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"... and had him take a look at some of my UML diagrams." OK, so you give yourself only a month to launch a web-based startup and you spent some time... creati
by daveungerer 16y ago
"... and had him take a look at some of my UML diagrams."
OK, so you give yourself only a month to launch a web-based startup and you spent some time... creating UML diagrams? I'm trying really hard not to be snarky here, but that immediately disqualifies you from writing blog posts about startup myths.
It sounds like you took the development process from your day job and applied it to your startup. But you're forgetting that these processes were designed to facilitate communication between larger teams. Which means you've given up one of the most important advantages of a smaller (even single-person) team.
Also, your version of a single-person startup is a straw man. No-one ever said being a single founder means breaking contact with the rest of the world.
As a single founder, here's my humble advice:
- You learnt a lot in this month. You'll learn new lessons on your next startup, whether you fail or not. Take some time to process it all while you think of your next startup. Maybe read some PG essays (Read them critically, the same way you'd read anything else. I'm trying not to sound like a fanboy, but his essays do have a high insight to noise ratio).
- Don't for one second deceive yourself into thinking a month of full-time work is enough. Even if you could complete all the coding in a month, things like SEO and just generally getting traction take much more patience. You said: "...get the first core part of my service in working order, and profit". Know that the road between a working service and profit is very long.
- If you need a Chief Architect or a DBA to evaluate your technical design decisions, you're probably not ready to be a single founder. Try to get more design experience in your job, or team up with someone who has complementary skills for your next startup. As a single founder, time spent talking to people means mostly talking to customers, not other technical people.
- Your article seems to be pretty focused on just development, I guess because you never even got to beta. You'll have an entirely new perspective on things once you launch a service and come to the shocking realisation that customers don't magically appear. Most startups don't fail for lack of technology.
- Have you given up on your idea now, before even giving it a chance to prove itself in the market? Then you had the wrong idea. An idea you really believe in is one you'll only give up on after serious repeated attempts to get customers deliver no results.
- erikstarck 16y agoWell, some people naturally think better in lines-and-boxes than in code. Nothing wrong with that, it's like sketching out mockups or wireframes, it gives you a better overview of what you're trying to build. It also clearly, like this example shows, makes it easier to communicate with other techies about what you're doing and how you're solving certain problems.
- daveungerer 16y agoWhat you're saying is technically correct, but misses the point. I also find it useful to draw lines-and-boxes sometimes, but it's much faster and more creative if you don't constrain yourself to a standard like UML. The only reason to use UML in this case is if you intend to use your diagrams as a communication tool rather than just a thinking tool. But, as a single founder, you should have no need to communicate the kind of information conveyed by a UML diagram. If you require that much hand-holding, you're not ready to be a single founder. Time is a very limited resource for a single founder, and if you're spending time discussing UML diagrams, where are you going to find time to talk to customers, create a good marketing pitch, and all the other things required to create a profitable company?
- MicahWedemeyer 16y agoThis is sound advice for any startup, not just 1-person shops. Wish I could upvote a couple more times.