubb wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the privileges people don't often think about is being able to afford to fail. If you don't risk destitution after your startup fails, you can try and fail many times, learn and try again. It's like continuously rolling two dice, and you only need to get double sixes once, and after that it's private jets until you die. One of the many reasons the rich get richer and the poor, well you know how it goes.

This is one of the underappreciated benefits of the Nordic-style welfare state: everybody can afford to fail. Unfortunately it's rarely discussed in society as such. The political parties that built these welfare states have traditionally been associated with worker unions, and entrepreneurship isn't high on their agenda. The Nordic right-wing parties got ideologically married to Thatcher-style neoliberalism and pref…

It's also easier with a largely mono-culture in a relatively small population/area that is inclined, socially and historically, to work. Contrasted by say USSR, China or other communist societies where it's largely forced and the people are largely, effectively slaves. Although that work first culture is coming at the cost, to an extent, of a waning family unit.

It's a bit of a mixed bag that's much harder to implement at a larger scale. If the US split up into separate states, much more loosely joined like the EU or original confederate structure before the constitution, each state would stand a better chance at such a system.

Re: I am done. I give up

#696

Post by logicalmonster »

moneywoes wrote: post #627
logicalmonster wrote: post #542

Just a comment for wakana. First, I feel for you, and would say hang in there. Most startups even from very successful people, don't work out. It's up to you, but you could pursue something as a hobby in the background of your life that won't drive you batty or present too much risk if it fails. If you pursue anything next time, do something focused on fun and cheap that you love and won't harm your mental health eve…

Any other poignant examples? Like a review site like glassdoor would they fake reviews?

I'm not going to make assumptions about websites I don't know about, and I'm sure some companies are completely honest. Maybe the company is honest, but many of the reviews are bullshit?

But one good example of how important social proof is nightclubs keeping people lined up outside waiting even when they could easily fit everybody inside fairly quickly.

Why do they intentionally provide a shitty, subpar experience for their customers?

Social proof. They're trying to get people to wonder "Hey, why is everybody lined up outside of that club even though it's cold outside? Must be something great going on in there. I want to check it out."

Re: I am done. I give up

#697

Post by D1sposableAcct »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #416
opyate wrote: post #320

Succeeding in the startup world reminds me of the funfair analogy: The rich kid will have a go at throwing the dart at the balloon, and miss. But, because they're a rich kid, they just take out their wallet (or parents' wallet), get more stubs, and try again (and again) until they hit the balloon. The middle class kid will have a go at throwing the dart at the balloon, and also miss. Then they will walk away, saying…

> The rich kid will have a go at throwing the dart at the balloon, and miss. But, because they're a rich kid, they just take out their wallet (or parents' wallet), get more stubs, and try again (and again) until they hit the balloon I get contacted for a lot of “rich kid” startups for consulting work. This notion that rich kids are succeeding at startups due to their perseverance and fallback options is almost the op…

Anon for the obvious reasons... I was involved in such a start-up. Two of the founders were smart, Ivy-educated, surprisingly well-connected for their youth, and lazy. Once there was funding and a professional team around them to grind out all the details and versions of the product and get it marketed and sold, you know, the hard stuff after the investor demos, they didn't want it anymore. One fucked off to party and couch-surf in warm vacation spots, the other meandered in and out before being shown the door by the board. I ran into one of them years later and they're both still kind of bouncing around doing influencer-things, writing, and being hustle advisors.

Re: I am done. I give up

#698

Post by poorbutdebtfree »

I don't know what an indie entrepreneur is but this startup scam really look off in 2011 when Eric Reis released the book Lean Startup. Within 4 months there were already Lean Startup Consultants on LinkedIn. Within 8 months people like Ash Maurya were releasing hardcovers on product market fit when all he had ever done was sell a rails app for 4 figures. The scene has obviously evolved since then but just as goldrushy as ever. At least we got uber and airbnb out of it.

Re: I am done. I give up

#699

Post by tracker1 »

mnky9800n wrote: post #562
arghwhat wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"High trust" seems entirely contradictory to Danish society. Universal skepticism and a universal dislike for every other human in existence are the core ideologies here. Maybe a tendency to not interfere with tasks assigned to others to avoid having to deal with people is being misinterpreted as trust?

No. My Norwegian colleagues trust that they will receive healthcare. They trust that their representatives in the government are acting more or less in good faith. They trust that money in the government is going towards protections and services and infrastructure. And if you look around in Norway, you can generally get the feeling that the government is taking care of things. Go to America and it seems like the coun…

Exactly... it's the mono-culture and relatively small population and distances that allow this to work relatively well. If the US actually reverted closer to the original Confederation it was started as, each state could possibly do these things, but as a whole, it's really hard... and becomes ever more divisive... At this point, largely, only corporate interests feeding both sides seem to get anything done.

Re: I am done. I give up

#700

Post by ericmcer »

jlangenauer wrote: post #5

Why do "indiehackers" want attention from and create products for other "indiehackers"? As a group they seem the people with the least amount of money to spend on products, and are some of the most cheapskate people on the planet. Here's some advice: if you want to make money selling a software product, sell to people who are able and willing to spend money on it.

Well one of the indiehacker mottos is to solve problems you are familiar with. So...
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