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That's my business. 2 partners (me: President and Founder, partner: CEO who I hired), 4 employees, and 2-3 at-will contractors for sporadic work. Revenue barely

That's my business. 2 partners (me: President and Founder, partner: CEO who I hired), 4 employees, and 2-3 at-will contractors for sporadic work. Revenue barely $1MM but growing, probably to $4-5MM in 3 years. Really love what I do and happy to be out of the BS VC silicon valley groupthink crap.

rcarrigan87 11y ago
Do you mind sharing your company? I love these kind of stories.
- beachstartup 11y ago
  i run one like that too (a little further along) but i'll never mention the name here. there's no point, and it's risky. the other guy probably thinks the same. our businesses survive on sales and operations, not internet name-dropping. i know you're curious so instead of teasing i'll just say: all of these kinds businesses are basically the same: think of something people or businesses pay money for, then do that. generally the business morphs as you get better / identify new opportunities. and you can grow it very large given enough time.
  - icelancer 11y ago
    Yeah. There's no upside for me to share the name of the business. I would love to, but it's not in my best interest.
forgetsusername 11y ago
>* happy to be out of the BS VC silicon valley groupthink crap.* If you have a 6 man company with titles like "President and Founder" and "CEO", you're buying into the SV groupthink a little. Outside of SV, in the world of small/medium business (for which I've consulted), I don't think I've ever heard the title "CEO". Meanwhile, I've gone to tech conferences and have seen sole-proprietors refer to themselves as the CEO.
- icelancer 11y ago
  We have to be named something. I am the Founder of the company. That is a no brainer. I am also the President, as I set the strategy for the company (this is traditionally what the President does). I do not make 95% of executive leadership decisions. The CEO does. Which again, is the definition of the term. So no, I am not buying into the SV groupthink. Just because other startups use VP/SVP/"manager" doesn't make it non-SV. They're just... correct terms.

rcarrigan87 11y ago

Do you mind sharing your company? I love these kind of stories.

beachstartup 11y ago
i run one like that too (a little further along) but i'll never mention the name here. there's no point, and it's risky. the other guy probably thinks the same. our businesses survive on sales and operations, not internet name-dropping. i know you're curious so instead of teasing i'll just say: all of these kinds businesses are basically the same: think of something people or businesses pay money for, then do that. generally the business morphs as you get better / identify new opportunities. and you can grow it very large given enough time.
- icelancer 11y ago
  Yeah. There's no upside for me to share the name of the business. I would love to, but it's not in my best interest.

forgetsusername 11y ago

>* happy to be out of the BS VC silicon valley groupthink crap.* If you have a 6 man company with titles like "President and Founder" and "CEO", you're buying into the SV groupthink a little. Outside of SV, in the world of small/medium business (for which I've consulted), I don't think I've ever heard the title "CEO". Meanwhile, I've gone to tech conferences and have seen sole-proprietors refer to themselves as the CEO.

icelancer 11y ago
We have to be named something. I am the Founder of the company. That is a no brainer. I am also the President, as I set the strategy for the company (this is traditionally what the President does). I do not make 95% of executive leadership decisions. The CEO does. Which again, is the definition of the term. So no, I am not buying into the SV groupthink. Just because other startups use VP/SVP/"manager" doesn't make it non-SV. They're just... correct terms.