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Ask HN: Solo Entrepreneur, what are my chances and have you done it?

47 points by gdltec 16y ago

I decided to apply for the YCombinator program this fall. I am a solo entrepreneur/startup and one of the reasons for doing this by myself is because I see it as a way of bootstrapping my way to success. I am sure I can get another person to be my co-founder, however by doing that I'll be adding more expenses that I cannot afford right now. That does not mean I cannot get people to help me, but they will be helping by me offering sweat equity. What do you think? am I nuts? do you someone who has succeeded applying to YCombinator's program by themselves, without co-founders?

pclark 16y ago
you won't know if you don't try. (you'll be fine, if the mint guy can do it, so can you - surround yourself in great mentors/employees/investors/friends)
- gdltec 16y ago
  You are right about the mint guy, that's a great example! Thanks.
- mrduncan 16y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Patzer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Patzer for those who aren't familiar with him.
lzw 16y ago
A co-founder is someone who is willing to take as much risk as you, not someone you hire. Look at YC as a bonus. You decide if you're going to do your thing or not. Develop your idea as much as you can and meet with relevant people, or even irrelevant people who might be able to give you good advice about the viability of your idea. You might find a cofounder in this process, and if so, great, if not, don't worry about it. If YC doesn't fund you because you're solo, then go prove them wrong and make it a success anyway. I've got a cofounder now, but it is because I was unwilling to settle for a "cofounder" and found someone who was a perfect partner. For most of my ventures they have been solo, and they have done ok on average-- some successes some failures. Doing a startup with a cofounder has psychic advantages, but it doesn't determine success-- for me, anyway. If you get friends and advisors enough to provide the support system you need then you can do it without a cofounder, just optimize what you work on so that the time you spend building your product is as efficient as possible.
photon_off 16y ago
I'm lead to believe it greatly reduces your chances of getting in. There are a number of reasons to prefer teams over solo founders, but if you manage to stand out enough it's possible. It's important to keep in mind that getting into yc does not guarantee success, nor does getting rejected guarantee failure. I applied as a single founder laster year and didn't get in, and probably got more bummed than I should have. I urge you not to make the same mistake.
LeBlanc 16y ago
Dropbox is another example of a successful YC solo-founded company: http://files.dropbox.com/u/2/app.html http://files.dropbox.com/u/2/app.html I am planning on applying as a solo co-founder as well, so you aren't alone. Good luck!
- dillydally 16y ago
  Not true. Drew's co-founder is Arash Ferdowsi. My understanding is that he applied to YC (his second application) alone but was told to go out and find a co-founder.
- sr3d 16y ago
  Thanks for the link to Dropbox YC application. Bookmarked!
jeromec 16y ago
Are you asking what are your chances of being successful with your startup as a solo entrepreneur, or what are your chances of being accepted into Y Combinator? If the former, I'd say you have about the same chances as you do partnering with other founders, which is not very good. Building a successful startup is hard whether or not you partner with others, and success depends much more on the founder(s) in question, more so than anything else. If you are asking the latter, Paul Graham specifically says chances are lower for getting accepted into YC for solo founders, because building a startup is too much work for one person. (I agree with that for the most part, but would qualify it by saying it depends on what exactly you're building, and even that is not always significant as, again, it depends more on the person) Interestingly, the example given as a successful application to YC was by the founder of Dropbox, who was a solo founder. I believe it is explained why this application was successful. I would suggest you read the "Applying Successfully" section. (more importantly, so does Paul Graham) I don't know what you mean by adding a co-founder will add to your expenses. A co-founder should be working for equity in a project which may pay off later, the same as you are. If you're referring to the money successful applicants receive from YC that is not very much, only around 20K, and is meant to cover not much other than living expenses in San Francisco while building up a prototype enough to solicit more substantial funding later, after being introduced on Demo Day. I later realized this low funding amount was probably intentional, as it forces founders to be laser focus on finding/doing what it takes to make their product successful, as a money safety net is not there. The nice thing about that particular benefit is realizing that startups that don't make it into YC can be pressed in the same way.
