

Tell HN: Startup or Shut Up 2012 - jakecarpenter

The 2012 Startup or Shut Up Challenge<p>I'm getting tired of reading and not doing, and I'm ready to fail. Here's my idea:<p>Let's meet on IRC (or Skype, facebook, Google+, whatever) and throw our half baked ideas and orphaned domains into a hat, break into groups of 3 to 5, and start something(s). What do you have to lose besides a few hours? (don't worry, reddit and HN will still be here when you're done)<p>I've got some proposals for ground rules:<p>-MVP in 14 days, some sort of traction in 90 or fold<p>-Keep 'investment' to &#60; $100 per founder
--if you don't already have a server, use a AWS micro instance or Appspot or Heroku or something
--for email, google apps for domains is free for ten users or less, don't waste too much time thinking about that kind of stuff.<p>-don't even think about things like company organization or equity until you have something viable<p>-no titles beyond "biz guy" or "python guy" or stuff like that.<p>-don't obsess about minutia: names, domains, jobs, he-said/she-said, etc<p>-Touch base with your team daily, if you can't do a live chat, email. Google+ Hangouts might be good for this.<p>-don't quit your day job<p>If this seems like something you'd like to do, awesome. I think a channel on freenode is a good way to start (i've registered ##startup2012). We can also just hash it our in the comments here on HN too.
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steventruong
1\. Why not jump into something yourself rather than trying to form something
with a bunch of random strangers? Honest question. This resembles a lot like a
local startup weekend (not saying there is such an option wherever you live).

2\. MVP in 14 days in some cases is unrealistic without even knowing what it
is you're looking to do. Some ideas can be done in a day. Some require several
weeks or months to get a few features done for a basic MVP. It all depends on
the idea.

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pace
2\. MVP in 14d is realistic and should be the goal

1\. Maybe it's not the perfect way to startup something but at least he's
doing something (and not just reading anymore). And who knows, maybe the IRC
chat doesn't bring a team but gives him tons of new inspirations and ideas for
new ventures.

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donw
Read the original post again. An MVP Rails app can be built in fourteen days
by an experienced dev/designer duo, no problem.

But startups aren't just web companies. The idea could be a physical product
that requires prototyping, for example, and that's not getting done in two
weeks of part-time work.

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jakecarpenter
Follow the discussion at: <http://notes.avaaz.org/kRBXB8P1Ci>

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dirkdeman
Count me in! I have a beautiful orphan that needs some work to become an MVP.
It't an art gallery for digital art. I've been working on it for quite some
time now, but kinda lost interest (finishing stuff is Not my strongest
point...) in. I'd love to work on it with a bunch of guys/gals and see it
finished!

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rudasn
sounds cool. what's the current status of this project?

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jessepollak
<http://notes.avaaz.org/kRBXB8P1Ci> check it out!

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drewblaisdell
I said this on the EtherPad chat, but this is at best a great way to dive into
a new project and at worst a good exercise.

I'm in.

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jasdeepH
Let's see where this goes! Should be interesting what we can do about ideas in
the next couple of hours.

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jessepollak
Love the idea. I'm definitely in. How should I stay in contact?

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jakecarpenter
Well, this whole thing is pretty off-the-cuff, but I'll hang out in the
##startup2012 freenode channel, and maybe we can come up with something a
little more formal.

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mapster
I'm IN, but might want to add a contact.

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hendrix
count me in, skype is rjhendricks_

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jakecarpenter
The more the merrier. We now have a website and a Google Group.

website: <http://www.startuporshutup.org>

Google Group: <http://groups.google.com/group/startup-or-shut-up>

edit: added links.

