by eightturn on 6/17/24, 11:14 AM with 162 comments
by ilamont on 6/17/24, 3:31 PM
I hated the startup theater, pitching, networking, and accelerator applications including YC and TechStars and MassChallenge. My cofounder flaked. I wound down business #1, returned most of the investor capital, and then started out on #2, determined to do things completely differently.
For #2, I had 3 criteria:
1) Prototype on my own, without an engineer
2) Don't just talk lean, do lean
3) The product must generate revenue from day 1
While I am not an engineer, I had strong enough digital skills to set up websites and leverage other tools to prototype. Month 1 was building the prototype, month 2 was getting it out to the marketplace and actually getting some early sales ... and then plowing that money back into the business to improve the product. 10+ years later, the business brings in a respectable middle class income, has helped put my kids through college, and, as TFA articulated, lets me "pursue any and all ludicrous business models, with no oversight."
Like a lot of people who bootstrap, I had to consult as well (still do, mainly as a hedge against platform risk). I am eternally grateful to my spouse who not only has an income to help support the family, but also good health insurance (more on this below, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40707068).
by leetrout on 6/17/24, 12:48 PM
I respect this. It's something I've wrestled with a lot over the past ~year (especially in the last 6 months). You can see my relevant "Ask HN: How would you raise $600k for a boring software co?"[0] in which I shared my musings around this with the community. I'm currently contracting because I have to pay some unexpected medical bills but I am hopeful I will explore solopreneurship more this year (I'd much rather not go it alone tho, as stated in the thread).
I'm very lucky to have had multiple interactions with folks in that thread as well as having contacts that have raised funds and sold businesses... the advice is a resounding "not really doable" outside of a friends & family fundraise.
All of this to say, I admire Peter (have read his writings previously) and I share the same feelings quoted above although I am still willing to entertain outside investors (and all that comes with that) for the chance to have agency in executing a software business with less "lose my house" risk. For the same reason I would also take a leadership position at a startup. I've seen the effects of bad management and lack of empathy first hand and I know I could make a difference and have a positive impact on the internal culture of software development shops... But I don't get many bites when I go fishing for that.
by llmblockchain on 6/17/24, 2:17 PM
My entire career was spent building valuable software for companies to generate large profits only for me to be laid off (and fired, once). After the firing I was quite angry and probably a bit arrogant.
I went on a bit of a rage.. "I built the most successful product there, I can do it on my own."
So that's what I did and I haven't worked for anyone else since (on 8 years now).
by mooreds on 6/17/24, 1:10 PM
It used to be knowledge was locked up in books and putting them in libraries for free access was revolutionary, but libraries don't compare to the knowledge transfer benefits of view source in terms of cost and ease. (Obv libraries have a wider base of knowledge to distribute.)
Even today, with all the obfuscation and minification, devtools offers a lot of the same benefits as "view source" did.
by dkobia on 6/17/24, 1:37 PM
In this wonderfully written and inspiring piece, perhaps we should consider that the real issue isn't the individual's capability but rather that their potential has been misdirected or they haven't been in environments that recognize and cultivate their unique skills.
by thr0w on 6/17/24, 3:44 PM
This was it for me. Pouring your whole self into your work, only to be laid off, fired, or skipped for promotion is soul shattering.
$400k ARR solo. I'll never work for anyone again, I'll never feel compelled to be a yes man again, I'll never fake a smile for a drooling idiot of a C*O again.
by sph on 6/17/24, 1:44 PM
As you are an expert in SEO, and I'm building a SEO-adjacent product, I would love to pick your brain. Email in the profile.
by HeyLaughingBoy on 6/17/24, 2:59 PM
Can't really argue with that :-)
by akskakskaksk on 6/17/24, 12:19 PM
by ChrisMarshallNY on 6/17/24, 2:25 PM
Pissed me off, something fierce, being treated that way (especially as I figured out it was being supported from the C-Suite). However, I have since realized that it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
I enjoy writing software. So much, that I will do it for free.
