Ask HN: what's driven you to do startup?

2 points by liquimoon ↗ HN
What's driven you to do startup? What's in it for you? For me it was the ability to work from anywhere and be financially free. Yours?

3 comments

[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 11.7 ms ] thread
Because I hate paying bills, its a huge pain in the ass and I wanted to make it suck less
My colleague came to me with an idea that might change something in the world, and could make us some money too :)
A combination of factors:

1. I hate having a "boss" in the traditional sense. I'm a very independent, unruly and sometimes obstinate person, and I chafe at being told what to do. I like being able to "call my own shots" to a greater degree. I also like not having somebody micromanaging my every decision.

2. I'm a horrible employee. I'm insubordinate, arrogant, brash, outspoken and highly opinionated. Nobody in their right mind would hire me.

3. I like building things... in the case of a startup, I get to build both "product things" and the company itself, so it's like killing two birds with one stone.

4. I like challenges.

5. I like the idea of having a big exit and gaining a measure of independence by at least being independently wealthy. In other words, having "FU money".

6. I want to build the kind of company that I'd want to work for, if I wanted a job in the first place. Or, at least, the kind of company I want to see exist.

7. I think we can do some things to make the world a better place. I reject the notion that capitalists are just selfish robber-baron types who just want to accumulate as much wealth as possible at any cost, with no concern for the welfare of others. I like the idea of building a company that will be socially conscious and actively do things to try and make things better outside of our doors.

8. I have some ideas I'm really passionate about exploring, that I think may have some commercial value. At the very least, building a startup in this space gives me a platform to research stuff I'm interested in. Worst case, if we fail as a startup, I'll have learned some neat stuff.