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Poll: Non-Founders, Why Are You Not Starting a Start-Up?

52 points by ghempton 15y ago

I am curious as to what are the primary reasons for people who talk about startups not taking the leap.

Swizec 15y ago
It took a lot of pain, but I finally got it through my thick skull that you can't go off gallivanting and starting startups if you're not earning enough to even make a living on your own. Being a student has its downsides.
stefanve 15y ago
I have some great ideas (or so I like to think) but no money/time to purse them.
- RexM 15y ago
  Would you mind sharing some of your ideas to those (like me) that have the time but don't know what to work on? Maybe others can find a passion in what you don't have time to pursue.
  - jeffool 15y ago
    There's a few sites out there where people share their ideas to be judged. There's also the "weekend project" sites if you're looking for someone actively working on their site. There's also exactly what you did here, talking to fellow HNers! Personally, I find all of it interesting (tech, business, politics), but have no tech expertise, and would like to learn more of the hustle.
nathanb 15y ago
I have a nonprofit I'm passionate about, so I work my 9-5 to get money and pour my energy into my passion. Could I get rich if I redirected that passion to something profitable? Possibly. But to what end?
sp332 15y ago
Most startups fail. Why would I throw my money in a hole?
- brildum 15y ago
  This resonates with me. Like you, I'm risk-averse but I still have hopes to create my own company one day. It'll start as a side project and then if I get enough traction, perhaps it'll be enough to convince me to take the leap.
  - toyg 15y ago
    My experience taught me that moonlighting is hard. If you are really convinced it's gonna work, try taking vacation or sabbatical leave for a month or so (if you can) and work full time, ship the damn thing, advertise the hell out of it, and start counting the money / since your life doesn't depend on it, you need some gratification to keep going.
    - marcc 15y ago
      This exactly. If you are committed to your project full time, then it's a lifestyle business and not the type of startup referenced here. Lifestyle businesses are great, but I've only met a handful of people who have had their life changed from a lifestyle business. If you are passionate about something, why won't you leap? I'm mid 30s, married and kids and bills to pay, but I am still making the jump because I'm incredibly passionate about my idea.
- breathesalt 15y ago
  If you're going to throw time and money into filling your own hole anyways.
- sneak 15y ago
  Let's hear it for risk aversion!
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
dangrover 15y ago
I just sold my first one and the 9-5 is kind of a relief. Going to get antsy soon though.
- Hisoka 15y ago
  what was the startup you sold and to whom? just curious
gaustin 15y ago
I have no ideas that I'm comfortable and interested in investing time and energy into. It's that simple.
mscarborough 15y ago
Because I'm happy where I am working and that goes beyond 'security and predictability'. Also remember a lot of folks are more interested in the Hacker side of things, not just startup stuff.
davidtyleryork 15y ago
Other: I still have a hell of a lot to learn and would be better off learning from a great team than slogging away at it inefficiently on my own
riffraff 15y ago
isn't there a missing case of working for a startup you did not start? Not secure and predictable job but still not the full leap.
Apreche 15y ago
Almost all of the people I see doing startups are young college, or just out of college, kids with nothing to lose or people who are already extremely rich. I work to live, I don't live to work. I flat out refuse to work more than 9-5 and even that is too much. These startups expect you to give them your entire lives, 24 hours a day, and weekends, and eat nothing but ramen. I don't know about you guys, but I have rent to pay. I need to be paid with real cash, guaranteed. I also need to spend as little time at work as possible in order to earn that cash. I have more important things to do, like sleeping, eating, and spending time with friends and family. I can almost understand the punk kids who do startups, since they have nothing to lose. I absolutely can not understand the VCs or the rich people who do startups. These people have millions of dollars already. As nice and cool as they may be when you meet them, they are fundamentally in a business of greed. They can already retire to a private tropical island forever, but instead they are going to spend their money making some trivial social web app to squeeze out a few advertising dollars. That's perhaps the real reason I don't do a startup. Nobody wants to give me money because they know that as soon as the check clears I'll be out the door never to be seen again.
- gavanwoolery 15y ago
