

Ask HN: Fake it till you make it - Do you use it? What did you do? - vaksel

What did you do with your startup to "fake it till you make it"?
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mcav
Not perfectly in sync with your question, but somewhat relevant:

I graduated this past weekend, and I plan to work on my startup full-time now.
When faced with the barrage of questions asking "So, do you have a job?", I
force myself to explain my startup and its business model such that it sounds
like success will inevitably come.* (Which, we all know, isn't certain.) But
now I've built up the pressure for myself; everyone knows that I plan to dive
in.

* I generally approach that question as follows:
    
    
       Them: "So, what do you plan on doing now?"
       Me: "Make millions." (Cheeky grin.)
       Them: "Ah." (generally laughter)
       Me: "Yeah. I'm working on XXX...." (explain startup)
       Them: "Oh, cool, that sounds like it might actually work."

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run4yourlives
Can you explain what you are trying to get an answer to a little deeper?

~~~
vaksel
Basically fake it till you make it, means that you try to appear more
successful than what you really are. Basically what did people do to make
their startup appear bigger and more successful than what it really was.

~~~
systemtrigger
I trust you mean getting business cards etc. There's a fine line between
making good marketing investments and lying. I think embellishing your own
success is a slippery slope.

Lying sucks energy and adds to mental clutter. Always be honest. It's hard
enough to muster the creative focus you need to build something good without
worrying about how you're "fronting." Better to hone your pitch so you can
genuinely sell your idea to discerning customers.

Many businesses do profit from "appearing bigger and more successful" than
they actually are. I call Bernie Madoff to the witness stand. Some smoke-and-
mirrors is to be expected in industry but too many companies are flat-out
"designing trust." Time is precious and I would rather spend mine earning
customers' respect. The startups I admire are trying to be as tastefully
transparent as possible.

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CyberFonic
My painful experience is the flashy office, biz cards, etc actually don't
work. The only faking that's worked for me is to say I can do it, when I
haven't yet. BUT knowing that I can quickly learn and have talked up the
complexity so that I have enough time to raise the bunny to be a rabbit before
pulling it out of the hat.

