
What do people usually do after they run a failed startup? - messel
http://www.victusspiritus.com/2011/01/27/what-do-people-usually-do-after-they-run-a-failed-startup/
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bartonfink
Whatever the hell they want to? Sheesh - it's a failed startup, not the loss
of a child. People fail at all sorts of things all the time, and the best way
to guarantee an eventual success is to keep stepping up to the plate.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Easy to say. But a "failed startup" is often coincidental with a failed
relationship, failed self-image, drained savings, eroded health.

Starting another one right away can be a 'rebound' decision. It can be helpful
to wait a little while, maybe work at some mundane job until you get your
perspective back.

But yes, keep positive, assume you will soon be back in the game.

~~~
bartonfink
Sure - I understand all of those consequences, but none of them are
showstoppers that should preclude you from doing something else. It may not be
ideal, but in life you play the hand you're dealt, and getting up from the
table (metaphorically speaking) is RARELY a sound decision. Like I said, they
can do whatever the hell they want to. The worst possible choice out of
"whatever the hell they want to", though, is nothing.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
We're in agreement.

I also wonder what the real question was behind the article. Is the author a
lost soul? Suffering and looking for life direction? Or just needing advice
about how to fill out taxes after the financial chaos that is a failed
business.

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dlevine
After my startup failed (and all of the pivots we could think of didn't work),
I tried a few other ideas with different partners. None of those worked, and I
ended up doing consulting work (mostly for other startups) for a while. It
paid ok, but I realized that I wasn't really doing my own thing, and I could
do significantly better by working for someone else. I also kind of realized
that I just wasn't ready to go out and start something else for various
reasons.

A pretty interesting startup made me a pretty good offer, and after consulting
for them for a month, I figured that I might as well take the stock options if
I was working for someone else. Worked there for a while, and then they got
acquired by a big company. Got to see an acquisition first-hand, which was
definitely interesting. Now I'm working at a big company, which I never
thought would happen again, but I guess that I see it in a different way.

I'm not really sure how I got from point A to point B, but it has been an
interesting ride. And I think that pretty soon I'll be ready to start
something else.

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jacquesm
Do it again, but better. Typically with a higher chance of success and re-
using all the connections they've made during the running of the previous one.
There is no stigma attached to failing at starting up because the rest of the
business world knows how hard it is and those that are successful likely have
had a few failures themselves to look back to.

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JoeAltmaier
Start another one!

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biot
This had me thinking about that interview question:

"In a country in which people only want boys every family continues to have
children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child.
If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the
country?"

Replace girl with "failed startup" and boy with "successful startup" and the
answer must be the same... the overall success rate of all startups must be
50%, assuming that people always try for a successful one after they fail.

Of course, that means there will be those who succeed on their first try and
you might be the one that experiences twenty failures in a row...

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bowmande
It is interesting because we put a lot of ourselves in the code we write and
the ideas pursued. So when something fails, It can be a process to get over
it. Although trying and failing is better than never taking a risk.

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chopsueyar
Get an MBA?

~~~
htsh
Disheartened with technology during the lull after the first dot com bubble
burst, I went to law school.

After finishing up and working at a law firm for a year, I realized that I'd
rather fail at startups than do that for a living.

~~~
phlux
Did you study IP law?

That may help you succeed at failing to fail.

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buckwild
You only really fail when you stop trying.

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what-to-do
Try to understand what went wrong, take a break, and scout for the next
opportunity, patiently.

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zrgiu
they start their next startup. Until they stop failing.