- gdltec 16y ago
  What I mean by "adding a co-founder will add to my expenses" is that when my application gets approved by YC, chances are that I'll have to find a place not for one but for two or more people if I try to add co-founders right now. Yes the investment from YC is not much, and that is exactly why I would like to use it for anything that makes my startup successful and nothing else. As I mentioned on my question, I can offer sweat equity to other developers to help me out with this, they do not need to be co-founders, at least not in the beginning... unless they have other funds to invest in this company and all of their time :) - thanks for your input!
robertg 16y ago
I'm a solo founder but I have a full time job and work my business on the side when I have time (beats the hell out of video games). It made sense to me to be a solo founder because I can take things at my own pace and I can call all of the shots. I'm also not looking for any funding either, and if I was going to quit my job to go after something like this full-time, I'd probably try to find someone smarter than me to help out. Good luck.
DenisM 16y ago
I'm pretty sure you will get turned down. YC is in business of collecting promising young companies, growing them under tender care, and reselling them to fat angles or VCs. Do you see yourself being resellable to this crowd? I don't, because bootstrapping is a different route. A successful investment target proclaims "I know how to productively utilize plenty of capital", but what you are saying is "I know how to utilize very little capital, and I plan to spend a lot of effort to keep it lean". That makes you a very bad investment, but a very good bootstrapper. Here's everything you need to know to pursue your bootstrap dream: http://www.startupbook.net/ http://www.startupbook.net/ These will be the best $24 you have ever spent in your entire life. If you won't take my word for it, know that it's been endorsed by patio11.
- iliketosleep 16y ago
  everything he needs to know about pursuing a bootstrap dream is embodied in your second paragraph. write an ebook and sell it online for $24!! if the bootstrapper thinks along such lines, he is bound to be successful!!!
  - DenisM 16y ago
    You comment is shallow, mean-spirited, and is aimed to derail the conversation with innuendo. Why not tell us instead what you think about the content of the book or any of the ideas it espouses? Or maybe you could criticize author for not practicing what he is preaching. That is if you were able to demonstrate that, which you won't because he actually did bootstrap several software businesses before writing the book.
    - iliketosleep 16y ago
      The innuendo exists only in your mind - my words were sincere. I honestly admire anybody who can sell an ebook online for $24, and I for one find think there's much to be learnt from such a business model.
      - ahoyhere 16y ago
quickpost 16y ago
Here's a good post about a successful single founder: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/01/will-single-founders-please-stand-up.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2010/01/will-single-foun...
pg 16y ago
There are 2 single founder startups in the current YC batch. I think there were 3 in the last one. So we do fund them. The odds of getting funded are lower for single founder startups. I once calculated about 5x worse. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything, because the single founder applicants are not simply the same kind of people as the multi-founder applicants, just in quantity one. When people apply for funding for perpetual motion machines and the like, they are disproportionately single founders.
- gdltec 16y ago
  "The odds of getting funded are lower for single founder startups" That's actually encouraging! who does not like a challenge. And does that mean that when single founder startups do get funded is because they have better chances or just a better product/idea/execution?
  - japherwocky 16y ago
    I think what he's saying is that the odds look worse for single founders, but this is a little misleading because disproportionately more bad ideas come from single applicants. The applications that get funded probably have a good background/idea, just the same as the rest.
    - gdltec 16y ago
      "disproportionately more bad ideas come from single applicants" I only agree with the above statement when single founder startups do not take the initiative (and common sense) of interviewing potential users/clients for the app/product that he/she is trying to create, this will tell you at least if the idea is good or not. Thanks.
