

Things I've learned from running a business (ie: Don't do what I did) - mrkurt
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/599009962631/m/548003192931

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mrkurt
For some back story:

I wrote the publishing system that powers Ars Technica, with the intention of
selling it to other sites. Ars sold to Conde Nast and threw my life into a
turmoil. The resulting self evaluation led to this post, and I thought some of
you crazy h4x0rs might find it interesting.

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cpr
So you're not part of Ars itself but a consultant to them?

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mrkurt
Yep.

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thomasswift
> That’s such an unrealistic timeline for a bootstrapped company it’s not even
> funny.

thanks for this section

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jpeterson
Great post. Content like this is why I love news.yc.

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coglethorpe
I've made the mistake of taking on work that competes with the startup. It has
hurt. People have segued from the "day job" to the dream job but it's likely
much easier to do it all at once. PG understands that and funds startups to do
nothing but work for at least 3 months.

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edw519
This post has so much wisdom in it, I don't know where to start. So instead,
I'll just cite one thing:

 _So I’m now left with a good number of people who’d give me money if I had
something… and I don’t!_

Bingo! He hits the nail right on the head. There is a certain "binaryness" to
a software business (MBAs and vaporware aside). Either you have it or you
don't. Period.

Beware spending time on anything besides hacking. Sure, there are a lot of
other things to do, but in the long run, all the prospects in the world mean
little without a product.

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jamongkad
Amen! To put it succinctly Enough language wars and bullshit like that. Go out
there and build something.

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misterbwong
Unfortunately, it looks like the ars forums are down. Anybody happen to have a
copy? These comments have piqued my curiosity.

~~~
mixmax
It's back up - or maybe it's just your part of the Internet that's having
trouble.

use <http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/> if you want to check whether it's a
local problem.

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staunch
I have to remember to never to work on any project with "Ars" in the name. It
seems they'll always end in tears.

