6 ms·

I'm out, baby

164 points by palish 18y ago

First, I want to say thank you to each of you. Everyone in the Hacker News community has contributed to the creation of this incredible venue for exchanging ideas, and you deserve a lot of credit for it. Friday will be my last day at my corporate job. In the past, I've mentioned that as soon as I'd saved up $15k, I was going to focus full-time on getting my startup off the ground. I recently achieved that goal: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/315/random_pics/bank.PNG Wish me luck. -- Shawn

brentsg 18y ago
Congrats man. Best of luck.
rantfoil 18y ago
Congratulations, Shawn! Taking the first step is huge, and you're on your way.
qhoxie 18y ago
That is an inspiring move. Best of luck to you.
noodle 18y ago
more appropriate title: "i'm in, baby"
zacharye 18y ago
Very awesome - best of luck to you on your journey!
volida 18y ago
good luck! persistence and hard work!
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
ojbyrne 18y ago
Release early and iterate, stay hanging around here, don't be afraid of negative feedback. And don't give up!
- huhtenberg 18y ago
  > Release early Though never release half-baked cr@p. You have exactly one chance to make the initial splash, don't waste it.
  - gabrielleydon 18y ago
    "Though never release half-baked cr@p. You have exactly one chance to make the initial splash, don't waste it." This is absolutely not true! Release ANYTHING. A half baked product will provide you with required flexibility youll need when the market tells you what you really should be making.
    - furiouslol 18y ago
      Agree. Just don't go on a publicity blitz before your product is at least beta stage.
      - colinplamondon 18y ago
        (Looking at you, Cuil)
    - huhtenberg 18y ago
      > the market tells you what you really should be making. That's what the market research phase of the project planning is for. If you need to fine-tweak your feature set, do a closed alpha with a focus group, that's fine. But if your project plan relies on a public beta feedback for flushing out core feature set, that's just wrong. Or more specifically - it is very risky, because you are essentially implementing a wild guess product for a wild guess market and then hoping it would converge to something of a value.
      - gabrielleydon 18y ago
        Well we almost agree don't we? :) I think you're taking what I'm saying out of context. I said half baked products give you the required flexibility to listen to the market. I dont think you can over expose your self to the market. The problems come when you don't or cant move fast enough to meet its demands. It seems to me that "don't" happens a lot more than "cant" and that's usually because the founders are clinging to feature sets and ideals that aren't working. Its best to avoid that altogether and release a half baked product that you are willing to change as quickly as possible.
aston 18y ago
Good luck! (also, thanks for using Dropbox...)
fallentimes 18y ago
Fuck yes. Congrats man and keep us all posted. If you have a beta, please sign me up: dan[at]ticketstumbler[dot]com. Friday is going to be one of the best days in your life.
- socratees 18y ago
  yes man, its goin to be one of your best days
nostrademons 18y ago
Congrats, and good luck! The road begins now...
vnorby 18y ago
someone mention what his startup is for noobs? (good luck!)
tdavis 18y ago
Congratulations. Truly. You've chosen to actually do instead of just pipe-dream, and you're taking a huge risk all for the reward of working on something you actually love doing. This is what life is all about. Even if this attempt fails, you've already won.
patrickg-zill 18y ago
Shawn, welcome to a rewarding , frustrating, jaw-dropping, wonderful, scary, awesome part of your life. Taking risks may be risky but the alternative is to never know what might have happened... looking back I feel worse about the chances I didn't take, than the chances I did take.
iamdave 18y ago
Good luck man, and congrats on meeting your goal! Please come back and let us know how you're doing, we'd love to continue to inspire someone who's living a dream
watmough 18y ago
Sweet, congratulations! Remember to have a backup plan. You will appear smarter to corporates, once you are outside, but don't burn bridges. Good Luck with your plans! (I just did the same thing, but, at least my wife is still working)
rewind 18y ago
I saw the title and thought it was someone bitching about HN content going downhill and leaving the site and was ready to tell you good riddence, but the actual post was a welcome alternative. Good luck! I still remember the drive home on a Friday when I left for the last time -- an inexplicable feeling. When I pulled the pin about eight years ago I had about $25K put aside and it went a lot faster than I thought it would!!! Either way, you're in for a wild ride. Enjoy it!!!
aresant 18y ago
Shawn - congrats. You'll never regret this decision.
vaksel 18y ago
Maybe you should wait another day...its probably bad karma to do this on the anniversary of 9/11
rnesh 18y ago
Good luck. I look forward to seeing what you build.
jyothi 18y ago
Be frugal, hope the best yet stay focused on the bottom-line. make money seek glory. Run fast and I wish you every success.
nickb 18y ago
Good luck Shawn :) EXCELLENT move!! PS: Hit me up on gtalk sometime.
brfox 18y ago
I thought this was going to be a post about an old Seinfeld episode.
mrtron 18y ago
