

Ask YC: Startup regrets? - bdotdub

This question may be out of place here, but ...<p>You always hear that startup founders never thought about quitting and have no regrets about what they've done, even if the startup fails. I'm curious to hear from people who HAVE regrets about starting a startup or feel like they would have been better off not doing it. It's hard to imagine NO one having regrets about taking  such a high risk.<p>Anyone hear of any stories like this?
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noodle
i have my own personal regrets about a start up i cofounded.

the idea was great, but we were bootstrapping ourselves in addition to working
a full-time job. the other founder was flaky, but they were the business end
of it and i didn't need frequent input to do the tech work. the flakiness
eventually lead to lengthy delays and two years later, we were beaten to the
market by a very similar product that is making plenty of money now.

my regret isn't about the high risk or financial loss, its about the
substantial time lost on a project that is now, essentially, not even worth
putting on a resume. in retrospect, i could've done so much more with that
time if i'd have followed some of my other ideas instead.

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tstegart
I think the regrets come later, when people realize the time they have missed
with other things, like friends or family.

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ndr0id
the regrets are slowly building a voice inside me. usually along the lines of
get out, have fun, get married now, start a family while you're still young,
etc. but i'm addicted to working hard and succeeding, hence i keep going.

don't get "caught in the middle" - you either go for it or you don't. commit
to one path and make it happen.

~~~
xiaoma
It's like doing a back flip -- go half way and you get hurt.