When no one’s paying me, I get to do it the way that I want to do it. No scrum standup humiliation sessions, no deliberately writing terrible software, so terrible programmers can understand it, no being told how lucky I am, to be “allowed” to work.
by SebFender on 6/17/24, 1:45 PM
Let's not blame anyone and just admit that for many "... maybe it's just not for me."
I find too many people blame themselves or others instead of just changing angles in life.
This is a perfect example.
by giarc on 6/17/24, 1:24 PM
by jebarker on 6/17/24, 1:29 PM
by ensemblehq on 6/17/24, 1:33 PM
by hbn on 6/17/24, 3:35 PM
by dsco on 6/17/24, 1:29 PM
by chaostheory on 6/17/24, 5:19 PM
by Jun8 on 6/17/24, 3:04 PM
What are the insights I gained from this particular piece:
* self depreciation is funny if done in earnest
* note that the OP had a huge handicap (not knowing to code and ignorant of web technologies) but he was not clueless: he had deep knowledge (at least deeper than most site operators) about the ad business and how to monetize
* building up from the above, he innovated in an area what he knew, i.e. ads. He didn't try to jump into the idea de jour. Too many first time entrepreneurs miss this point.
* he used simple tools and approaches(e.g. Yellow Pages, source view) but used them effectively. Didn't try to go after shiny tools, e.g. get on a bootcamp to learn web frontend development
Overall vibe (don't know if it's a persona or the real thing, judging from the wackiness of his ideas I'm guessing the latter) from his writings is a person who you'd want to grab coffee (or beer) and just hang out with.
by darkstar_16 on 6/17/24, 1:26 PM
by jnord on 6/18/24, 9:58 AM
by HarHarVeryFunny on 6/17/24, 12:58 PM
Gotta admire the hustle and will to be independent.
by nudpiedo on 6/17/24, 12:55 PM
by glitchc on 6/17/24, 3:35 PM
by renegade-otter on 6/17/24, 2:44 PM
After getting laid off, I decided to roll the dice instead of looking for another work-for-hire. Yeah, it's too late, but I needed this just to get excited about technology again. I was seriously jaded from debugging the microservices spaghetti at every frigging job, trying to make a pile out of water and not actually building anything.
I torches through my savings, and no regrets. I am in my 40s, and the time to take a chance is running out.
The point is, there is such a thing as "right place, right time". The idea and the execution have to be well-timed. It might be too early, or it might be too late (as it was for me). Take The Globe, for example - the Facebook before Facebook. They failed because a) there were no phones b) not enough people online to get the network effect. Similarly, good luck getting your "crypto" getting traction at this point.
If you have an idea, and you think the time is right - take the chance. Not knowing what will happen is part of the fun. Don't look at it as taking risk, look at it as rowing through a river and without knowing where the river goes. If you don't row, you will never find out what's around the bend.
by pmarreck on 6/17/24, 2:31 PM
It really supports the perception of seeing a door closing just meaning you need to change direction and not to take it personally.
by amunozo on 6/17/24, 12:59 PM
by the_af on 6/18/24, 2:53 AM
A weird mix of inspirational hogwash ("here's how I succeeded and you can do this too!") with some pretty crappy tactics, like domain squatting, crap ads business with no value added, and lying to customers to not let them know they could have cut the middleman.
Basically nothing this guy is explaining ads any value. He had little to no expert knowledge, he just got lucky with some low hanging fruit (mostly because his customers were even more clueless than he was).
No doubt he's making money now and is "his own boss" now, but nothing he did to get there seems inspirational or worth copying.
by johnwheeler on 6/17/24, 2:58 PM
by Simon_ORourke on 6/17/24, 6:10 PM
by 6510 on 6/17/24, 1:15 PM
by swayvil on 6/17/24, 2:21 PM
(Not a video game)