I bet you will come to cherish that extra 951.10. Congrats, and let me chime in that it is the best move you can make too. You only live once, it will be great regardless of how it turns out, all those things are true.
malekov 18y ago
Good luck palish :-)
jhickner 18y ago
Good luck! This is the best decision you'll ever make!
martythemaniak 18y ago
Congrats and good luck :) I'll join you one of these days...
merrick33 18y ago
beginning of the rest of your life starts now
cmos 18y ago
So congratulations are in order! First off, kudos on the willpower to save $15k. That's no small feat. And secondly, remember this, for every low point there is an equal and opposite high point. You are a complete idiot. You left a perfectly good job for the dream of a lifetime. Relish that every day from now on will be amazing. And possibly just a tad horrible.
bluefish 18y ago
You've already done the hardest part. Even if it doesn't work out, you've stepped up for what you believe in. Lots of people reading this wish they had the courage to do what you're doing. Best of a luck, a stranger
asdf333 18y ago
Be frugal and execute like a madman. Godspeed.
rms 18y ago
Congratulations! (one of my favorite things about this community is that the appropriate response to "I quit my job" is "Congratulations!")
raffi 18y ago
When I left the military I had substantial savings to get a startup off the ground and finish a graduate degree. I decided to write software to help people write better. I always had issues with my own writing as was excited about an extended GNU Style / Diction that could curb my own bad habits. I created http://www.polishmywriting.com/ http://www.polishmywriting.com/ as a technical demonstration for my rule engine. I spent the month of June working very long days to write the engine, build the site, and research/import nearly 8,000 rules into the database. Once I had completed this, I decided to reach out to my friends and old coworkers to get feedback. To my surprise there wasn't much interest. I took this as a red flag about the technology. Without any local validation/support I felt down. Then I met with some management consultants. Wonderful people! They were willing to work with me through the process of turning the technology into a product. We discussed CMS/blog software integration, a facebook application, and even a tool to aid the workflow for technical writing departments in corporations. With this I felt up. I took my list of ideas and their tips on how to develop a market study home with me. I looked at the site and how much effort I put into the development up to that point. I then looked at how much effort it would take to go from there to one of the product ideas (plus handling the business side) and nearly collapsed from the anticipated exhaustion. At this point I felt down. Someone once said that an early startup is full of self-doubt and loneliness. Truer words were never spoken. About 6 weeks in I succumbed to this and it took probably another ~8 weeks before I admitted to myself I wasn't making progress and decided to interview for a position. Thankfully my last semester of school started back up which helped force my hand and restore a sense of purpose. Anyways, here are some things I could have done to combat the self-doubt and loneliness of my venture: 1) before developing the product, a rudimentary marketing plan would have helped. Even something as simple as visit websites of corporate blogs, analyze their copy, and send them a report of their most common mistakes. I could have then used this as an excuse to get them to signup for a mailing list, take a survey, or even converse with them to gauge interest. Earlier feedback would have helped me make an informed choice about whether to continue or to dump the path. 2) Make sure you either have a partner or you're well networked with like-minded technical entrepreneurs in real life. I moved to Syracuse, NY and in the summer time it isn't exactly a tech hotspot. We do have a good business incubator here. SCORE and the local business community are good about being their to provide business-sense. I think being around other people doing the same type of thing would have helped provide an example to emulate. This is probably why location is so important. Going through the roller coaster of pursuing an idea is just that, a roller coaster, and having people around who understand it will help. 3) I like to travel and buy nice clothes. My life style while in the military consisted of nearly one trip a month. Traveling was a big part of who I was. When I left I decided to cut out traveling and the occasional fun outfit as unnecessary luxuries. I should have found a way to include these things somehow (even to a reduced extent) so that I didn't feel like I was giving up a large part of myself. Rewards throughout the process may have helped to ease the process. My dad keeps warning me "make sure on your next venture that you're able to support your life style, you learned the hard way that you're not happy just hiding in your apartment playing on a computer all the time" 4) If you're on your own, don't be afraid to hire out certain aspects of the project. When I'm ready to try again, I kid you not, I'm going to outsource everything I can get away with. Doing it all on my own became too daunting. Once I figured out that I could alleviate the workload with outsourcing, I had become risk averse and didn't want to lose any more money. Once I build up my next cushion I plan to accelerate my next startup effort through outsourcing. Overall, I'm happy I did what I did. I'm sure I had to learn these lessons one way or the other. When I pursue my next venture I'll make sure that: * I am in the right location, * I have a network of tech entrepreneurs to reach out to * I'll market and get potential customer feedback ASAP! * I'll use outsourcing to my advantage Good luck!
