

Aim for a Lifestyle, Not a Jackpot - keiferski
http://mixergy.com/tom-rossi-molehill-interview/

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dools
This reminds me of a DHH talk at startup school where he says it's not just
about being "the next ... INSERT BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY HERE".

The funny thing is until I started reading HN I had no idea the extent to
which people are out here building apps frantically for the "big exit".

When I read about how much 37signals get pissed off at being referred to as "a
lifestyle business" I had no idea that this subculture chasing VC and Angel
investing even existed.

I had a vague notion that people got investment but I feel a little uneasy
about the way that young kids coming straight out of high school are being
influenced by this culture.

Everyone just wants to "be an entrepreneur" and no-one really seems to know
what that means. In most cases, business is about raising invoices, not
capital.

~~~
bad_user
It happens mostly in Silicon Valley because of the success enjoyed by some big
companies that grew fast and became very profitable, like Amazon and Google.

Problem is, for every Google-like company, there are hundreds if not thousands
that fail to make a profit and just disappear. On the other hand building a
37signals-like company is within reach of most talented people, but these
stories aren't highlighted by the media (unless you have the oratory talent of
DHH).

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patio11
I swing more to lifestyles than jackpots, but a successful (for any definition
of "successful") lifestyle business is a great place to try conquering the
world from. A recurring theme for folks trying to shoot the moon is how much
time fundraising takes up and how conflicts with investors can drive you
under. If the rent is covered and salaries are already in the bank, you have a
great fallback position. (BATNA is "We go back to where we were before we knew
you. Oh, shucks, successful business." versus "We fail to make payroll and the
bank repossesses my liver.")

~~~
keiferski
An excellent point that seems to be under-emphasized. Instead of swinging for
the fences on the first at-bat, focus on getting a man on base first. /cheesy
metaphor

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joelg87
I've not watched it yet (going to do that shortly whilst grabbing lunch), but
I'm really looking forward to watching this particular interview as it strikes
me as very much in line with some of the changes in my own thinking in the
last few months.

I graduated in Summer 2009, and I immediately wanted to do my own startup. I'd
recently built my own new website, which was pretty much all my social
networks on a single page. A friend asked me when he could have his, and after
that I knew I was onto something. It turned into OnePage
(<http://myonepage.com>) and it is doing well, with thousands of users. The
problem? revenue was an afterthought, so to fund it I had to keep doing
contract work. I tried doing it part time, and then I tried doing a wave of
full-time and then a wave of full-time work on OnePage. We tried applying to
incubators, too. After a year and a half, I still know there's huge potential
in that space (just look at about.me), but I know I need to sort out my income
so I can focus.

So, when the November Startup Sprint popped up, the timing couldn't have been
better. I built my second startup called Buffer (<http://bufferapp.com>) with
the sole purpose of getting to ramen profitability and using it to free my
time. I built the app in about 7 weeks of evenings and launched with payment
options from day 1. Fast forward one month until now, and I've had just over a
hundred signups, 3 of which are paying. I have a long way to go, but I think
this is the method more people should take.

Some people want the lifestyle business so they can spend less time working
and enjoy life more, others want their finances "sorted" so they can hit for
the home run. Either way, I think lifestyle business first is almost always a
good idea.

~~~
kaisdavis
Buffer looks great. I'll be paying user #4.

~~~
joelg87
You just made my day. Thank-you!

~~~
swombat
Neat indeed. Great, slick design, and clearly useful. I'm about to write the
same functionality into my swombat.com codebase, so I can really see the use
for it. Tweeted about it:
<http://twitter.com/swombat/status/22747385750888449>

~~~
joelg87
Thanks! I agree it's actually not too difficult to write, although there are a
few complications when making it a service for many (timezones was the main
one).

I built it to scratch my own itch and also to put into practice all my
learning of lean startup ideas, development and user experience. It was a real
challenge to hold back and launch with a minimal yet complete (in the sense of
being useful) feature-set. Now I'm trying to scale it up, I would love to ease
off the amount of time I need to spend on contract work given time.

Really appreciate the support.

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bromley
I was surprised at how the idea of a lifestyle business seemed so new and
unusual to Andrew Mixergy. As someone with a business that's focused much more
on lifestyle and positive world impact than money, I've always been confused
by how others often don't seem to understand that making as much money as
possible just isn't a priority for me.

This interview was an eye-opener for me because of Andrew's reaction rather
than because of the interviewee's business philosophy. If it's strange and
alien to Andrew Mixergy, no wonder it's strange and alien to plenty of other
folks as well.

~~~
jtbigwoo
Yeah, it's funny that the idea of a lifestyle business is alien to Andrew. He
probably interacts with hundreds of lifestyle businesses. Nobody opens a
Subway or a Radio Shack with the idea that they'll sell it for $100 billion.
They just want to make enough money to live comfortably.

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sabj
I think this is an important point to raise, and it brings us back to the
matter of how important it is to "define your objective." Is your objective to
be your own boss? To pursue a dream? To try to make it rich? Etc...

While the "jackpot" target is small and elusive, I think a more _reasonable_
but still far-fetched goal is to search for a place where you are 'impactful.'
You may not be rewarded in some strictly remunerative way, but if you are
passionate about changing something and can make it happen - better CRM tools,
better ad exchange software, better reverse osmosis technology, whatever it
may be - then that is something great, completely aside from whether $$$
follows.

Lifestyle stuff is great too, but for myself - as someone very young but
idealistic and ambitious - what moves me most is the possibility of making a
difference in the world. Businesses - and one where you define the rules and
set the agenda - are one way to do that.

~~~
lwat
In reality everyone starts off with a 'change the world' goal, but at some
point in your life you'll probably change your goals and focus on your family
or whatever.

A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something
to aim at. \-- Bruce Lee

~~~
richcollins
No reason that you can't change the word after you solve the money problem.

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MichaelApproved
This reminds me of Andrews and my first business plan. The 3 year chart was
slow and steady. There were no hocky stick spikes or grand exit plans. We were
simply building a profitable business and were proud to be our own boss.

Having it turn into the success that it became was a mix of drive,
determination, planning and luck.

