I can relate to this post quite a bit. During the dot com boom, I worked as a consultant to quite a few startups. All of them have since disappeared, but all w

I can relate to this post quite a bit. During the dot com boom, I worked as a consultant to quite a few startups. All of them have since disappeared, but all were great ideas that would have survived had they not need to be immensely popular immediately. One example was a movie streaming service that would right now be way ahead of netflix, which wasn't even a thought at the time, but there just weren't enough people with broadband then. Compare that to now. I'm running a bootstrapped startup that has time to wait on customers. We have the patience to work with existing customers and nurture them and make them very happy. We are cash flow positive and there's really no reason we won't keep growing forever. We got started several years ago and are in a market that sees newcomers come and go within the span of 6 months. I've watched the industry leader crash and burn -- it was venture backed by SAP Ventures and many big names in silicon valley, but it was too soon. Not enough customers and the vc's closed the doors. Some of our competitors do what they do precisely because they don't have a long term vision. They have the short term vision that wants to pop! Get big fast or die. But not all technology gets big fast. Sometimes a patient slow growth of customers is the way to go. That's the traditional way businesses get started, grow and succeed, but today, it seems the majority of tech entrepreneurs think the only way to go is the vc path to spectacular growth, but old style businesses still work in technology too. Lesson is, take your time. Get profitable enough to quit your job and concentrate on the business and own all of it for yourself. Slowly grow your revenue like you would a salary or something else. You don't need a million dollars a year to be happy, if you're making $100k or even $40k on your own with a product you've developed, you can easily live off that and have all the freedom and luxury that comes with being your own boss -- or well, having customers who are your own boss. But with even 10 customers, it becomes a lot easier to say no to the wrong direction and focus on the path forward. On the other hand, it's almost impossible to say no to an employer or a venture capitalist that pays your rent and they can easily steer you in a direction that isn't in your long term best interst, which is and should always be happiness.