swombat 18y ago
Congrats!
raheemm 18y ago
Good luck dude! I'll raise a drink to you this Friday!
wastedbrains 18y ago
Congrats I am now going on about a year and a half since quiting my job on less than what you have. I am sure you will find ways to make it work. It is a great and crazy ride.
hwijaya 18y ago
Congratulations and good luck Shawn! It's incredible!
rickawho 18y ago
Awesome. I'm 2 months into the same process. It is full of ups and downs but infinitely more rewarding than where I was. Except that I am still waiting to get my Dropbox account.
- palish 18y ago
  You now have one. Check your e-mail. :) Also, welcome to Hacker News.
  - khangtoh 18y ago
    How about sending me one as well! Thanks!
    - mattmichielsen 18y ago
      Email address?
  - rickawho 18y ago
    palish! you are the bomb. i made it one day ahead of the public launch! i feel special. i love hacker news.
pageman 18y ago
congratulations! The journey of a thousand miles starts with is one BOLD step! :)
ld50 18y ago
quitting your day is foolish. income is income. you can always start your project on the side. now if you run low on cash you're going to have to waste time interviewing for jobs or begging for money. since you don't have a proof of concept, you're going to have a much harder time begging for money. at the least you should see if they'll let you stay on part-time (20 hrs/week or so), if not take you back full-time. get something working using your nights and weekends.
- staunch 18y ago
  I agree it's a good idea to get something going while still employed. I disagree it's "foolish" not to though. I think the #1 cause of failure for most startups is never taking a plunge at any point. I know too many people who have dreams that remain dreams for so long they're eventually forgotten. It can be really hard to do a good job on a side project if you're the kind of person who tends work really intensely on one thing at a time. Better to take the risk (if you can) and have a real shot at success than always be waiting until "tomorrow". He's forcing himself to succeed or fail. People are capable of a lot when they don't have an easy out. How many successful companies were side projects? Maybe 5-10%? That's a damn low number if you realize how many people have side projects they wish they had the balls to turn into companies. My big concern is that $15k just isn't that much cash. Unless you're living somewhere ridiculously cheap or rent free (parents) that's probably just a few months. Not enough to get the profitability for almost anyone. YC companies only work because they get 3-4 months free, can spend their own money after that, and have a really good shot at getting funding. Hats off to you, Palish. Good luck.
  - palish 18y ago
    Thanks. I burn only a few hundred bucks a month, currently. I've been living at a friend's trailer with his band. In exchange for contributing around the house, I get a roof over my head and all the Ramen I need, so not a bad trade. I'm aiming to stretch the money to last a year and a half, but realistically I'm planning for one year. It may also help that I'm 20... It would be hard to sustain this kind of lifestyle after I have assets, I think. I'm also grateful that I'm working with an extremely talented partner. You're correct. To get tasks done, I have to intensely focus on them one at a time. It has been frustrating to build a product during nights and weekends. A lot of times you simply feel too burned out after work to continue on essentially a second workday. You do anyway, of course, since that's what's required -- but why go through that stress? It is such a relief to have ~50 hours of my life back per week. I'm also fairly sure that those hours won't be wasted, or that the waste will be small, because it's actually a lot of fun to resist temptations like tv, forums, games, etc. It's so much more satisfying to create than to consume.
johnyzee 18y ago
I did two and a half months of that two years ago. Rented a private office and had all day every day to work on my idea. Today I don't even know how those months just disappeared, except that I got nothing substantial done at all. I do remember a few 'small distractions' from an earlier client that needed 'a little' work done. Then there was the sleeping in and the internet procrastination. Oh, it was also really lonely and weird. My advice is to be acutely aware of your opportunity and cease every second like your life depended on it. Plan which things you need to get done, with priorities and estimates. Also, try to have someone else involved in the effort, if only a couple of hired gun programmers. That's how I am going to play it when the next time rolls around (real soon now).
- staunch 18y ago
  > Today I don't even know how those months just disappeared... Could it be that you were a bit burned out? I know it used to take me about 2-3 months between contracts or jobs before I got relaxed and hungry enough to want to dive back into really hard work. A longer runway than 2.5 months is definitely a good idea if you're starting from ground zero.
  - davi 18y ago
