

Ask HN: What stops you from starting today? - vgurgov

Why wait? I'd like to hear what exactly delays YOU from starting your dream company TODAY? Right now I am launching my third company and that makes me very excited! So why wait? I'd like to hear your excuses!
======
chime
I hate you for asking me this because it is such an emotional issue for me.
I've been asking myself the same question for over a year now. The answer has
almost always been savings. I have a wife/house/car/loans and need at least
$3000/month. The good thing is that I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
July 2009, I thought I'd start in Feb 2010. Feb 2010, I thought I'd start in
July 2010. Right now I'm aiming for next month. I know it's a moving target
but it is getting really really close. If magic-pixie-unicorn-fairy gave me
$6k no-strings-attached, I'd do it today. Otherwise I think by mid-Sep, I'll
be in a good position to dive right in. Counting days at this point...

~~~
vgurgov
Start part-time. Figure out how to reduce time you waste on your full-time
job. Get some angel money - you will need some prototype for that though.
Reduce your monthly spending and pay off loans first. Join early stage startup
that is willing to pay some salary since the beginning. Just some obvious
advices on top of my head.

OR

Maybe startup isnt for you? Thats just fine, its not for everyone and millions
enjoy happy lives and families being employed. Once you admit this it may
become less emotional for you and you might actually feel much better
mentally!

I think its kind of problem for many readers here: HN pushes that mantra that
every hacker have to start something himself.

~~~
brlewis
You count part-time as having started one's dream company?

~~~
generalk
You don't? If that's the only way to get off the ground, then yeah, that might
just be the start of your dream company. Better part-time than never.

~~~
brlewis
I've started part-time and wanted to know if this Ask HN was directed toward
people like me.

------
raju
I guess I have a few issues -

1\. Immigration - I am an immigrant which makes launching your own company
hard. I have a few years before my permanent residency comes through

2\. Point #1 can be very demotivating. I have some ideas, and I keep playing
with projects [Nothing worth releasing, or even having much potential, mind
you] but not knowing if and when I can actually do something about it proves
very unsettling, and ambiguous

3\. My work permit requires a full-time job. This can be very consuming as
many other HN'ers know. Does not help with the motivational aspect of it

Despite all this, I have hopes. HN provides valuable insights, and stories
like yours provide encouragement. Perhaps it will remain a dream, for I am
already 32 and I don't know where I will be a few years from now.

Here's to hope! :)

[Congrats on your 3rd launch]

~~~
keeptrying
Its still possible man. I was in your place. I focussed on the problems
instead of finding solutions for them. It is possible. If you email me then I
can find the articles about people in your position who started companies.

Its difficult but its better than sitting gloomily that you cant do anything
(like I did for a while).

Also theres so much to learn before you start your own venture - networks to
be a part of, understanding VC/Angels, knowing as much as you can technically.
Understanding business ,talking to customers, getting feedback.

Theres so much you could be doing. Stop focussing on what you cant do!

~~~
raju
I just sent you an email (using hackernewsers email facility). My email is in
my HN profile, and I am also on hackernewsers. Thanks!

------
njharman
I suffer depression. Mostly it's not that bad but it does mean that I never
sustain the passion/effort required for a startup (or even modest personal
projects).

hmmmm, I think everything else is either fall out from the depression or an
excuse to avoid facing fear. Fear of personal failure, fear that I'm not
elite, fear that I don't "have what it takes", etc.

I'm also "old", 40yr, and I hate to say it but I feel less energized, less
excited about the world than I remember feeling when I was younger. Change the
world? Make "it big"/millions? Be famous? Meh, it's time for my nap.

~~~
vgurgov
Ok let me say this again. Its 100% fine not to be a founder and work for
somebody. It is NOT a shame! You can leave full and happy life without it!
Many do that!

It might be that you read way too much HN - This resource pushes towards
starting company. Its not the only way to go for hacker! Relax and enjoy your
life!

PS I was super surprised to see that so many replied about being stressed
about not starting a company today. I am sorry about that, did mean to push
anyone when asked this question. I think that you can only start company being
in a good and optimistic mood! Stress/scare is a first warning sign!

