Re:Ask HN: Is success impossible for a part-time startup?
by anulman on Sunday July 12, 2009 @02:36PM
(#700424)
At the risk of sounding too Tony Robbins-y, there is very little in this world that is truly impossible.
It sounds to me as though your goal right now is to follow a dream and spend more time with your family. This type of startup, as I'm sure you're aware, will probably have a much harder time raising venture capital, not to mention reaching an IPO (especially in this market). But hey, that's okay.
If I was in your shoes, I would look at two things:
1) How much cash do I have that I'm willing to pour into my startup?
2) How screwed am I if this thing fails?
The answer to #1 (and probably a few other, better-tailored-to-your-situation questions) will let you know when to quit. Because you will almost certainly not recognize it "when you need to" (if, unfortunately, you do need to).
The answer to #2 will help make sure that you're not jeopardizing yourself and the family you obviously hold so dear. But there are things that can help you here: so long as you have a strong personal and professional network (enough important strong ties, or an abundance of weak ties, or even both), that's a huge plus. And, as cmos said, "you'd be surprised how many doors making something 'from scratch' opens."
It sounds to me as though your goal right now is to follow a dream and spend more time with your family. This type of startup, as I'm sure you're aware, will probably have a much harder time raising venture capital, not to mention reaching an IPO (especially in this market). But hey, that's okay.
If I was in your shoes, I would look at two things:
1) How much cash do I have that I'm willing to pour into my startup?
2) How screwed am I if this thing fails?
The answer to #1 (and probably a few other, better-tailored-to-your-situation questions) will let you know when to quit. Because you will almost certainly not recognize it "when you need to" (if, unfortunately, you do need to).
The answer to #2 will help make sure that you're not jeopardizing yourself and the family you obviously hold so dear. But there are things that can help you here: so long as you have a strong personal and professional network (enough important strong ties, or an abundance of weak ties, or even both), that's a huge plus. And, as cmos said, "you'd be surprised how many doors making something 'from scratch' opens."
Whatever your decision, good luck!