

Dedicated server/vpn/web hosting startup ideas? - noob6

I want to start a Dedicated Server service, provision of VPNs web hosting, domain purchasing, tunnels, etc; has anyone started a startup on this, that can give me ideas? these sort of things have procedures and terms/conditions set in place so if anyone can give me tips on how to start this up I'd appreciate it. a little bit of an investment I'd assume for the hw (unless you have virtual machines everywhere) but I don't know much about the industry, so thanks
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SwellJoe
You need to learn more about the industry. It's a big, deep, and technically
demanding business, and the biggest players have tremendous economy of scale
benefits that you won't have (like practically free bandwidth, because of
their size).

I've worked for the hosting industry for 12 years spanning two different
startups. I've never once thought, "Hey, hosting looks like an easy way to
make some quick cash!" If you don't love the technology, love working with
people (because your primary function will be support), and have a high
tolerance for long hours and waking up in the middle of the night to fix
problems, you probably don't want to be in the hosting business.

That said, if you still do want to go into the business, now in the best time
in ten years to start a hosting provider. Your competitors are flailing trying
to figure out how to solve the cloud computing problem. If you start with
cloud computing offerings from day one, and never have to deal with the legacy
of traditional shared and dedicated hosting, you can outmaneuver a large
percentage of providers. You will spend more than you expect (so you'll
probably need to raise money, or have a steady stream of incoming consulting
revenue to keep the lights on), and you will sleep less than you'd like or is
healthy, but if you move really fast, make smart partnerships early (contact
me, if you're actually serious), and figure out how to make revenue from
everything your customers do (domain registrations, SSL certificates, DNS
hosting, etc. in addition to the hosting itself) you can build a business in
the new wild west of hosting.

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icey
This: _"I want to start a Dedicated Server service"_ and this: _"I don't know
much about the industry"_ spell problems for you.

The only tip I have for you is that you should consider trying reselling
regular hosting until you have a feel for the business.