~~~
rphlx
Sorry, but you will probably never have true security, or become truly
wealthy, working for someone else.

If some deep part of you wants to try starting a company, it's not healthy to
suppress that, and if you do, my guess is you'll eventually regret it.

~~~
vgurgov
Not true.

You MUCH more likely loose all you money when start a company in such
situation.

Programmers(especially good) are well payed($100k-$300k) (not dentists, but
still:) ) and secure jobs. You can enjoy happy life with you family and be 9-6
employee. Besides you can join the RIGHT startup at the right time and get
something like 10% less salary and options that might make you quite rich. The
trick is in picking the right company at right time.

~~~
rphlx
Nope, sorry. The US tech IPO market has been dead for 6+ years.

------
wcarss
I have my finger in at least three project pies at once, and can't choose
which would be right to follow.

Then, school starts in 3 weeks. I have no money, and many expenses. There's so
much that I feel I need to learn before I can do anything useful - I've never
made anything big from scratch, and am only now reading about good program
design. I should 'work on open source' first, or put in appreciable time at a
large company first. I should pay off my growing student debt first. It feels
like I only become motivated to do real work when I'm about to be pulled away
from my computer.

Excuses spring to mind so quickly. I don't think I should be starting a
company right now; I think I should finish this last year of school and then
work until I pay off my debt while learning practically, then move to a
startup hotbed and join a small group, and then I should be involved in
starting a company.

Unless, of course, the 'right idea' strikes at the 'right time', and I find
myself working with a tireless passion all of a sudden.

~~~
vgurgov
It sounds that now is really not the time to start a company for you. Which is
REALLY cool for you! Enjoy your life, school, your best years. Starting a
company is hard and exhausting, and its never to late to do it.

I guess if you read HN you somehow feel guilty for now starting your startup
:) Really shouldnt be the case in you situation. Enjoy school, get gob in big
company (like Google, Apple), pay off debt quickly, then get job in startup,
keep working within open source community, get some real world experiences.
Maybe try yourself in sales or something not related to coding(was great
experience for me). You will feel the moment once you have something that you
really want to start for yourself. Good luck!

------
TheLastPsych
For those of you who know me, this is an issue close to my heart. I'll be
brief.

By far, the single thing most budding "entrepreneurs" lack is encouragement.
It is unfortunately that simple.

Most people will tell you it's networking, or having capital, or a business
plan, or even luck. All of those things are Step 2. Step 1 is starting, it is
the point most people don't get past.

Novels 3/4 done; "great idea for a movie" that never makes it to script;
business idea that never makes it past the cocktail napkin.

And all of that, in my experience, is not fear of failure but fear of the
unknown. It is identical to the "cold approach" in dating. You're not afraid
she'll mace you, you're afraid she'll ask you to sit with her and then you
won't have anything to sustain the conversation.

"Will the world discover I'm a fraud?"

There is so much self-doubt and a lack of self-confidence. There are a myriad
of reasons, summarized under the umbrella "we were taught to pursue security,
not happiness."

No amount of startup capital can fix this problem. You will make poor
decisions, you will stop short, you will be tentative, you will be nervous
with the money. The problem is you, not the system.

As time and generations pass, we don't learn to deal with failure, we are
taught to avoid failure. Instead of sending the kids outside to play and
teaching them how to be safe around sticks/bullies/heights, it's easier to
leave them in the playroom.

The solution, therefore, is to fail. A lot. And as fast as possible, as young
as possible. If you're <25 go hit on ten women a night, cold, and get shot
down. Feel what it's like. It's not _so_ bad, is it? Better than wondering.

Forget about finishing your novel. Put up the first five chapters on a blog.
Force yourself to read the comments.

Think you're a filmmaker? Put up ten photos-- still pics-- on Flickr. And
invite the hate. See if you really have an eye for this. If you don't, now you
are free to try something else.

Etc.

At best, they may love you and there's your encouragement. Or maybe someone
sees your work and a collaboration is born.

At worst, they hate you, and you realize you're still ok, you didn't run
uptown for heroin.

Either way, the failure will hold your hand and walk you to success.

------
hopeless
If by "start" you mean "quit your job and start full-time" then I won't
because I have an unemployed spouse and 2 young children (and my current
salary doesn't facilitate any savings).

Of course, nothing stops me from working it once the kids go to bed but it's
frustrating, tiring and is taking a very very long time... and then lack of
motivation and/or distractions are big problem.

