Why Start a Company?

📰 Tech News Roundup
#1

Saw this recent response from Angel Investor Andrew Dumont: and wanted to share it with the community:

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There is no right or wrong way to start a company (…well I suppose if it fails - looking back - you could say it was the wrong way to start a business, but many ‘wrong ways’ to start a business have turned out very lucratively). The core of Andrew’s advice that resonates with me is that there are ways you can reduce risk to validate the business. How can this business make enough revenue to support my (and possibly my team’s) living wage, current wage, and future higher wage? If you have a reasonable guess on these questions (and you can afford the runway), build, build, build your way toward a new business.

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#2

I like it! And it’s cool to see how many way pop up in market, that help grinders to start something. Like Maker movement at ProductHunt, or IndieHackers forum. it helps to put your face at ocean of different people-ants that always doing something. so being part of community is very important.

Lowering risks is good. But doesn’t work for me. not sure why - maybe i got a lot of entrep-poison. only can/wish do what i want to do. Going all in is a bad thing, but how you can win tournament without it? You cannot win without losing. So i think there two types of people. Farmers and hunters. I also think that startups should have “gender” as well. Because companies with founders man are more agressive usually.

Maybe it’s better to separate “risks” and “business idea validation with limited time and resources”.

Again, it also depends on company stage.

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#3

For someone exactly like the one who asked this question, I have a suggestion. Apart from hacking in the evenings, try allocating 30% of your time networking with people in your target audience space and learning sales (as we tend to run down the building rabbit hold and realize the importance of sales only after the product is complete. This leads to frustration). Balance it and you can rock.

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#4

I am on my second company; I really should play safe and take a well-paid job and pension. But heck it is the most incredible journey you can take. Business is the only environment that no rules exist; You drive, you innovate, you make it work. All created out of nothing. You decide what when and how to do it. But it consumes your life. You have to sacrifice, less time with family, with friends. Your mind is always off solving a problem and never in the room. Holidays are an unwelcome distraction; you force yourself to take them. You push forward; you fall. Failure is always close behind. But its the most incredible journey or transformation, you learn quicker and faster than ever. It’s you who are responsible for feeding employees families and finding the money for when your child starts School. This pressure does not stop it builds and builds and is with you24 hours a day as it seeps into your Dreams. Perhaps one day I will sell this company, Then onto my third. That’s the plan.

Is it worth trying YES! I would have failed if I had not tried.

But yes sage advice, try and prove traction first. Only commit small amounts of capital at first; we all learn from mistakes. Avoid making a hunch; science is the way forward test and re-test.

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#5

I feeling the same. It’s like another galaxy with different topics, cultures, people…

#7

@brandon-graves types in the third person :wink:

#8

more founders stories: https://hackernoon.com/tagged/founders