

Ask HN: How Long Does it usually take to become profitable? - Andrew_Quentin

Supposing that I start up today, how long do you think would it take to become profitable. I mean to exclude here start ups that might go viral, or, on the other hand, start ups that might take much longer than usual. I mean to include on average, only, and without funding. Would you say one or two years?<p>If so, how would you support yourself during this time?
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brianbreslin
I don't think you can give a fixed timeframe. Many startups are not
"profitable" but are capable of paying their founders salaries. Depends on
what your profit goals are.

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dclaysmith
I would use:

Y = λf.(λx.f (x x)) (λx.f (x x))

Where y is months to profitability, λ is # of cofounders, and x is funding.

Serious answer: Who knows. Some businesses models just can't achieve
profitability no matter how much time, money and brainpower you throw at it.
So without some idea of the idea, no way to really answer the question.

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davidw
The average is 31 days per co founder, plus 10 days for each 100K in funding.