~~~
vgurgov
It might be that startup is not for you. I'd suggest to stop reading HN(as it
can be very dangerous for you mental happines-constant glory tales to
founders) and find a way to increase your salary on f-t position. I dont know
what are you doing but i think you can set goal of making 2-3x of you current
salary. There are better resources to read to archive that goal

DISC: Above is just my imho, listen with caution, i dont know your story well
enough to advice.

~~~
hopeless
Well, I've been reading HN since before it was called Hacker News and I don't
think I'll stop any time soon. It's not HN news which it making me want to
start my own business but a desire to work on meaningful projects which fulfil
my need to turn my imagination into reality... and ultimately provide a stable
financial circumstances for my family.

~~~
vgurgov
My imho(i am not such a long time HN reader): HN is all about startups and its
pushing you to start your company. Period. Its not really a core recourse for
programmers/hackers and there is a very small %% of tech material here. Why?
Just remove news. and /* from this page URL to find out )))

In other words: NH will not help you to become better programmer/hacker. Just
look at <http://news.ycombinator.com/> at this moment and see that there are
only few tech links there - rest is about "why facebook is better than google"
bs.

My point is: If you ultimate goal stable financial situation for your family
you can less risky archive it by becoming better programmer.

On meaningful projects: is working on google/apple/any company you like
meaningful enough for you?

All above is just my imho of course..

------
sciolistse
I live in a kind of dead area, and haven't met people that I respect enough to
want to do something with, who wants to do something, and who feel able to
committing to do something.. I also don't care much for doing something
completely alone, because I don't feel that I learn nearly as much when I'm
solo as when I can have people questioning my work.

I'm working on trying to get a hold of work in the US so that I can start the
journey back to permanent residency (moved away and am 'back to square zero,')
hopefully that can net me some fun people to work with.. But you know, years
off, even if I manage to get a hold of a job. I've had a fair amount of
smaller companies who have been interested, but not capable of bringing me
over, and my (rather few) attempts at getting into larger companies have been
stopped thus far by my lousy résumé writing skills.. Have a couple in the
works that I still have hope for, but we'll see.

So now I got that off my chest, congratulations on your launch btw! :)

------
mcgraw
An immense amount of destractions are stopping me from really breaking down
the doors. I've been doing independent game development for the past couple of
years, but I haven't really been able to focus as much as I need to despite
releasing two products.

I moved out to the bay with $1k just a 1.5yr ago to find a job after college.
I thought it was going to be awesome. Found a job at a great company, got to
meet some really great people, learned a lot, but come to find out my wife is
not coping well with the new location which is really consuming time and
energy. I spent the early part of this year trying to figure this puzzle out,
but ultimately it is what it is.

So at this moment, I need to break away from the destractions. Moving back
home in late December to the midwest where I can live on a fraction of what it
costs out here. I'll have a happy wife that will have the ability to buy a
house for 80k and will be with her family/friends. I plan to do consulting
(which I'm already starting to build relationships for) to earn money to live
/ bootstrap with, and I'll start working on a business away from the gamedev
train.

If building something in the midwest that ultimately brings me back to silicon
valley, oo-rah. But, in the end, a location isn't going to define me.

