
Ask HN: My startup hasn't raised any funding in 3 years, is it normal? - longnguyen
Disclaimer: I&#x27;m an early employee there, not founder. The product didn&#x27;t gain much tractions and we&#x27;re underpaid to help the startup survive. Should I quit and pursue other opportunities?
======
jacquesm
3 years is a long time to be in the 'valley of despair', if there is still no
traction that is most likely the reason why there is no funding either.
Growing costs money so in a growth phase investors are usually ok with
expenses being substantially larger than income (that's why you need investors
in the first place) but once a business has lost momentum or has shown that it
can't achieve momentum they will not put their money in.

Maybe your founders simply never sought investment to begin with, but being
underpaid for 3 years tells me it may be time to cut your losses and to start
looking at this in terms of opportunity cost.

------
ratfacemcgee
imagine you have a boat, and this boat has a really nice statue on it. It's
beautiful, omg. one of a kind. and its worth a bunch of money, too. Like,
500k.

But oh no! the boat sunk! the statue is well protected, but its at the bottom
of the ocean! You can see the statue, glimmering at the bottom of the ocean,
but you can't reach it.

So you do what anyone would do, you try to retrieve it. You think to yourself
"this statue is beautiful, and its worth so much money! If only i spend less
than the statue is worth, then I've made money!"

You send little robots and divers and all manner of things to try and retrieve
the statue. Months turn into years, but you try to get this statue. You can
see it, its right there just out of reach!

And suddenly, you've spent OVER 500k to try and get this statue back. You've
lost money trying to retrieve it. And its still there, at the bottom of the
ocean. Glimmering and shiny, taunting you.

Basically, this is the position you're in. You've essentially been donating
your potential earnings towards trying to retrieve this statue. It might be
time to give up on the statue, and go find some other shiny thing.

------
ironmantra
Why are you even asking this question? Based on the information provided the
answer is obvious. Is there something you didn't mention that is the reason
you haven't left already? Do you have a few enthusiastic customers? Do you
believe in the company's products or services? Do you use them yourself? Have
you spoken with customers that love your company's products? Are you building
valuable (i.e. specialized) skills or knowledge that will be highly marketable
and want to keep ramping up before jumping ship? I could go on but the dark
chocolate I just ate is wearing off...

------
Eridrus
It's not normal; 18-24 months is typical between rounds.

If you are gaining significant non-monetary benefits (eg learning a lot from
much smarter people, really interesting problems), there might be a reason to
stay, but if you are being underpaid and there is no reason to expect it to
change, I would get the hell out.

------
notahacker
Sounds like the product's best hope is that it doesn't rely on any VC funding
to be a success. There must be some revenue coming in if you're still going
after 3 years. As for whether it's going to start paying you what you're worth
soon, I guess that depends whether lack of traction after 3 years is because
it's taken a long time to get the product ready and marketed with a small
unfunded team, or simply because the product market fit isn't really there or
the market just isn't that big

------
CyberFonic
By all accounts VCs are becoming more selective. So if your startup couldn't
get funded in the past, then with greater selectivity the chances are not
looking any better.

Unless you can expect something to change fast, you might be better off
looking for new opportunities.

------
itsaunixsystem
OP just what is your position? are you an engineer? a designer? is this your
first job or you have some previous experience?

I would say leave if you can get a better job elsewhere

------
Huhty
It depends on several factors. Without more info, it's hard to answer this
question.

