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Working hard or hardly working? VC-backed startups vs. Bootstraps

40 points by slackerIII 19y ago

mixmax 19y ago
I like the site design. Very different...
simianstyle 19y ago
This isn't 100% true, i'm working at a VC-backed startup and i wouldn't say that there's a lot of pressure on me (as a developer) to work 90 hour weeks and stuff. Although to be honest, i'm not exactly sure how smart our VC's are.
edw519 19y ago
Interesting approach, but funny that he never mentions the single key word that makes it all possible: revenue. Whether you're bootstrapping or not, the best way to verify your concept AND position yourself to run a marathon is to FIND A CUSTOMER. Putting a team together, launching, getting into yc, taking serious investment - these are all great milestones. But there's still nothing quite like depositing a customer's non-refundable vote into your bank account. That's the day your world REALLY changes.
- brlewis 19y ago
  That day came a long time ago for me, and yet I still feel like I have a long way to go. There's a big difference between having paying customers and having a steady stream of new customers.
  - edw519 19y ago
    Yes, but not as big as the difference between having paying customers and not having paying customers. You made it over the biggest hump. Best wishes making over all the rest of them.
hillel 19y ago
Thanks for all the comments. @edw519: We're certainly big fans of revenue. We even have a non-trivial amount of it (for a 3 person startup). :) The whole point of the post is that we don't believe anybody has reliable predictive power over when that "non-refundable vote" will show up in your bank account. And because of that, submitting to artificial deadlines on when the revenue should arrive can lead to overworking the team. Make sense?
- edw519 19y ago
  Yes, it makes perfect sense. "we don't believe anybody has reliable predictive power over when that "non-refundable vote" will show up in your bank account" Neither do I. But if you do things right, you can make a pretty good guess. There's a big difference between building something cool and hoping it sticks, and being directed by those who would buy. A lead, of course, is NOT a check. Obviously, you must know this already.
  - hillel 19y ago
    Agreed on all fronts. Of course, doing ad-supported projects in the consumer market make the lead-to-sale connection much more tenuous/indirect.Whether that's a logical path is of course an entirely different debate. ;)
mmrobins 19y ago
I think this article applies even for established companies regardless of where the funding comes from or if they're a startup. I have a friend who decided to take a 20% pay cut to work only 4 days a week and now feels more productive and happy, whereas another friend I know prefers working 60-80 hour weeks and then taking a month off. Either way, it seems obvious that even the most productive, passionate people need downtime to recharge.
adduc 19y ago
I could hardly read the article because of the font size and face choice.
TrevorJ 19y ago
Revenue masks what no amount of money can buy: Motivation in the heart and soul of a human. The kind of motivation that leads people who believe in a dream to give blood, sweat and tears to a project and come back for more with a huge smile on their face.

40 points by slackerIII 19y ago

I like the site design. Very different...

This isn't 100% true, i'm working at a VC-backed startup and i wouldn't say that there's a lot of pressure on me (as a developer) to work 90 hour weeks and stuff. Although to be honest, i'm not exactly sure how smart our VC's are.

edw519 19y ago

Interesting approach, but funny that he never mentions the single key word that makes it all possible: revenue. Whether you're bootstrapping or not, the best way to verify your concept AND position yourself to run a marathon is to FIND A CUSTOMER. Putting a team together, launching, getting into yc, taking serious investment - these are all great milestones. But there's still nothing quite like depositing a customer's non-refundable vote into your bank account. That's the day your world REALLY changes.

brlewis 19y ago
That day came a long time ago for me, and yet I still feel like I have a long way to go. There's a big difference between having paying customers and having a steady stream of new customers.
- edw519 19y ago
  Yes, but not as big as the difference between having paying customers and not having paying customers. You made it over the biggest hump. Best wishes making over all the rest of them.

hillel 19y ago

Thanks for all the comments. @edw519: We're certainly big fans of revenue. We even have a non-trivial amount of it (for a 3 person startup). :) The whole point of the post is that we don't believe anybody has reliable predictive power over when that "non-refundable vote" will show up in your bank account. And because of that, submitting to artificial deadlines on when the revenue should arrive can lead to overworking the team. Make sense?

edw519 19y ago
Yes, it makes perfect sense. "we don't believe anybody has reliable predictive power over when that "non-refundable vote" will show up in your bank account" Neither do I. But if you do things right, you can make a pretty good guess. There's a big difference between building something cool and hoping it sticks, and being directed by those who would buy. A lead, of course, is NOT a check. Obviously, you must know this already.
- hillel 19y ago
  Agreed on all fronts. Of course, doing ad-supported projects in the consumer market make the lead-to-sale connection much more tenuous/indirect.Whether that's a logical path is of course an entirely different debate. ;)

mmrobins 19y ago

I think this article applies even for established companies regardless of where the funding comes from or if they're a startup. I have a friend who decided to take a 20% pay cut to work only 4 days a week and now feels more productive and happy, whereas another friend I know prefers working 60-80 hour weeks and then taking a month off. Either way, it seems obvious that even the most productive, passionate people need downtime to recharge.

adduc 19y ago

I could hardly read the article because of the font size and face choice.

TrevorJ 19y ago

Revenue masks what no amount of money can buy: Motivation in the heart and soul of a human. The kind of motivation that leads people who believe in a dream to give blood, sweat and tears to a project and come back for more with a huge smile on their face.