------
pontifier
I am waiting because I need a critical mass of content before I start up. I
have one digitisation station, but work it myself. I can produce from 4-10
items per hour if I work hard, and estimate I need about 10,000 items done
before I launch. There is also the issue of supply. I need items to process,
and right now only have about 300. These items cost between $1 and $20 each.

I see how much I have left to do, think about how long it will take, and then
start thinking about how to speed up the process... automate it.

I start to think about whether or not I am actually getting what I need so I
don't get through 3,000 units and need to change something and have wasted the
work. I think about how to scale the system to use multiple workstations, and
multiple central servers because I can't store 10,000 units on the one server
I have.

I'm working on a shoestring budget, and have creditors calling me every day. I
borrowed $40,000 a few years ago hoping that that would help me get going in
anticipation of another $100,000 I was going to get, but that fell through and
I was able to use less than half of what I borrowed before the rest was needed
to save my mother's business.

So, that's what's delay'n me.

------
Sindrome
I have a hard time thinking about taking the plunge without any marginal
success doing things part-time. I pretty much hate my job now, but I need to
pay the rent which is kind of expensive since I live alone and the lease
doesn’t expire for 7 more months. Right now I'm trying to work on building
alternative sources of income that could help sustain me partially when I quit
my job. This includes Ad revenues, flipping simple websites, and iPhone apps.
Meanwhile I am trying to build on some ideas I have for SAAS businesses. I'm
going to pick the best one and implement it quickly and cheaply then see how
much traction it gets. If I saw at least some interest from consumers/clients
in a product/service that I built part-time I would quit my job pretty quick.

------
bmelton
Turns out? Nothing. I halfway participated in a hackathon recently, and since
then, I've found myself... motivated.

Usually when the urge strikes, my day job starts taking up too much time, or
life happens, or I realize my idea is stupid. This time, however, I'm just
going to go for it. I don't care that the product I'm building is in a VERY
crowded space. I don't care that there's no 'killer feature' to draw the
crowds in. I don't care that it really isn't that marketable. It's a product,
and I'm building it -- and while I don't expect it to set the world on fire,
I've stutter-started enough times in my life that I feel like just finishing
something and releasing it will be a huge step in the right direction, so
that's what I'm doing.

You won't read about this product on TechCrunch, and you won't see it lauded
as the next great thing, but you will be able to register for it and use it,
and ideally, within a month and a half to two months. And you can bad-mouth it
all you like, I'll have done... something.

~~~
whoreallycares
This is fantastic. The reality is you have no idea how good the idea really is
until you have finished anyway. So what the hell, may as well give it a shot.
My only advice is make the produce a slightly better version of everything
else out there. Good luck.

~~~
bmelton
It's debatable as to whether or not I'll be able to honestly, there are some
good (and a LOT of bad) products in the space. Effectively, it's issue
tracking, and while I have some ideas that scratch my own itch which HOPEFULLY
will appeal to others, my goal is to make something that services the small-
to-medium sized business moreso than the enterprise apps currently do, and
with more refinement than the open source apps do.

That said, I don't honestly know how much better mine will be than something
like osTicket, except to say that the workflow will be dramatically different.

Thanks for the well-wishing. I'm sure I'll make an equally tentative post when
I release.

------
Gibbon
I actually did start and was able to quit my job about a month ago.. and a
week later I was in a drowning accident and ended up in the hospital with heat
stroke, dehydration and acute kidney failure.

Now I'm in limbo trying to recover as quickly as possible. I still have lower
back pain near my kidneys which makes it hard to sit in a chair.

