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Ask HN: Leaving my 12-year job to start a Software Dev't Firm. Any advice?

by johndavid9991 on 3/28/24, 4:01 PM with 5 comments

  • by rcmcintosh on 3/28/24, 4:15 PM

    Can you provide any more context to your situation?

  • by pravanjanc on 3/29/24, 8:40 AM

    Can you provide some context? I've worked at a company for nearly 10 years, and then left the job to start up something on my own. It's been three years doing that and it's filled with ups and downs. Not all days are rosy but if your fundamentals are solid I think it works out in the end.

    Maybe if you give some context, i can help better.

  • by piterrro on 3/29/24, 10:30 PM

    Don't do it. Unless you've foundn a specific niche, competing in a software house space will be a race to lowest price and you will often lose to Eastern Europe/India software houses.

    If you really want to do it, consider building a product. Often times, devs in SH need to be placed on a bench while waiting for a new project to land/start.

  • by Loxicon on 4/8/24, 10:11 AM

    Yes, just one thing: welcome to the world of selling.

    Your new job is salesman. It's a fun job but rejection is tough and your cannot "force success".

    Unlike software dev, where you can sit in a room and make something work... your success in sales is dependent on other people.

    I have built two firms now. One was purely marketing. the other was marketing tech. And, while my expertise is in marketing and marketing tech (as well as hiring, leading, creating processes and all the other things you need to be a good business owner...)

    My main/core skill is selling.

    So my question to you is... do you want to be a salesman?

    I wish someone asked me this before I started my first business..

  • by solardev on 3/29/24, 4:13 PM

    You sure this is a good time to do it, with layoffs continuing and AI on the horizon? What services would you offer and who would your clients be?