Startup escape path

#1

Post by tomh- » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 12:52 PM UTC

Startup escape path
swombat.com

Re: Startup escape path

#2

Post by chayesfss » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 1:05 PM UTC

actually pretty good read

Re: Startup escape path

#3

Post by jqueryin » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 1:19 PM UTC

Somewhere in those steps you should add "make a name for yourself." Marketing yourself and your company can lead you from a good idea/MVP/prototype to a successful business. I've seen it first hand on several occasions. It's not about what you know, but who you know. Numerous articles on HN have been targeted towards the difficulty of traction. "I have a good product, but I have no traction." There comes a point when a good product is not necessarily enough. This is especially true for niche markets. Marketing, marketing, marketing. And I don't mean the kind where you hire an agency. All they have is connections; you can make those with effort. There are all sorts of guerilla marketing tactics if you're looking for cost effective ways to get your name out there.

Some of the key points fall under the blanket of marketing:

    * blogging, guest blogging
    * submitting articles to HN, reddit, etc
    * connecting to local startup/tech communities

Don't live in a bubble. Your startup should not be your personal safe haven that you keep secret from everyone. People need to hear about it, talk about it, criticize it, tear it apart, love it, live it, hate it... you get the picture. You want people to have opinions about your product, strong ones. It doesn't matter if it's a 50/50 split of those that love and hate it. People KNOW about it. If nobody knows you exist, there's no exit.

That leads me to my next big topic: CONNECTIONS. Chose them wisely and treat them well. You are your own personal sales guy. Why do you think the startup incubators are so successful? Their connections. PG has connections, go impress him. I'll let you in on a secret though: he has a very high bullshit detector and has seen it all. It helps to know your target audience as well. PG has a preferential tendency towards startup ideas coming from founders that have domain knowledge (and aren't assholes.. he blogged about it).

Last point: DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE. Be nice to people, don't talk about them behind their back, always say nice things. It's all too easy to get in the habit of gossiping or talking shit about somebody when they aren't there. Word gets around. At some point they'll likely hear about it through the grapevine. Wouldn't you rather have them hear about the nice things you've said? That's friendship. That's a connection.

Re: Startup escape path

#4

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 1:37 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Startup escape path

#5

Post by pilom » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 1:37 PM UTC

In addition to simply meeting people at local events, I think actually working with them on ideas may be just as important. Gives Mr. Engineer a better view of design and business development than just building his own projects.

Re: Startup escape path

#6

Post by donw » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 1:51 PM UTC

Speaking as someone that had a corporate job before, I think that 'working for somebody else's startup' is also a really great idea, especially if you don't immediately know what kind of company you want to build.

You still get a paycheck, but at the same time have a chance to gain a lot of important skills, meet a lot of important people in the community, and understand what life in a startup is like.

Re: Startup escape path

#7

Post by dpapathanasiou » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 2:00 PM UTC

4,8,9 all need to be higher and not in that order (I'd say 9 should come first).

Having paying customers is one of the first things that makes a new business real.

Re: Startup escape path

#8

Post by dholowiski » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 2:36 PM UTC

I'd like to add that if you live in Canada, do _not_ register a 'corporation', unless you know exactly what you are doing. Your accountant will tell you a good idea, your lawyer will tell you it's a good idea, but wait until the end of your first fiscal year and it costs $2,000 + to have your taxes done!

In Canada, just wing it as a Sole proprietor!

Re: Startup escape path

#9

Post by jsiarto » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 2:43 PM UTC

jqueryin wrote: post #3

Somewhere in those steps you should add "make a name for yourself." Marketing yourself and your company can lead you from a good idea/MVP/prototype to a successful business. I've seen it first hand on several occasions. It's not about what you know, but who you know. Numerous articles on HN have been targeted towards the difficulty of traction. "I have a good product, but I have no traction." There comes a point when…

Marketing, marketing, marketing--best advice in this thread. Why do people care about what you're doing? Why do you care about what you're doing? You need to have story to tell and you need to connect with people at an emotional level.

Re: Startup escape path

#10

Post by hndl » Thu, Dec 15, 2011, 3:03 PM UTC

I would've liked it if the author factored into account how you would sustain yourself financially after you take the leap or if it is assumed that you save before making that escape.