It's not that bad actually, I'm just finding it really hard to get the
motivation to work consistently.

~~~
BrandonM
Maybe try setting up a standing desk?

------
mattmiller
I am starting today. Last 4 months creating, manipulating, and validating an
idea until we get enough people to say they would buy it. Another month
getting partnerships we need with other companies. The last two weeks up until
2am every morning putting together an MVP for beta users.

And the first user with a problem 3 hours ago.

------
rradu
I have to graduate college--I've committed myself fully to school. In the
meantime, I try to learn as much as I can from personal projects, internships
and interactions with those in the startup community.

I'll feel ready to do something big (and have enough knowledge to possibly
succeed) in a couple of years.

------
luckytaxi
I've been coding this one project since 2006, on and off that is. Since then,
I've switched jobs 3 times and finally landed with a company that's stable and
the hours are great. My only excuse now? I need motivation. As someone
mentioned earlier, my product competes with a handful of other much larger and
popular sites. You know what though? I can't let that stop me. If I can make
my version better, then who's to say I can't grab some of their market share?

Bottom line, my motivation right now is I have to do something, NOW. I'm 30
and I would like to start a family soon, going to get marry next year. I don't
want to be in a position where I kick myself in the butt 5 yrs from now - "Why
didn't I do this 5 yrs ago when I had time?" Even if I were to fail, at least
I can say "I tried."

------
dagw
TODAY I'm meeting a friend I haven't seen for a quite a while at the pub after
work, and it would rude to cancel on such short notice. After that I probably
should be getting to bed since I have to work tomorrow.

~~~
vgurgov
Is that a funny way of saying that you dont want to start a startup or that
counts a real excuse for you?

~~~
horacegrant
I believe he's implying that his priorities are close at hand.

------
pvg
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdVHjDA-Nhk#t=4m15>

Good energy, but you'll want to work on control, mister.

~~~
tricky
his comments, too. manic much?

------
piers
Simple. Not come up with the right idea yet. Whenever I do come up with
something, I either find that someone has done something too similar, or I
talk myself out of it.

~~~
vgurgov
Umm, So if someone has done something similar before - there is no reason to
start?? Then I think pg can safely shut ALL YC companies and call it a day :)
And call google and and ask them to shut down the company as yahoo was founded
earlier. )))))

~~~
piers
Very true.

------
horacegrant
Every time I've entertained the idea of joining a startup, it's always an "all
we need is a developer" situation, or its cousin, the "we had a great
developer (who invariably stunk) who'll get you up to speed."

So it seems I'd have to go it alone, and my ideas are too big for my time. If
I had some simpler ideas I'd definitely see if they held water, however. I
definitely have the application, server, and DB skills to make it happen.

------
cmos
I did a startup in my 20's that was an intense experience. Now I have a sweet
job at an amazingly run video game company where I don't care about making
payroll, hitting sales goals, the joy of having employees, managing cash flow
and inventory.

I have a few hobbies that might turn into something someday, but I think I
need a bit more recovery time, and I think I'd rather share the hobbies with
the world than sell them.

------
donaq
Dependants and student debt.

~~~
nkassis
Was going to say the same thing. Gotta keep a steady income to manage student
debt. My wife is also working on a masters.

I'm still working on it at night, got a new idea this past month and working
making it happen at home after work. Also got the company setup but other than
that, I can't quit working the day job.

~~~
donaq
I am in almost the same situation, but I'm partially supporting parents
instead of a wife. Good luck to us both. :)

------
nimblegorilla
My biggest excuse right now is a well paying contract that sucks away my
energy. Every day I struggle with staying on the project or just leaving and
doing my own things.

I've been working on a small iphone app side project. If it gets a little
traction in the app store I will feel much better about doing my own stuff!

~~~
vgurgov
If you really want that, why not start part-time? Can you for example
negotiate workin on contract 4 days/week and keep one day for you thing?

The greatest thing about this schedule is that even when you are not working
on it you keep thinking about what to do next. It turns out that when you
actually start coding you are supper productive as all you next steps already
thought through and prioritized, you just new to type/debug them! :)

------
vegasbrianc
Nothing is stopping me. Just working on it every minute in my spare time while
still working full time.

------
redrory
Well since I'm the only person( so I'm doing all the coding myself). I'm
learning Objective-C, going trough tutorials etc. Not really an excuse, I
think I have passed the excuse stage in my startup life.

So basically, I'm one step away from building the app.

------
ez77
I don't know enough. In particular, I don't know where to start, even for a
simple project. A lot of what Paul Halmos called _pencil sharpening_.

I'd love to see an hours-long screencast of how you guys kick off a project.

