6 ms·

All of the "Startup" resources, like The Lean Startup, etc that aren't busy glorifying VCs or the SV model, are useful for these businesses. The only differenc

by MCRed 11y ago

All of the "Startup" resources, like The Lean Startup, etc that aren't busy glorifying VCs or the SV model, are useful for these businesses. The only difference between a "lifestyle" business and the "Silicon Valley" model is whether you are in control over your own destiny and focused on building a business, or whether you're selling out to people who want to increase your risk and their possible profits, with the expectation that you'll get a nice bonus in your acquihire. In a way, YC and VCs have ruined startups, by making people think this SV model -- which is great for Facebook, google and yelp, but terrible for the billion other startups is the One True Way.

rcarrigan87 11y ago
There is truly a place for VCs and yes some businesses definitely need that kind of funding. But right now it seems VC is so available things are getting funded that will never be able to hit that 10x mark. So businesses that could have been great bootstrap businesses will grow too fast with too high a burn rate and flame out at a series A or B crunch. Meanwhile, if the business could have taken it slower they could have built something really valuable for themselves.
- afarrell 11y ago
  This is a way that fixing income inequality would help certain entrepreneurs. If more money can come from customers (poor/middle class/small business) rather than investors, then early revenue will be more attainable than early fundraising. Decentralizing economic power would shift our economy away from capital-intensive moonshots and toward consumer products though.
  - nitrogen 11y ago
    Decentralizing economic power would shift our economy away from capital-intensive moonshots and toward consumer products though. This was originally solved by selling stock in a venture to the public.
- 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
  > So businesses that could have been great bootstrap businesses will grow too fast with too high a burn rate and flame out at a series A or B crunch. Smart, patient entrepreneurs can take advantage of this. Let angel and VC-backed companies validate markets, and pursue the markets they vacate after the broader crunch occurs.
  - czbond 11y ago
    You sir, are a smart man. And the only other person I've ever heard to suggest that besides myself (not tooting horn, just honest that no-one thinks that way).
  - Douceur 11y ago
    That's based on the assumption that the crunch will happen though, and even if those companies flop, I think it's quite important to analyse exactly where they went wrong rather than put them down as just another startup that couldn't scale properly. If you're a bootstrapping startup hoping to enter the same market, this is crucial as you can at least try and avoid those mistakes - who's to say that you won't crash and burn too? (This is more like advice to myself actually as I'm currently in a dilemma between that "wait" that you've just described and the intense worry of not getting first-mover advantage through that waiting)

by MCRed 11y ago

rcarrigan87 11y ago

There is truly a place for VCs and yes some businesses definitely need that kind of funding. But right now it seems VC is so available things are getting funded that will never be able to hit that 10x mark. So businesses that could have been great bootstrap businesses will grow too fast with too high a burn rate and flame out at a series A or B crunch. Meanwhile, if the business could have taken it slower they could have built something really valuable for themselves.

afarrell 11y ago
This is a way that fixing income inequality would help certain entrepreneurs. If more money can come from customers (poor/middle class/small business) rather than investors, then early revenue will be more attainable than early fundraising. Decentralizing economic power would shift our economy away from capital-intensive moonshots and toward consumer products though.
- nitrogen 11y ago
  Decentralizing economic power would shift our economy away from capital-intensive moonshots and toward consumer products though. This was originally solved by selling stock in a venture to the public.
7Figures2Commas 11y ago
> So businesses that could have been great bootstrap businesses will grow too fast with too high a burn rate and flame out at a series A or B crunch. Smart, patient entrepreneurs can take advantage of this. Let angel and VC-backed companies validate markets, and pursue the markets they vacate after the broader crunch occurs.
- czbond 11y ago
  You sir, are a smart man. And the only other person I've ever heard to suggest that besides myself (not tooting horn, just honest that no-one thinks that way).
- Douceur 11y ago
  That's based on the assumption that the crunch will happen though, and even if those companies flop, I think it's quite important to analyse exactly where they went wrong rather than put them down as just another startup that couldn't scale properly. If you're a bootstrapping startup hoping to enter the same market, this is crucial as you can at least try and avoid those mistakes - who's to say that you won't crash and burn too? (This is more like advice to myself actually as I'm currently in a dilemma between that "wait" that you've just described and the intense worry of not getting first-mover advantage through that waiting)