    I was really burned out in 2000, but I had enough savings from the bubble to take some time off. It took me about 6 months to get really interested in things again, and what I ended up doing professionally at that point was totally different from programming for a living.
knarf 18y ago
Congratulations and good luck Shawn. I'm on the same journey but two months behind you. Yet the end of the tunnel is in sight :)
known 18y ago
Welcome Shawn.
MoeDrippins 18y ago
Good luck. See you in a few months.
raju 18y ago
Good luck Shawn! Keep us posted on how things are turning out for you.
profgubler 18y ago
Congratulations. Have fun with it. I am going to have to do the two jobs thing myself for a while, though. A wife and kid need income. You are in the perfect position to be doing what you are doing.
migpwr 18y ago
Before opening this I thought this came from someone that sold their company...
siculars 18y ago
congrats! make that money last.
cosmo7 18y ago
Just one word: plastics.
- briancooley 18y ago
  Nice reference, and a classic movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk
andreyf 18y ago
Congrats! coughkarmawhorecough
livando 18y ago
I shall live vicariously through you. All the best!
bkj123 18y ago
Congratulations Shawn!
hollywoodcole 18y ago
Good luck, Shawn! If you don't mind me asking How old are you?
tricky 18y ago
Tear it up, brother. I think we're in the same town and I've lived a few years in a van with a crappy band... You ever need anything give me a shout.
icco 18y ago
As you wander into the great unknown to create the next big thing, remember two important things: 1) The little guys and 2) The great words of Dave Chappell, "Byahhhhh!" Best of Luck.
gills 18y ago
Congratulations. I'm on week 2 of freedom and it's an excellent thing.
dbreunig 18y ago
Good luck! Always nice to see the real world result of sites like this!
mattmaroon 18y ago
Good luck, baby.
donniefitz2 18y ago
Awesome. Now make it happen. ; )
shafqat 18y ago
I wish you the best. I took this step about 3 months ago (and also announced to the HN community). I've never looked back since. Working on my startup (NewsCred) fulltime has been some of the happiest days of my life. Best of luck!
umjames 18y ago
Congrats. I envy you. Someone may have asked this, and if so, could you point me to your response. Did you tell your corporate job that you were leaving to pursue your own startup when they asked why you were voluntarily leaving? I wonder if it's better to be 100% honest about this when leaving your day job. Does anyone have any advice on handling this situation?
crowbar 18y ago
Congratulations! You have no idea how much I envy you right now. Even with the hardships that will come, you will be free. Free! I'm currently in the middle of saving up my own money and though I still have a ways to go, it feels even further away by the minute. Make an appropriate mixtape for the occasion. It's time to rock.
Protophore 18y ago
Congrats Shawn! I think that Robert Frost said it best: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference
herewego 18y ago
Kick some ass! Congrats on your self-promotion Mr. Founder :)
dkd 18y ago
Wish you the best!
ninjaa 18y ago
1. get a partner if possible, esp if he/she will invest real $$ as well. if going solo, get a peer review group set up (beta users, your friend who is a web designer/technical type, your mom, target market, so on). The longer people hear about your product or service, the more likely they will jump on board as soon as it is ready. And people are really good at finding other useful people. Actively network (not necessarily like crazy, more just reality check * small multiple) 2. focus on the business, not the software (freshbooks!). This also means that if you need more than your 15K, start hunting for financing or cash _now_. Cash flow > everything else. When you're sweating laundry money and forgoing Starbucks or a pint at the local NOTHING gets done. You just have to punch past the line where you're "adding features" and instead "fulfilling business needs". A business that's bleeding red has more value than a finished product w/o customers and their attendant baggage - sales marketing support etc. 3. show off the product to many before you think it's "ready", because otherwise your baby will never be ready. Don't even think about competition until you have something competitive - and if you're in internet business, the market is big enough for everybody. Never lie, but do promote your shit to anyone who will listen. 4. Set up a proper dev and DVCS from day -1. Write functional tests so you can at least know if you break functionality while adding features. And docs rule. (Almost) always write code like you won't read it until 3 months later. 5. outsource and manage-host _everything_ reasonable 6. If it's consumer facing software and not middleware - UI IS EVERYTHING. And UI always takes way longer than the so called "hard stuff". 7. always push yourself: not to the limit, but just beyond where you think you can go. The "I can't believe I did that" feeling is my personal favorite. And there will be a lot of feelings. This rollercoaster ride will be rough, but when you're on the way up or at the top ... BOOM ... spring in your step ... pebbles in your shoes ... Michael Phelps ain't got nothing on me (ok, that was extreme, but the "I AM KOBE" effect does rock). In case you didn't read it, Young Money intervied Mark Cuban recently. He says it all better than me: http://www.youngmoney.com/entrepreneur/entrepreneur_profiles/041703_01 http://www.youngmoney.com/entrepreneur/entrepreneur_profiles... All the best!!!

