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> 9. Are you optimizing for growth or profitability? > Profitability - 39% > Growth - 61% This is what happens when your business goal is to get acquired and

> 9. Are you optimizing for growth or profitability? > Profitability - 39% > Growth - 61% This is what happens when your business goal is to get acquired and not to have a business sustained by paying customers.

pc86 10y ago
Well this is one of the few but key differences between a "startup" and a "business." A business that isn't profitable is either a hobby or a bad idea. A startup that isn't growing is dead. Personally I'd rather make $5/10/15/25k a month with a business than kill myself trying to get millions in funding, pay myself a $10k/mo in salary and leave with nothing through either failure, dilution or some combination thereof.
- monkmartinez 10y ago
  > A business that isn't profitable is either a hobby or a bad idea. A startup that isn't growing is dead. Time will tell, but I think this is the line of thinking that we'll look back on with disdain in years to come.
- rsp1984 10y ago
  Given that you can make $5/10/15/25k a month with a cushy 9-5 corporate job where everything's taken care of for you, in most cases the choice is not small-business vs. startup, it's corporate job vs. startup. The "lifestyle" self-running company that spits out a comfortable amount of cash and is easier to handle than a corporate job is somewhere between a myth and a unicorn. It's very rare. If you want to stay on the legal side of things it takes a great amount of connections, experience, time and effort to build such a company. You might as well invest that time in a "proper" startup and get some funding. Chances of success will be similar in the end.
  - WhitneyLand 10y ago
    I don't notice that many people making 15/25k a month that think their jobs are cushy. There are usually high expectations at that level.
jklinger410 10y ago
I was told by a VC just the other day that investors want you to get bought. Maybe, when you start a business, instead of all this bickering about what is bad startup behavior, you just define whether or not you think you want to get bought or go on your own, and act accordingly.
johnrob 10y ago
If you want to create a big company, there are only two options: 1) grow fast, 2) grow slowly for multiple decades. The latter is riskier because of constant landscape changes and the fact that you only have a 100 years (optimistic) of life.
monkmartinez 10y ago
Replace "Dotcom" with "Startup"... same situation from my admittedly outside perspective.

pc86 10y ago

Well this is one of the few but key differences between a "startup" and a "business." A business that isn't profitable is either a hobby or a bad idea. A startup that isn't growing is dead. Personally I'd rather make $5/10/15/25k a month with a business than kill myself trying to get millions in funding, pay myself a $10k/mo in salary and leave with nothing through either failure, dilution or some combination thereof.

monkmartinez 10y ago
> A business that isn't profitable is either a hobby or a bad idea. A startup that isn't growing is dead. Time will tell, but I think this is the line of thinking that we'll look back on with disdain in years to come.
rsp1984 10y ago
Given that you can make $5/10/15/25k a month with a cushy 9-5 corporate job where everything's taken care of for you, in most cases the choice is not small-business vs. startup, it's corporate job vs. startup. The "lifestyle" self-running company that spits out a comfortable amount of cash and is easier to handle than a corporate job is somewhere between a myth and a unicorn. It's very rare. If you want to stay on the legal side of things it takes a great amount of connections, experience, time and effort to build such a company. You might as well invest that time in a "proper" startup and get some funding. Chances of success will be similar in the end.
- WhitneyLand 10y ago
  I don't notice that many people making 15/25k a month that think their jobs are cushy. There are usually high expectations at that level.

jklinger410 10y ago

I was told by a VC just the other day that investors want you to get bought. Maybe, when you start a business, instead of all this bickering about what is bad startup behavior, you just define whether or not you think you want to get bought or go on your own, and act accordingly.

johnrob 10y ago

If you want to create a big company, there are only two options: 1) grow fast, 2) grow slowly for multiple decades. The latter is riskier because of constant landscape changes and the fact that you only have a 100 years (optimistic) of life.

monkmartinez 10y ago

Replace "Dotcom" with "Startup"... same situation from my admittedly outside perspective.