      - cjlars 16y ago
        Well, if you can get a second or third founder on board, doesn't it mean the idea has been vetted out a bit by definition?
jacquesm 16y ago
If your plan is good and you plan on bootstrapping anyway (which means that you see YC as a way to speed things up a bit) the best way to get in would be to prove that it stands a chance before applying. Otherwise you'd just look like one of a hundred (or more) individuals that apply and have to overcome the 'have no co-founder' stigma. You need to offset that somehow and I think the most concrete way of doing that would be to show you are already on the road to success. Then if you are accepted you'll be able to move a bit faster and you can benefit from the network and if you are not accepted you are on your way but on a slower path. Bootstrapping and using investors are not the same path - as has been noted elsewhere in this thread - but I don't see why you couldn't convert a bootstrapped business in to a larger one if you can lay your hands on some capital.
rgrieselhuber 16y ago
Your chances of succeeding are inversely related to the degree you feel the need to ask permission to work on your idea.
- gdltec 16y ago
  True... only if I was asking for permission. It is very valuable to me to get feedback (not permission) from as many people as I can, I know I will get many different opinions and each one of them has some value to me and hopefully others.
  - markstansbury 16y ago
    There is an interesting dynamic between feedback and permission. In some ways they are the same thing. No one needs permission to launch, but it's good to have feedback saying you can. No one needs permission to apply solo to YC, but it's good to get feedback that says your app won't be dismissed out of hand. Think of it as niche market research.
endlessvoid94 16y ago
I'm a single founder (thathigh.com and footprintanalytics.com). Bootstrapped, I've never taken outside money. Don't pigeonhole yourself into YC. If you get rejected, so what? In fact, why not just build what you planned on building now, in your spare time? YC will help immensely, to be sure. But it's by NO MEANS a requirement to be successful.
- gdltec 16y ago
  Agree 100% with you and that is exactly what I am doing right now. I am currently developing a prototype and interviewing potential clients to make sure my product will solve some of their problems. I am interested in YC because of all the benefits that offers besides the extra cash, the interaction with other startups, the help incorporating the business, the momentum it can give your startup, etc... Thanks.
- alain94040 16y ago
  Agreed. I blogged on that: http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/04/07/you-didnt-make-it-to-y-combinator-or-techstars-now-what/ http://blog.fairsoftware.net/2009/04/07/you-didnt-make-it-to... Getting into YC brings you money, notoriety and advice. They are great. And they can also be found elsewhere.
jpmc 16y ago
I think a critical question to ask yourself is 'why do I choose to go at it alone'? As you venture forward the skills necessary to succeed will increase both in depth and in scope. Being your own lawyer, accountant, marketer, engineer, designer, PR, advertising, support, HR ... will be very challenging. Having that trusted partner to balance the load and give a sanity check is important.
haarts 16y ago
It can be done, your odds at succeeding are just (far) lower. A 2 person startup has 120h a week. You only 60h. Besides you can't possibly unify the required skills in one person. In summary; I wouldn't do it. I speak from experience, I'm running a one person startup now.
- patio11 16y ago
  If you make your startup a matter of hours, either one or two founders lose to publicly traded megacorp with 400 kilo hours per week. Do not compete on this basis.
kylebragger 16y ago
I conceived, founded, and grew Forrst on my own, working on it for around 3 months before I took a small seed round in March, and am currently generating revenue. I have one part time employee who handles some community moderation stuff. I'm all for the single founder thing; in general, I think it gets too much flak. The one thing I think you need to be cognizant of is to have a razor-sharp focus. Besides, it could be fun.
startupcto 16y ago
You need a co-founder. If you can't find one, it just shows that 1) you are not resourceful enough 2) your idea is not good enough
rwhitman 16y ago
I don't think you're nuts - committed collaborators can sometimes be extremely hard to find - but as someone who's seen the flipside of being a bootstrapped single founder, I'd say make sure to mitigate the risks you take to yourself. Just don't let the downside of failing be taking on crushing debt. It happens, and it sucks.
maxklein 16y ago
Find something that is working, and then ask people you know, trust and admire to join you. Use the success of what you made as your argument.
limedaring 16y ago
Are you business or technical? If you're technical, then you have a chance at YC (lower than if you had a team), but if you're missing the ability to build your idea, I highly doubt YC will accept you. Also, why would finding a cofounder add more expenses? Especially if you find a cofounder willing to work for equity.