Ask YC! What can I do to prepare myself to start a company.
I've dreamed about starting my own company for the last 10 years and that's the only single thought I carry with me every day, day in and day out.
I've recently visited a start-up in Los Angeles (where I live) for a job opportunity and I came back with the feeling that I can do a better job than what the founders were upto.
I am technical (software architect at my company) and can work on my own thing. It's just that currently I do not have any projects that I am passionate about.
My question for you guys and for which I need advice is:
I have 3 weeks of vacation that I cannot take and travel (my wife's work cannot give her vacation).
How can I best use it to start something on my own.
1) Work on a project 2) Travel locally, meet with fellow entrepreneurs and learn. 3) Attend seminars.
What would you think would be the best way to spend my time before I quit this job and start something.
Regards, Pras
21 comments
[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 68.2 ms ] threadLong answer: Ignore other entrepreneurs and start looking for customers. What you want to do is get face time whenever feasable. Find out how they can possibly get by without your great system and do your best to determine where that solution is letting them down or making them suffer. Adjust your idea accordingly and present it to them. There's usually some politics involved in any significant purchase so try and find out things like which people really stand to gain and lose when your customers adopt your product. Then try and find ways that will turn the losers into winners. Be sure and validate your assumptions about who the decision makers are for the kind of product you're planning by finding out what else those people bought into or vetoed in the past. Stay focused and do your best to really verify the market for your system is there.
2. Scratch an itch. If you can build a product yourself, you're in better shape then most of the funded startups out there. If there's something you want to do online, the odds are that you can both a) do it right, and b) find enough people on the the internet who also think that you're doing it right to make some money.
3) Figure out how to cut your expenses to the bone, now. Ideally, and this may be tough in LA, adjust your lifestyle down to the point that you and your family can live on your wife's salary. Sock the money away somewhere you won't touch it, but that there won't be tax consequences if you do.
4) Get laid off. Ok, that's a reach, but trust me, there's nothing quite like walking out the door with your finances already in order, your vacation paid out and severance in the bank, and still qualifying for unemployment to be able to bootstrap a startup.
Find a customer with his hair on fire with a problem you'd like to solve.
Hack away.
"Find a customer with his hair on fire..."
You can't just follow a whimsical idea you "think" might be relevant. You want to find a market where people are hurting. Imagine someone with their credit card out of their wallet tapping it against their screen, frustrated that they can't find someone to give their money to.
Sell stuff to that person. I've been that person about a half-dozen times this week. Your challenge is to figure out how you can determine what I was searching for. (Or what the masses were searching for.)
Easier still is to just notice when you are that person and then solve that problem. Whenever I find myself frustrated with something, that tends to be the most interesting (and possibly lucrative) idea.
If your own hair is on fire, then chances are someone else on the internet is suffering from the same affliction, and is willing to pay you for solving it.
Solving your own problem is much easier than trying to guess what someone else's problems are, and you are more likely to stick with it since you can be your own user.
> "How can I best...start something on my own" ? A - Start something!
but if you want some more encouragement and guidance along the way, you'll find it here.
There were some good suggestions to a similar question made here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=183128 that you should read as well.
The person dispensing this advice was not talking literally, of course. Starting companies that last until they succeed often means making tough decisions. The kinds of decisions that impact people's well being and future -- and not always in a positive way in the short term. It often means saying "No!" more than saying "Yes."
I was never able to imagine myself killing a puppy, but even going through that process and realizing that I couldn't do it taught me something about who I am and the kind of leader I wanted to be, which was the real purpose of the exercise.
Maybe the next round of YC interviews should have a qualifying event requiring a big tub of water and a trip to the humane society.
It's not like someone is gonna say "you killed that puppy for no reason. But you really crossed the line with drowning."
I can think of many cases where drowning would be a preferable alternative to other modalities of needless puppy murder.
After you have some saving built up and some room to roam financially, go ahead and do your own thing.
However, the only things that have since proven useful are: 1) Network: through the network I developed before I left IBM, I secured contract work in lean times and introductions that have now resulted in investment. 2) Save money: has helped hugely in lean times. 3) Hand in my notice. A necessary step!
Having said that, to answer your question well, we would need a better understanding on why you have dreamed of starting your own company for 10 years but this has not yet happened.
Any tips on networking with entrepeneurs? Los Angeles area is not so hot when it comes to tech meetups.
thanks
Ultimately you reap what you sow, so with this in mind I select the key events and make the time and effort to go there and engage with people.