~~~
keeptrying
If no one will give you a project then give yourself one. Help someone - your
mom, dad, brother, friend. Anyone. Make something that makes their lives
easier. Thats really what all businesses do in the end. Make life a little
easier for as many people as their product will allow.

------
cmelbye
Technical issues. I've been struggling with OpenSSL problems for weeks, but I
haven't been working on it very much. I've finally decided to buckle down and
use Python instead of Ruby due to its better OpenSSL libraries.

------
joshu
Just need a good corporation and domain name. Been spinning my wheels for
weeks on this.

~~~
bmelton
Having over-focussed on so many details in the past, let me offer some simple
advice -- move past it.

Start working on the product. The product that I'm building right now was
named "something maybe" for weeks until the right name struck (that had an
available domain name).

Historically, I've moved forward in leaps and bounds until either a problem
presented itself or I'd get bogged down in something so trivial as a product
name. Really, it doesn't matter.

In retrospect (and I have no idea whether or not this applies to you), I was
stalling because I didn't know what to do after that. If you're stuck on a
company name, simply substitute "working title" until you get moving, and the
name will come.

~~~
joshu
Yeah, I'm not worried too much about the product name, but I do need to do the
company named and incorporated (this is actually holding up funding at this
point.)

My last company had (IMO) a great name, so I'm struggling to measure up.

~~~
ynniv
Is the company name as important as the product or domain name? The company
name mostly appears on legal documents, and you can add a DBA once you find a
domain name. Unless investors are waiting for a flashy name, you could file
for a random company name right away.

Domain names are becoming a serious problem. I spent a couple of months coming
up with names before finding something remotely passable. Even now I am not
happy with what I have, but the dismal return on effort prevents me from
wasting anymore time on it, at least until I have a growing customer base.

------
jwdunne
Salford in Greater Manchester (UK) is the antithesis of startup hub :(

~~~
philbarr
You're kidding right? Manchester's heaving with activity. Just look at CWJobs
(ok, I know that's different to startups, but it shows dev activity in the
area). Also, I live 40 miles north of you in Preston, and there's very little
here. Doesn't stop me dreaming of my own startup one day.

That said, my excuse is: Before I got into software dev I tried to get into
the music business. Unfortunately, that's much more about salesmanship than it
is about music - you have to convince bar owners and club owners to put you
on, you have to advertise your gig, you have to try and make a profit and pay
your band, rent a van, etc. etc. It put me off being a musician (that and
arrogant singers/drummers :) ). I don't want to be put off being a software
dev too. I need some way of working past my disdain for that side of things.
Then I'll be fit to start my own business.

~~~
jwdunne
I know there's a lot of software/web development firms in and around
Manchester but I've never actually found or heard of anything like the
atmosphere that they have in Silicon Valley.

Although, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping I'll find some
friends at Manchester Uni when I get round to going.

------
pathik
Just haven't found that killer idea yet.

~~~
vgurgov
Why not join somebody who found it already recently? Steal someone's killer
idea? Start with good-enough idea?

------
lionhearted
I'm doing it. I wrote an ultra rough spec one month ago, tried selling before
building, found that only 1 person out of 20 or so that I thought it would be
relevant was interested, am refining again. It's been about a month, we should
launch in a week or so. This probably won't be a huge company, just looking to
make around $75/active hour for 20 hours per week for the next year or so
whilst longer range projects grow slowly.

~~~
vgurgov
Congtrats! Way to go! You never know if its going to be huge or not btw ;)
Good luck with that!

------
symptic
Nothing.

------
noverloop
I'm in the middle of an examination period. I do have a product that still
needs a few weeks of work until it's launchable but the project is on hold
atm.

------
c00p3r
Nationality, lack of respectable degree, being from one-parent family, a lot
of stupid mistakes in the past, age. ^_^