I'm out, baby

164 points by palish 18y ago

brentsg 18y ago

Congrats man. Best of luck.

rantfoil 18y ago

Congratulations, Shawn! Taking the first step is huge, and you're on your way.

qhoxie 18y ago

That is an inspiring move. Best of luck to you.

noodle 18y ago

more appropriate title: "i'm in, baby"

zacharye 18y ago

Very awesome - best of luck to you on your journey!

volida 18y ago

good luck! persistence and hard work!

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

ojbyrne 18y ago

Release early and iterate, stay hanging around here, don't be afraid of negative feedback. And don't give up!

huhtenberg 18y ago
> Release early Though never release half-baked cr@p. You have exactly one chance to make the initial splash, don't waste it.
- gabrielleydon 18y ago
  "Though never release half-baked cr@p. You have exactly one chance to make the initial splash, don't waste it." This is absolutely not true! Release ANYTHING. A half baked product will provide you with required flexibility youll need when the market tells you what you really should be making.
  - furiouslol 18y ago
    Agree. Just don't go on a publicity blitz before your product is at least beta stage.
    - colinplamondon 18y ago
      (Looking at you, Cuil)
  - huhtenberg 18y ago
    > the market tells you what you really should be making. That's what the market research phase of the project planning is for. If you need to fine-tweak your feature set, do a closed alpha with a focus group, that's fine. But if your project plan relies on a public beta feedback for flushing out core feature set, that's just wrong. Or more specifically - it is very risky, because you are essentially implementing a wild guess product for a wild guess market and then hoping it would converge to something of a value.
    - gabrielleydon 18y ago
      Well we almost agree don't we? :) I think you're taking what I'm saying out of context. I said half baked products give you the required flexibility to listen to the market. I dont think you can over expose your self to the market. The problems come when you don't or cant move fast enough to meet its demands. It seems to me that "don't" happens a lot more than "cant" and that's usually because the founders are clinging to feature sets and ideals that aren't working. Its best to avoid that altogether and release a half baked product that you are willing to change as quickly as possible.

aston 18y ago

Good luck! (also, thanks for using Dropbox...)

fallentimes 18y ago

Fuck yes. Congrats man and keep us all posted. If you have a beta, please sign me up: dan[at]ticketstumbler[dot]com. Friday is going to be one of the best days in your life.

socratees 18y ago
yes man, its goin to be one of your best days

nostrademons 18y ago

Congrats, and good luck! The road begins now...

vnorby 18y ago

someone mention what his startup is for noobs? (good luck!)

tdavis 18y ago

Congratulations. Truly. You've chosen to actually do instead of just pipe-dream, and you're taking a huge risk all for the reward of working on something you actually love doing. This is what life is all about. Even if this attempt fails, you've already won.

patrickg-zill 18y ago

Shawn, welcome to a rewarding , frustrating, jaw-dropping, wonderful, scary, awesome part of your life. Taking risks may be risky but the alternative is to never know what might have happened... looking back I feel worse about the chances I didn't take, than the chances I did take.

iamdave 18y ago

Good luck man, and congrats on meeting your goal! Please come back and let us know how you're doing, we'd love to continue to inspire someone who's living a dream

watmough 18y ago

Sweet, congratulations! Remember to have a backup plan. You will appear smarter to corporates, once you are outside, but don't burn bridges. Good Luck with your plans! (I just did the same thing, but, at least my wife is still working)

rewind 18y ago

I saw the title and thought it was someone bitching about HN content going downhill and leaving the site and was ready to tell you good riddence, but the actual post was a welcome alternative. Good luck! I still remember the drive home on a Friday when I left for the last time -- an inexplicable feeling. When I pulled the pin about eight years ago I had about $25K put aside and it went a lot faster than I thought it would!!! Either way, you're in for a wild ride. Enjoy it!!!

aresant 18y ago

Shawn - congrats. You'll never regret this decision.

vaksel 18y ago

Maybe you should wait another day...its probably bad karma to do this on the anniversary of 9/11

rnesh 18y ago

Good luck. I look forward to seeing what you build.

jyothi 18y ago

Be frugal, hope the best yet stay focused on the bottom-line. make money seek glory. Run fast and I wish you every success.

nickb 18y ago

Good luck Shawn :) EXCELLENT move!! PS: Hit me up on gtalk sometime.

