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Ask HN: My startup may fail soon, help me figure out how to land on my feet
If my startup fails, I am in a pretty bad situation job-wise. My degree is in the humanities and my job experience is random and unimpressive (coffee shop, bars, crappy office work) -- with gaps working odd jobs while travelling. The last 2 years is completely blank because I was working on my startup.
Should my startup fail, I'll be left with big debts and no desire to go back to crappy temp jobs or bar work. Fortunately I have no dependants, other than those I owe money to.
I am a pretty good self-taught programmer. Strong web programming skills and knowledge, decent database skills, ok linux sysadmin knowledge, love everything to do with CS. Fast learner, love getting stuff done and working hard.
I am late 20's and live in London.
My plan B at the moment is waiting until I run out of money, then getting a temp job, whilst applying to every Python/Ruby/PHP job I can find. Alternatively, I could try easing in to the elance/rentacoder thing, maybe spending half my time on that and half on trying to keep the startup dream alive. I've also considered quickly learning C#, as I hear it is good for getting jobs, and it sounds like a decent language.
- draz 16y agook, and your startup is....? We'd need to know, at the very least, what the domain is, so people could advise you about pitfalls/things you should look out for.
- plan_b 16y agoThe details of the startup aren't really relevant to my situation, and I'd rather not have it attached to this post.
- Sodaware 16y agoSeeing as you enjoy programming, you could consider freelancing on the side. Plenty of people put there need web programmers, and with a bit of searching you can probably find someone that will pay a decent rate. It would help with the money side of things, as well as giving you something put in your work history.
- plan_b 16y agoI was under the impression I'd need contacts to get freelancing gigs. Any suggestions for how to get started?
- Sodaware 16y agoI got my first client from a freelancing website (odesk), and after that all my work has come from referrals. As others have said, these websites are a bit hit and miss, and you end up competing with some low prices. They're ok for getting your foot in the door, but I don't think they're sustainable for most people.
- us 16y agoMy genuine advice, after hearing how've you already exhausted two years and haven't gain enough traction to be profitable, is to treat it more as a side project than a full time startup and work towards finding ways to generate revenue until your side project picks up enough to warrant full time commitment as a startup. Don't let your excitement of starting a company blind you from the things you need to handle day to day, like finances, and wait till things dry up. Do what you can to produce income while working on this startup part time. Alternatively find a cofounder who can share the workload with you. But before you go down this route or do anything else, I highly recommend re-evaluating your roadmap, strategies, and plan. Two years is a long time to be working on a startup with no traction yet.
- plan_b 16y agoRelegating it to a side project sounds like a good idea. Just need to figure out the best way to earn money in the meantime. I know two years is crazy long without traction. I was very naive when I started, though in my defense I have 'pivoted' a couple times. I am doing a lot of re-evaluating right now!
- misterbwong 16y agoYour situation isn't as bleak as you might think. Don't worry. You took a risk and it didn't work. You will be able to get a job, pay off your debts, then try again if you'd like. I think you have a good plan there. Be sure to list your startup on your resume-it's two years of valuable experience. If you're embarrassed that you've "failed", list yourself as an employee of the startup and say it went under. I'm willing to bet that 9 out of 10 employers won't even ask if it was yours.
- plan_b 16y agoThat is a good point about the resume, thanks.
- rick888 16y agoI wouldn't bother with elance, rentacoder, or any of the other freelance sites out there. I had this idea a few months ago when I got laid off. It's flooded with Indian groups and coders from eastern Europe that will do the job for $5/hour. The problem is that they pretty much set the market price on these sites and the people hiring you now have it in their mind that this is the going rate. There are a few projects here and there that might actually make you money, but I think your time can be better spent elsewhere. Craigslist is a good place to look. Find some companies locally that need a freelancer/contractor. How much money do you have left? Also, how much are you burning through each month?
- plan_b 16y agoI have about 3 months of frugal living left (£1000/month), hopefully. Craigslist and similar is a good idea.
- RiderOfGiraffes 16y agoRandom comments - make your own assessment as to their value ... Get a part-time job now flipping burgers or waiting tables. Use that to stretch your deadline a month or three. Continue to consider the "startup" as a genuine potential future job, and find a way in the next two months to get some money - any money - coming in from that. If you continue to be serious about the startup, why are you living in London? that's got to be more expensive than other options. Are you renting? Do you own the house? Are you sharing? Are you living with your parents? What is your degree? Consider doing some Project Euler problems in both Python and C#. Compare and contrast. Don't spend too long on them, but a solid range of worked solutions tells potential employers that you can code and solve problems.
- plan_b 16y agoGood points, thanks.
- RiderOfGiraffes 16y agoI'm in London next Tuesday and Wednesday - if you email me and we can make the arrangements, I'll buy you a coffee or other beverage of your choice. Email in the profile - take note of the comment about anti-spam.
- naithemilkman 16y agothis is relevant http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2062806 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2062806