Ask HN: When and why did you give up on starting a company?

I haven't 100% given up, but I've postponed it indefinitely.

When? For the past 4 years.

Why? For several reasons.

I started a company before (3 times actually).

The solo business was a slog, spending a lot of time doing things I hated to for barely enough money to feed myself, and with little outlook for growth.

The first VC-funded startup burned me out big-time. I'm not cut out for years on end of 60-plus hour weeks for a tiny chance at a large payout and a 98% chance at nothing. Especially given the opportunity cost of a senior engineer's salary.

The second startup I almost didn't do, but I was super passionate about the topic. Unfortunately, the team fell apart, but not before the stress impacted my health (permanently) - and the other things I learned from that experience informed the other major reason I'm not doing that again any time soon.

Which is that ideas are a dime a dozen, but good ones are rare, and marketing is HARD.

If I were to stumble across an idea I couldn't pass up, that would make a solid lifestyle business (no way I do the VC dance again) and that I could build in my spare time... ok, I might try again.

But starting a company and hitting it big areno longer part of my dream.

Instead I'm working on moving to a place I want to live, finding a 20-30 hour/week gig (be it contract or salaried work), and living a life that I can actually enjoy day to day, spending time with people I care about.

I started a company (LLC) to develop something I was trying to patent (utility patent). I kept things going as a side business for about 5 years while I worked a full time job, wrangled the patent, and put money and time into manufacturing, designs, and marketing. I hoped to build up a customer base to show the value of the patent and then license the patent to other manufacturers.

When the patent application failed, I decided to close the business. Without the IP, the more I built the market, the more likely someone else would come in to compete, and an established manufacturer could definitely beat me on price.

I learned a lot about how difficult marketing is (I come from a mathematics and software background) and how much footwork goes into sales. I also made some mistakes in the patent process I won't make again.

It sucked to give up, but was also a relief. I wasn't betting my future on it, so it wasn't a huge hurdle to make the call. No patent == no business.

I'll probably try again some day.

Once upon a time I set out to just build a startup fueled by ambition. I designed and strategized, e.t.c basics of the product, but I always found it hard to find a (technical) cofounder despite talking to friends. After learning to code and realizing how much work (& burnout) I'd have to put in before this takes off, I opted out knowing I wasn't trying to make a product users want. A proof of that was the difficulty in finding a cofounder despite having skilled enough friends. I got into depression. As I opted out, started learning the process of creating products that actually have real users wanting. I read carefully all of PG's essays, used Headspace for meditating & focused on good diet. The most important lesson was about fixing broken problems in your daily life. Now, I'm working on a new startup with 2 other cofounders who are actually passionate about what we're building. We have alot of feedback/subscribed users and safe to say, we're on the right track.

I guess the idea of 'think big' is just wrong. Young folks get pressured into 'making it' that they believe thinking big would solve your problems/make you great. That's what I experienced. Don't think big, focus on discovering the tiny little things - the ones broken, and fix them. That's joy enough for a Hacker.