brfox 18y ago

I thought this was going to be a post about an old Seinfeld episode.

mrtron 18y ago

I bet you will come to cherish that extra 951.10. Congrats, and let me chime in that it is the best move you can make too. You only live once, it will be great regardless of how it turns out, all those things are true.

malekov 18y ago

Good luck palish :-)

jhickner 18y ago

Good luck! This is the best decision you'll ever make!

martythemaniak 18y ago

Congrats and good luck :) I'll join you one of these days...

merrick33 18y ago

beginning of the rest of your life starts now

cmos 18y ago

So congratulations are in order! First off, kudos on the willpower to save $15k. That's no small feat. And secondly, remember this, for every low point there is an equal and opposite high point. You are a complete idiot. You left a perfectly good job for the dream of a lifetime. Relish that every day from now on will be amazing. And possibly just a tad horrible.

bluefish 18y ago

You've already done the hardest part. Even if it doesn't work out, you've stepped up for what you believe in. Lots of people reading this wish they had the courage to do what you're doing. Best of a luck, a stranger

asdf333 18y ago

Be frugal and execute like a madman. Godspeed.

rms 18y ago

Congratulations! (one of my favorite things about this community is that the appropriate response to "I quit my job" is "Congratulations!")

raffi 18y ago

When I left the military I had substantial savings to get a startup off the ground and finish a graduate degree. I decided to write software to help people write better. I always had issues with my own writing as was excited about an extended GNU Style / Diction that could curb my own bad habits. I created http://www.polishmywriting.com/ http://www.polishmywriting.com/ as a technical demonstration for my rule engine. I spent the month of June working very long days to write the engine, build the site, and research/import nearly 8,000 rules into the database. Once I had completed this, I decided to reach out to my friends and old coworkers to get feedback. To my surprise there wasn't much interest. I took this as a red flag about the technology. Without any local validation/support I felt down. Then I met with some management consultants. Wonderful people! They were willing to work with me through the process of turning the technology into a product. We discussed CMS/blog software integration, a facebook application, and even a tool to aid the workflow for technical writing departments in corporations. With this I felt up. I took my list of ideas and their tips on how to develop a market study home with me. I looked at the site and how much effort I put into the development up to that point. I then looked at how much effort it would take to go from there to one of the product ideas (plus handling the business side) and nearly collapsed from the anticipated exhaustion. At this point I felt down. Someone once said that an early startup is full of self-doubt and loneliness. Truer words were never spoken. About 6 weeks in I succumbed to this and it took probably another ~8 weeks before I admitted to myself I wasn't making progress and decided to interview for a position. Thankfully my last semester of school started back up which helped force my hand and restore a sense of purpose. Anyways, here are some things I could have done to combat the self-doubt and loneliness of my venture: 1) before developing the product, a rudimentary marketing plan would have helped. Even something as simple as visit websites of corporate blogs, analyze their copy, and send them a report of their most common mistakes. I could have then used this as an excuse to get them to signup for a mailing list, take a survey, or even converse with them to gauge interest. Earlier feedback would have helped me make an informed choice about whether to continue or to dump the path. 2) Make sure you either have a partner or you're well networked with like-minded technical entrepreneurs in real life. I moved to Syracuse, NY and in the summer time it isn't exactly a tech hotspot. We do have a good business incubator here. SCORE and the local business community are good about being their to provide business-sense. I think being around other people doing the same type of thing would have helped provide an example to emulate. This is probably why location is so important. Going through the roller coaster of pursuing an idea is just that, a roller coaster, and having people around who understand it will help. 3) I like to travel and buy nice clothes. My life style while in the military consisted of nearly one trip a month. Traveling was a big part of who I was. When I left I decided to cut out traveling and the occasional fun outfit as unnecessary luxuries. I should have found a way to include these things somehow (even to a reduced extent) so that I didn't feel like I was giving up a large part of myself. Rewards throughout the process may have helped to ease the process. My dad keeps warning me "make sure on your next venture that you're able to support your life style, you learned the hard way that you're not happy just hiding in your apartment playing on a computer all the time" 4) If you're on your own, don't be afraid to hire out certain aspects of the project. When I'm ready to try again, I kid you not, I'm going to outsource everything I can get away with. Doing it all on my own became too daunting. Once I figured out that I could alleviate the workload with outsourcing, I had become risk averse and didn't want to lose any more money. Once I build up my next cushion I plan to accelerate my next startup effort through outsourcing. Overall, I'm happy I did what I did. I'm sure I had to learn these lessons one way or the other. When I pursue my next venture I'll make sure that: * I am in the right location, * I have a network of tech entrepreneurs to reach out to * I'll market and get potential customer feedback ASAP! * I'll use outsourcing to my advantage Good luck!

