3 ms·
One of the issues I've seen with startups that do this is that they end up being consumed by the consulting work and aren't really able to crunch on their own t
by jen_h 15y ago
One of the issues I've seen with startups that do this is that they end up being consumed by the consulting work and aren't really able to crunch on their own thing. Whether it's demanding clients or the cash, your attention gets sucked away from your startup...I've seen people go years without releasing their own stuff when that was their intention from the very beginning, just got caught up in consulting.
But I am very much pro-bootstrapping - save your money while consulting or while working the corporate gig, get your health insurance in line, figure out a method of monetization that starts a good six months before your savings dry up, then quit all outside pursuits completely to focus on your startup.
- rev087 15y agoI've been in the situation you describe for roughly the past 3 years. You and your team must be successful at consulting _and_ the startup, and many people spend their lives without succeeding at either.
- apike 15y agoThere are two rules we're using at Steam Clock that are keeping this problem at bay as we bootstrap with consulting: (1) 50% of our time should be spent on our own products (2) If we're spending more than 50% on average on client work, we either raise our rates or turn away the least reasonable clients If you can't pay your bills with the above formula, there are two options: (1) Promote yourself more, increasing demand and letting you raise your rate (2) Cut your costs It's simple, and has worked well for us.