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Read your OP and all follow up posts in the thread. My advice is take 2 weeks vacation (travel somewhere), and do not work during this time. You need to step ba

Read your OP and all follow up posts in the thread. My advice is take 2 weeks vacation (travel somewhere), and do not work during this time. You need to step back and digest what you’ve learned so far. Don’t feel guilty about taking this time, it’s necessary for making an important decision. If you come back after 2 weeks and feel the same way, shut it down and return funds to investors. Your investors and advisors are very very naive (how did you raise 220k as a solo founder with no product? How did you spend 120k in 9 months!?) and it would be unethical to take advantage of them by continuing in something you no longer believe in. You’re closer to the business than they are, your judgment about whether it’s time to pull the plug is more accurate than theirs. On the other hand, if you come back with a fresh perspective and want to keep trying, do so and inform investors appropriately. And try to reduce your absurd burn rate.

mlevental 9y ago
>And try to reduce your absurd burn rate. when we started we had 3 employees. we carried 3 employees for 3 months at which point we went down to 1 employee and myself. it is only as of last month that i'm the sole employee of the company (and obv the burn has gone down proportionately)
- rajacombinator 9y ago
  That makes a lot more sense. Sounds like you were more than half way to shutting down already if you dropped two thirds of the founding team. Still it’s advisable to take a step back and digest before pulling the plug, especially since you’ve worked every day for 9 months.
- pbreit 9y ago
  With $220k you basically cannot have any full time employees and would need to pay yourself little or nothing (in USA or equivalent).
rlonn 9y ago
I second the first two comments (i.e. take some time off to think, and be sure to take into account that money is NOT as valuable as time). I founded a startup just before the dotcom crash, failed to find seed money during&after the crash, but kept at it because I felt obligated to produce a return on the FFF money I had already taken. The company pivoted twice, going from product to consulting (in a different area) and then back to product again. Now it's becoming somewhat successful, but it has taken over 15 years!! If I could go back in time I would have shut down the company in 2002 and spent the time after that building new things. I think it would have made me both happier and more wealthy.
- justherefortart 9y ago
  I'm with you 100%. I've had 7 failed startups (well, not failed but didn't make me enough to buy a jet). It's easy to know when to get out when you're making nothing. It's easy to stay with it when you're growing. The hardest part is when your stagnant. If you no longer believe in the product/service GET THE FUCK OUT. OP doesn't believe so he needs to shut it down or turn it over to someone else IMO. I'm on startup #8 right now and it's slow going but turning a nice profit. I only bootstrap shit now (well since startup #4) so I'm not worrying about money or investors.
dbg31415 9y ago
> How did you spend 120k in 9 months!? More like, "How did you ONLY spend 120k in 9 months?!"
nautilus12 9y ago
Arent you advising them to take a vacation during the most critical juncture of the business? Isnt this just promoting more of the perceived or real iresponsibility that led the business to where it is now? Seems like if they are serious about the business they wouldnt be able to take their mind off the issue. Id only take a vacation if Id decided definetely that i was shutting it down to decompress and think about my next thing
- Retric 9y ago
  Without product market fit there is nothing time sensitive about the business other than burn rate. Taking two weeks off would be a hail mary pass that might work but would probably fail.
  - swami26 9y ago
    Well said.
- daanlo 9y ago
  Since the burn Rate is now very low OP now has all the time in the world to take her decision. I have founded several businesses and there is nothing as productive as taking your mind off your work and finding a new perspective.
- swami26 9y ago
  Sometimes when moving fast it is tough to see clearly. People say 'vacation', but it is two weeks where you are forced to face the reality of the situation instead of distracting yourself with 'work' and getting no sleep.
chewz 9y ago
Take 2 years vacation. Go travel somewhere, see the world. And remember that start-ups are just Unemployment 2.0. Nothing had really happend...

mlevental 9y ago

>And try to reduce your absurd burn rate. when we started we had 3 employees. we carried 3 employees for 3 months at which point we went down to 1 employee and myself. it is only as of last month that i'm the sole employee of the company (and obv the burn has gone down proportionately)

rajacombinator 9y ago
That makes a lot more sense. Sounds like you were more than half way to shutting down already if you dropped two thirds of the founding team. Still it’s advisable to take a step back and digest before pulling the plug, especially since you’ve worked every day for 9 months.
pbreit 9y ago
With $220k you basically cannot have any full time employees and would need to pay yourself little or nothing (in USA or equivalent).

rlonn 9y ago

I second the first two comments (i.e. take some time off to think, and be sure to take into account that money is NOT as valuable as time). I founded a startup just before the dotcom crash, failed to find seed money during&after the crash, but kept at it because I felt obligated to produce a return on the FFF money I had already taken. The company pivoted twice, going from product to consulting (in a different area) and then back to product again. Now it's becoming somewhat successful, but it has taken over 15 years!! If I could go back in time I would have shut down the company in 2002 and spent the time after that building new things. I think it would have made me both happier and more wealthy.

justherefortart 9y ago
I'm with you 100%. I've had 7 failed startups (well, not failed but didn't make me enough to buy a jet). It's easy to know when to get out when you're making nothing. It's easy to stay with it when you're growing. The hardest part is when your stagnant. If you no longer believe in the product/service GET THE FUCK OUT. OP doesn't believe so he needs to shut it down or turn it over to someone else IMO. I'm on startup #8 right now and it's slow going but turning a nice profit. I only bootstrap shit now (well since startup #4) so I'm not worrying about money or investors.

dbg31415 9y ago

> How did you spend 120k in 9 months!? More like, "How did you ONLY spend 120k in 9 months?!"

nautilus12 9y ago

Arent you advising them to take a vacation during the most critical juncture of the business? Isnt this just promoting more of the perceived or real iresponsibility that led the business to where it is now? Seems like if they are serious about the business they wouldnt be able to take their mind off the issue. Id only take a vacation if Id decided definetely that i was shutting it down to decompress and think about my next thing

Retric 9y ago
Without product market fit there is nothing time sensitive about the business other than burn rate. Taking two weeks off would be a hail mary pass that might work but would probably fail.
- swami26 9y ago
  Well said.
daanlo 9y ago
Since the burn Rate is now very low OP now has all the time in the world to take her decision. I have founded several businesses and there is nothing as productive as taking your mind off your work and finding a new perspective.
swami26 9y ago
Sometimes when moving fast it is tough to see clearly. People say 'vacation', but it is two weeks where you are forced to face the reality of the situation instead of distracting yourself with 'work' and getting no sleep.

chewz 9y ago

Take 2 years vacation. Go travel somewhere, see the world. And remember that start-ups are just Unemployment 2.0. Nothing had really happend...