

Why being broke is the best startup strategy - nickler
http://4mojo.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/the-hunger-games/

======
goblin89
Great write-up, thanks! Although I disagree on one point:

> _“you’ll never make it as an artist, because you don’t have to make it as an
> artist”. Basically, feed yourself with your craft, and you’ll soon learn
> whether you’ve got the stones for it._

If you only do art and live off it, you then need to sell it. Which means you
need to adapt to your customers' taste, if you want to eat. This all makes you
more of a businessman than an artist.

(Update: slightly off-topic: I think this also probably is the root of today's
copyright controversy. If you don't make money from your art, you don't need
to go to great lengths just to make sure no one steals it.)

Related, a quote from Francis Ford Coppola on the matter of art and money:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3491678>.

~~~
carbocation
> If you only do art and live off it, you then need to sell it. Which means
> you need to adapt to your customers' taste, if you want to eat.

Not that I wholly disagree, but Gustav Klimt's Hygeia is a pretty nice
counterexample to this notion:
<http://klimtpaintings.blogspot.com/2010/09/hygeia.html>

~~~
zitterbewegung
How is it? It seems like it agreed with the taste of his customers.

~~~
Retric
The assumption that the artist needs to change his taste to meet the demands
of his audience breaks down when he likes the same things as his audience.
It's still 'authentic' he did not 'sell out' etc etc.

~~~
jasonlotito
You're arguing about wording. The premise is that the artist cannot create
what he wants; rather, he must create what his audience wants. If what he
wants happens to be what his audience wants, it's a happy coincidence. In
truth, one could argue that the artists tastes were changed before, molded and
adapted to where it is today. The artists with a larger audience merely
adopted earlier.

~~~
Retric
But, you don't need to sell to everyone. Just find a group of people willing
to support whatever your tastes dictate you create. When your interests don't
seem to mesh you can always create a pen name to sell keep differentiated fan
groups separate.

~~~
goblin89
As for me, I'm all for it, especially since today's technology makes this
possible!

However, I'm still against the extreme measures mentioned by OP, like dropping
any other income and feeding yourself with your work. In such situation it
becomes hard to distinguish whether you really just found your target
audience, or you needed to subconsciously alter your taste to suit their taste
because you were running out of money.

Apart from that, it's just that the prospect of living off the support of few
people—who are free stop paying any moment—seems a bit risky to me personally
(I know I'd abandon any authenticity and start making what people want in this
case).

------
jroseattle
I agree, but only with the it-depends disclaimer. The dependency: the person.

I personally agree with the sentiment as it applies to me. I'm the kind of
person who responds (at least, has historically responded) in a similar, no-
bullshit, hyper-focused mentality. But the back-against-the-wall, fight-or-
flight type of situation doesn't always yield a similar response in others.
I've seen others where the weight of the situation deviated from their ability
to focus.

The thing is, even when most of us in this industry (devs & engineers) are
faced with "no other options", that's really a creation of our own mind. Last
I checked, if you're competent, you still have options at your disposal (other
startup opportunities, consulting/contracting, etc.) While they may not be
your life's dream, they do keep you fed -- and often beyond meager means. When
one is in that situation, even the risk of going broke is lowered.

------
K2h
Website: <https://nickler.biz/>

I really relate with being all in. I like that term better than 'fully
committed' because to many mnba's use it and don't know it means actually
working, not sitting around and watching someone else work and because you can
see them working, then you too are somehow 'fully committed'. Sorry I digress.
Looks like I have some issues to sort out.

------
PaulHoule
Being broke focuses your mind, yes. And I can certainly say that if you hire a
20 person team to do what a 4 person team can do you may find your ability to
get work done increases by 10% but your ability to create bugs goes up 10
times.

On the other hand I can say that I hear from some startup every week that
wants my services and I have to qualify these "opportunities" very quickly
because most of these people can't pay a market rate for my services, and
often can't pay at all.

People in a situation like that generally aren't going to get good talent --
and in my speciality, I commonly succeed at projects where 75% or so of people
who (i) get paid and (ii) have some specialized training fail.

------
tdr
The actual reason: _you never want to get there again_ (i.e. being broke)

Now that's a real motivator in life! (especially if you've been "rich" before)

------
SatvikBeri
A state of feeling "unsafe" is an incredibly powerful motivator that can drown
out almost everything else. It can link work directly to your survival
instinct-"I have to move or my life is in danger."

While the fear of going broke can certainly instill the feeling of unsafety,
other factors can too. Near death experiences and losing a parent at a young
age are both examples that are frequently present in people with high levels
of success (moreso than in the average population)[1]. Even a run-down living
environment can help.

[1]: _The Talent Code_ , Daniel Coyle

------
chanon
"There isn’t any question of motivation, because the luxury of choice is
removed. There is no think, only do."

Love this. Been through it, and I agree that the focus leads to doing your
best work. It naturally makes you strive to _make sure of_ success .. not
leaving anything to 'chance' - because you can't afford to.

------
keeptrying
This is really true. If you have money stashed away then you need to lose
quite a bit for that fire to get lit undr your ass.

It's primarily got to do with getting comfortable in asking for money. And
also doing whatever it takes to get that money.

This is probably the most effective startup requirement there is.

------
nhangen
I disagree. Perhaps having been broke at one point is sufficient, but even
then, if you are an entrepreneur motivated by passion, then money has nothing
to do with it.

Maybe we're talking about two different types of entrepreneurs here, those who
are in it for the money and/or fame, or those who are in it because they can't
help themselves.

~~~
dean
I didn't get the sense he is in it for the money in and of itself. He's
talking about money in the sense of survival. You have to eat, and food isn't
free. When you have to succeed just to survive, your options become clear and
you have no choice but to act. It can't help but be motivating.

------
tehayj
I launched my first successful startup within a month after we went broke
failing with two previous startups. The need to get stuff going helps A LOT!

------
krakensden
I really like the Nickler website, by the way- it's good looking and memorably
different.

~~~
soup10
I disagree, it has a cool design but I think it's too cute/different for a b2b
invoicing product. To me it says "we are a trendy startup that might not be
around very long" rather than "we are a professional company you can trust to
handle an important part of your business".

~~~
nickler
Agreed, part of our rethink and rebuild process dealt with exactly this point.
Thank you!

~~~
pjin
At least for me, the pinwheel is accessible and gives the website a baseline
of "being fun."

~~~
amouat
My problem was the page appeared to randomly change whilst I was reading the
text.

Of course, what had happened was my mouse had crossed over the wheel, but it
took a second to figure that out.

Looks a like an interesting product. Good luck.

------
wtracy
This is this first time I've seen Ayoudo mentioned--looks like cool stuff!

~~~
jaggederest
Looks like SF bay only, more or less. Sad, seems like a neat idea.

~~~
newbie12
Check out <http://www.taskrabbit.com/> for more cities.

~~~
jaggederest
Oh, thanks for that, it looks awesome. I should show some of my friends that,
maybe they can get some work there.

