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Ask HN: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

by SoMuchToGrok on 7/6/15, 6:09 PM with 2 comments

A very open question. I'd like to hear about the things that have inspired you to become an entrepreneur. Doesn't matter if it's a book, a person, an event, etc...

My story is boring (which is why I want to hear yours). Something changed when I witnessed the boom of online advertising in the early 2000's. I was around 13 at the time, and had been hosting several Counter-Strike servers for my friends (and myself). Around the same time, I had been [unsuccessfully] trying to make money online (surveys, a few ponzi schemes). Eventually I learned about SEO and Adsense...within a few weeks I had a website up about managing video game servers (received ~15,000 unique visitors/month at its peak). Walked away that summer with a little over $5,000 and I've had a different mindset ever since.

  • by dalerus on 7/8/15, 2:05 AM

    I went to school for commercial photography and like most young photographers, if you can't land a good job in the industry you freelance.

    The years I spent being a freelance photographer taught me a lot about running a business, but I ultimately fell in love with the freedom. Years later I read Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Work Week and knew I wanted more work/life balance than I was getting working for an agency.

  • by andersthue on 7/7/15, 4:51 PM

    My last enployer was not very good and did some things that did not align with my moral, so I thought to myself "I can do better than him" and started a company with three other student friends to prove that I could do it better.

    This was back in the days when coax cable & token ring was still a thing and IE was the only browser on windows...

    Took a loong time, but now I know I am doing better :)