Ask: I have a built web apps and want to participate with Y combinator. but...

e1ven · on March 27, 2008

I'd reccomend passing on at least this round of Ycombinator.

Your family's welfare has to come first- Not only is there the loss of income to think about, but health insurance.

Instead, I'd suggest spending the next 6 months living below your means, and putting the money aside. You don't need much, but enough to comfortably live on for a few months, supporting your family.

Price out private health insurance- This is cheaper in regulated states such as Massachusetts, but your situation and location will vary.

After you have a few months salary put aside, then you'll be in a stronger position to take time away from a job to start a company.

SwellJoe · on March 27, 2008

e1ven is spot on. You can't screw around starting a business with indeterminate revenue potential if you have dependents. You need to have a years worth of frugal living expenses in the bank (including paying for health insurance out of pocket) before taking that kind of risk.

Work on your business part-time, or put in some extra hours at work to increase your rate of saving for the eventual day when you can quit. It is possible to build a business part-time. It's harder, the odds are stacked even higher against you, and you get a lot less done. But you get to keep your family fed and your health/retirement benefits in place and working for you.

pg covered this in his "Why not start a startup" talk. Every reason except "you have a family to support" he debunks. This is the one that can't be debunked, because starting a business is not guaranteed. It could take months or even years to start seeing revenue, if you ever see revenue. A few grand from YC only makes a few months difference, tops, in the "when do I run out of money" equation. If you aren't already quite confident you have the money in the bank to last until you can make your business pay or at least be sure it's not going to and you can feel good about going to work at a regular job, you aren't in a position to take that risk.

attack · on March 27, 2008

The biggest regret in life will be passing on the very few opportunities we are lucky enough to have. The advice of waiting 6 more months or just giving up because of what's outside of your control rubs me as something bordering on: You cannot do [dream] because you are just a [class|race].

And has anyone considered the cost of maintaining your ability once you've settled into the corporate world? Go for it while at the top of your game, if possible.

pchristensen · on March 27, 2008

Well, hungry kids and eviction notices are no picnic either. Ever see "The Pursuit of Happyness"?

The advice was still to work on a startup, but given the situation, to use a different strategy.

Pete · on March 27, 2008

Thank you very much for all your advices.

brlewis · on March 27, 2008

1. Get free YC advice here. Post a link to your built web app. You might get advice from smart hackers, YC-funded founders, and even YC principals.

2. Unless you have a good reason to incorporate now, just get a doing-business-as license (or Massachusetts Business Certificate, or whatever your state calls it). If you get into YC later, they'll want you to incorporate using their documents.

3. Track all your expenses. Startup expenses can help your taxes even years later, whenever you start getting revenue. (I just learned this last week.)

4. Tie your success to the success of existing YC companies. I've integrated with disqus, adpinion, snipshot and clickpass. You show them off; they show you off.

5. Talk about your project with your family. As far as possible, make it something that includes them rather than competing with them. I sat down with two of my kids and showed them how I write web pages. My 10-year-old wants to do the same thing when she gets older. Amusingly, the page I made sitting with them ended up in production, which is OK.

http://ourdoings.com/lemondrops.html

Pete · on March 27, 2008

good points. Thanks. I am actually from canada and i have insurance covered here. I can afford working up to 6 hours after work to work on the venture everyday. The only challenge I have it I do not have the luxury to take 3 months off during the period.