swombat 18y ago

Congrats!

raheemm 18y ago

Good luck dude! I'll raise a drink to you this Friday!

wastedbrains 18y ago

Congrats I am now going on about a year and a half since quiting my job on less than what you have. I am sure you will find ways to make it work. It is a great and crazy ride.

hwijaya 18y ago

Congratulations and good luck Shawn! It's incredible!

rickawho 18y ago

Awesome. I'm 2 months into the same process. It is full of ups and downs but infinitely more rewarding than where I was. Except that I am still waiting to get my Dropbox account.

palish 18y ago
You now have one. Check your e-mail. :) Also, welcome to Hacker News.
- khangtoh 18y ago
  How about sending me one as well! Thanks!
  - mattmichielsen 18y ago
    Email address?
- rickawho 18y ago
  palish! you are the bomb. i made it one day ahead of the public launch! i feel special. i love hacker news.

pageman 18y ago

congratulations! The journey of a thousand miles starts with is one BOLD step! :)

ld50 18y ago

quitting your day is foolish. income is income. you can always start your project on the side. now if you run low on cash you're going to have to waste time interviewing for jobs or begging for money. since you don't have a proof of concept, you're going to have a much harder time begging for money. at the least you should see if they'll let you stay on part-time (20 hrs/week or so), if not take you back full-time. get something working using your nights and weekends.

staunch 18y ago
I agree it's a good idea to get something going while still employed. I disagree it's "foolish" not to though. I think the #1 cause of failure for most startups is never taking a plunge at any point. I know too many people who have dreams that remain dreams for so long they're eventually forgotten. It can be really hard to do a good job on a side project if you're the kind of person who tends work really intensely on one thing at a time. Better to take the risk (if you can) and have a real shot at success than always be waiting until "tomorrow". He's forcing himself to succeed or fail. People are capable of a lot when they don't have an easy out. How many successful companies were side projects? Maybe 5-10%? That's a damn low number if you realize how many people have side projects they wish they had the balls to turn into companies. My big concern is that $15k just isn't that much cash. Unless you're living somewhere ridiculously cheap or rent free (parents) that's probably just a few months. Not enough to get the profitability for almost anyone. YC companies only work because they get 3-4 months free, can spend their own money after that, and have a really good shot at getting funding. Hats off to you, Palish. Good luck.
- palish 18y ago
  Thanks. I burn only a few hundred bucks a month, currently. I've been living at a friend's trailer with his band. In exchange for contributing around the house, I get a roof over my head and all the Ramen I need, so not a bad trade. I'm aiming to stretch the money to last a year and a half, but realistically I'm planning for one year. It may also help that I'm 20... It would be hard to sustain this kind of lifestyle after I have assets, I think. I'm also grateful that I'm working with an extremely talented partner. You're correct. To get tasks done, I have to intensely focus on them one at a time. It has been frustrating to build a product during nights and weekends. A lot of times you simply feel too burned out after work to continue on essentially a second workday. You do anyway, of course, since that's what's required -- but why go through that stress? It is such a relief to have ~50 hours of my life back per week. I'm also fairly sure that those hours won't be wasted, or that the waste will be small, because it's actually a lot of fun to resist temptations like tv, forums, games, etc. It's so much more satisfying to create than to consume.

johnyzee 18y ago

I did two and a half months of that two years ago. Rented a private office and had all day every day to work on my idea. Today I don't even know how those months just disappeared, except that I got nothing substantial done at all. I do remember a few 'small distractions' from an earlier client that needed 'a little' work done. Then there was the sleeping in and the internet procrastination. Oh, it was also really lonely and weird. My advice is to be acutely aware of your opportunity and cease every second like your life depended on it. Plan which things you need to get done, with priorities and estimates. Also, try to have someone else involved in the effort, if only a couple of hired gun programmers. That's how I am going to play it when the next time rolls around (real soon now).

staunch 18y ago
> Today I don't even know how those months just disappeared... Could it be that you were a bit burned out? I know it used to take me about 2-3 months between contracts or jobs before I got relaxed and hungry enough to want to dive back into really hard work. A longer runway than 2.5 months is definitely a good idea if you're starting from ground zero.
- davi 18y ago
  I was really burned out in 2000, but I had enough savings from the bubble to take some time off. It took me about 6 months to get really interested in things again, and what I ended up doing professionally at that point was totally different from programming for a living.

knarf 18y ago

Congratulations and good luck Shawn. I'm on the same journey but two months behind you. Yet the end of the tunnel is in sight :)

known 18y ago

Welcome Shawn.

