

Ask HN: When is the time to walk away from a startup? - drivingmenuts

I've spent the last six months or so working for a startup with little to no funding. I'm getting paid (not much) and it was fun for a while, but financial worries are eating me up (I make just enough to last 30 days and then I need that next check).<p>From a technical standpoint, it's a nightmare - this development model isn't Agile or Waterfall, it's all apparently a whim and guesswork and it's making me insane.<p>I'm not sure I'll be mentally stable if I stay, but then again, I'd be walking away from six months of work with nothing to show for it thanks to the NDA.<p>Thoughts?
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solost
I think in your situation the answer is to start looking for your next
opportunity now. It may take you a while to find that next gig and during that
time you will have a little longer to evaluate / make changes to your current
opportunity.

It sounds to me like you have also learned something; a lean mean start up
where you have to live paycheck to paycheck is not the best type of
environment for you to operate in. If finances stress you out then I am sure
they are negatively impacting your work and personal life. I strongly suggest
when looking for that next gig make sure you get a position where the wages
will be enough that you don't have them as a source of continual concern.

Tons of startups fail for any number of reasons, walking away from 6 months
work shouldn't overly bother you unless you believe strongly that the startup
is close to turning the corner. Define turning the corner in whatever sense
you need to - creating a great product, getting funded, becoming ROI positive
without funding, etc.

Finally remember sometimes you will do more good by leaving than you ever
could have by staying. If the technical process is making you insane, it might
be best for you to go and for them to get someone else in who might be able to
unmuddle the situation. Either way there is no shame in leaving, just be sure
not to purposely burn any bridges when you do.

Best of luck with your decision.

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hga
" _but then again, I'd be walking away from six months of work_ "

This is known as the Fallacy of Sunk Costs
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs>). While it's very hard to view such
a situation dispassionately (I know from experience), you should at the very
least ask yourself the classic question: Forget about the past. What will
future investment (continuing to work for this train wreck) bring me?

Insanity and madness, from what sounds like true capriciousness, do not
recommend themselves.

" _nothing to show for it thanks to the NDA_ "

Perhaps you can, as a condition of your giving them two weeks notice,
negotiate for the release of a few code samples that don't reveal anything
secret or terribly useful about the company? Building up a portfolio of these
sorts of things is a good idea, I have one that's about 1/2 thick showing
everything from code, design, documentation of both and for users, etc.

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variety
You probably should have left a long time ago, from the sound of what you're
saying.

Main thing to keep in mind (and that people too often forget in situations
like these) is that you don't _owe_ it to them to stay in this job. If
something in your gut is telling you that what you're doing isn't just isn't
right, "it's insane", killing you financially... then it probably is.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's _much_ better to quit and have
nothing to show for 6 months of work, than... to get fired / laid off and have
nothing to show for 6 months of work (and/or possibly not getting paid for the
last several weeks of this.) Get my drift?

So it's up to you to "do the right thing" here. You'll wait until finding
another job before giving notice of course. But the main thing is to do what's
right for you, and on your timetable, not theirs.

See also:

    
    
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

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ChuckMcM
What is your time worth? Generally startups seem to have a fairly common
lifecycle (at least in the embryonic stages). Vision -> work to
prototype/proof of concept -> { Seed | Exit }. If it is not self-funded the
founders should have talked to at least Angel investors, they should have a
list of questions that investors have been asking them prior to deciding to
invest, and they should have a plan for answering those questions. If they
don't, then they may have lost their way. If they are lost then staying is a
waste of your time.

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drivingmenuts
Thanks for the advice. I've started the process of hunting for something else.
I'm not going to burn all my bridges at once, but I definitely want out quick.

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drivingmenuts
Further note: I'm a coding grunt and I like it that way.