MoeDrippins 18y ago

Good luck. See you in a few months.

raju 18y ago

Good luck Shawn! Keep us posted on how things are turning out for you.

profgubler 18y ago

Congratulations. Have fun with it. I am going to have to do the two jobs thing myself for a while, though. A wife and kid need income. You are in the perfect position to be doing what you are doing.

migpwr 18y ago

Before opening this I thought this came from someone that sold their company...

siculars 18y ago

congrats! make that money last.

cosmo7 18y ago

Just one word: plastics.

briancooley 18y ago
Nice reference, and a classic movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk

andreyf 18y ago

Congrats! coughkarmawhorecough

livando 18y ago

I shall live vicariously through you. All the best!

bkj123 18y ago

Congratulations Shawn!

hollywoodcole 18y ago

Good luck, Shawn! If you don't mind me asking How old are you?

tricky 18y ago

Tear it up, brother. I think we're in the same town and I've lived a few years in a van with a crappy band... You ever need anything give me a shout.

icco 18y ago

As you wander into the great unknown to create the next big thing, remember two important things: 1) The little guys and 2) The great words of Dave Chappell, "Byahhhhh!" Best of Luck.

gills 18y ago

Congratulations. I'm on week 2 of freedom and it's an excellent thing.

dbreunig 18y ago

Good luck! Always nice to see the real world result of sites like this!

mattmaroon 18y ago

Good luck, baby.

donniefitz2 18y ago

Awesome. Now make it happen. ; )

shafqat 18y ago

I wish you the best. I took this step about 3 months ago (and also announced to the HN community). I've never looked back since. Working on my startup (NewsCred) fulltime has been some of the happiest days of my life. Best of luck!

umjames 18y ago

Congrats. I envy you. Someone may have asked this, and if so, could you point me to your response. Did you tell your corporate job that you were leaving to pursue your own startup when they asked why you were voluntarily leaving? I wonder if it's better to be 100% honest about this when leaving your day job. Does anyone have any advice on handling this situation?

crowbar 18y ago

Congratulations! You have no idea how much I envy you right now. Even with the hardships that will come, you will be free. Free! I'm currently in the middle of saving up my own money and though I still have a ways to go, it feels even further away by the minute. Make an appropriate mixtape for the occasion. It's time to rock.

Protophore 18y ago

Congrats Shawn! I think that Robert Frost said it best: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference

herewego 18y ago

Kick some ass! Congrats on your self-promotion Mr. Founder :)

dkd 18y ago

Wish you the best!

ninjaa 18y ago

1. get a partner if possible, esp if he/she will invest real $$ as well. if going solo, get a peer review group set up (beta users, your friend who is a web designer/technical type, your mom, target market, so on). The longer people hear about your product or service, the more likely they will jump on board as soon as it is ready. And people are really good at finding other useful people. Actively network (not necessarily like crazy, more just reality check * small multiple) 2. focus on the business, not the software (freshbooks!). This also means that if you need more than your 15K, start hunting for financing or cash _now_. Cash flow > everything else. When you're sweating laundry money and forgoing Starbucks or a pint at the local NOTHING gets done. You just have to punch past the line where you're "adding features" and instead "fulfilling business needs". A business that's bleeding red has more value than a finished product w/o customers and their attendant baggage - sales marketing support etc. 3. show off the product to many before you think it's "ready", because otherwise your baby will never be ready. Don't even think about competition until you have something competitive - and if you're in internet business, the market is big enough for everybody. Never lie, but do promote your shit to anyone who will listen. 4. Set up a proper dev and DVCS from day -1. Write functional tests so you can at least know if you break functionality while adding features. And docs rule. (Almost) always write code like you won't read it until 3 months later. 5. outsource and manage-host _everything_ reasonable 6. If it's consumer facing software and not middleware - UI IS EVERYTHING. And UI always takes way longer than the so called "hard stuff". 7. always push yourself: not to the limit, but just beyond where you think you can go. The "I can't believe I did that" feeling is my personal favorite. And there will be a lot of feelings. This rollercoaster ride will be rough, but when you're on the way up or at the top ... BOOM ... spring in your step ... pebbles in your shoes ... Michael Phelps ain't got nothing on me (ok, that was extreme, but the "I AM KOBE" effect does rock). In case you didn't read it, Young Money intervied Mark Cuban recently. He says it all better than me: http://www.youngmoney.com/entrepreneur/entrepreneur_profiles/041703_01 http://www.youngmoney.com/entrepreneur/entrepreneur_profiles... All the best!!!