  If you want to understand millionaires who continue to do startups, here are a few possible reasons: 1) They enjoy work, even if they are working on something that is seemingly trivial. 2) One million dollars is not enough. Nor is 10. In fact, most people that earn a few million rarely retire after that. It is more a game of power, fame, and (possibly) goodwill than wealth. Bill Gates could have retired much earlier, but instead he amassed a huge amount of wealth and started one of the world's biggest charities (the Gates Foundation). Warren Buffet spends very little on himself - he owns one house that he bought for a small sum of money, and he gave 99 percent of his money to the Gates Foundation. That said, there is a fine line between the "punk kids" (who are usually the designers and developers) and the founders in larger companies. Founders in their second, third, and etc...companies typically have very comfortable lifestyles.
  - protagonist_h 15y ago
    > most people that earn a few million rarely retire after that If you give a few million to random person, 99% chance he/she will retire. However, people who EARN few million rarely retire. I imagine that's precisely the difference between those who make it and those who don't.
bartonfink 15y ago
I just had a baby in May, and we planning on emigrating from the U.S. in the near-to-mid term. Thus, my priorities don't include starting and running my own business when I have many other things to take care of before heading down under. It's something I may try to tackle down the road, but for the next 3-4 years I want to spend my energy on other things.
gavanwoolery 15y ago
I think there are many ways to classify a startup. I just enjoy working on projects in my spare time. My financial stability does not depend on the success of my side projects, although it would be nice if I could make a living doing what I enjoy. You might ask why I would not go out and seek funding. Simply put, I do not think many people would fund me, and those who would probably would want to slightly redirect the path of my work. The only things I enjoy working on are those that are risky, unproven, and complex - all things that investors hate.
cobrabyte 15y ago
Running my own web design & search engine marketing company that keeps me from working on startup ideas. Every time I get ready to put the day job on-hold, someone comes along with a "we'll pay anything" project that we end up taking. I guess I'll have to get stronger so I can just say "no thanks" and move on to what I really want to do.
tsycho 15y ago
My visa (H1) makes it difficult (impossible?) for me to build a startup in the US, and at the moment I don't want to leave the US.
Retreads 15y ago
I am brushing up on my atrophied/outdated code-fu. Years in business will do that to you, but start-up here I come.
pewpewlasergun 15y ago
I'm not as skilled as I need to be to pursue the ideas that excite me, and I am not excited about the ideas that I am skilled enough to pursue.
aidenn0 15y ago
I have a family and kids and that takes up so much time and energy that that extra bit of time and energy that a startup takes over a challenging day job just isn't there.
geuis 15y ago
I need a cofounder or two.
toyg 15y ago
I actually tried last year, opened a company and moonlighted for a few weeks. In the end I simply couldn't muster enough energy and money (I'm married and have a 2-year old daughter, with a baby boy coming up in a few weeks), so effort waned and I never launched. Then I found a more interesting and demanding job, and simply closed everything down. I still have a few domains left (xpenses.mobi and .net among others, if anyone is interested). TL,DR: startup + other job + family = didn't work for me.
Vivtek 15y ago
I have no freaking time until I get at least one kid shipped off to college. Although then I suppose the "financial reasons" answer will come into play.
anand 15y ago
Doing a startup is really hard. Emotionally grueling and demanding. You have to fight for every 100 users you get. At a bigger company you get 100k's or millions of users "automatically". Right now, I'm more interested in building world changing products that are used by millions, and I feel like my chances for success are higher at a big company since lots of really cool startups die because they couldn't get enough awareness/marketing to get adoption. "At a startup all your challenges are external. At a big company, all your challenges are internal". Fwiw, I started a startup that was acquired so I'm also incented to stick around so that probably biases my thinking a bit too.
TomOfTTB 15y ago
Because I want to make a difference in the world and I found building a startup doesn't allow you to do that in most cases. I mean, I’ll always be grateful for my startup experience but I’m man enough to admit it was pointless. We built a product, spent our whole time trying to convince people our product was worthwhile, eventually convinced someone who bought the product and then watched the product be squandered. So the founders got a decent amount of money. The first employees (aka Me) got a smaller but still decent amount of money. And we all went on our merry way. But I didn’t accomplish a damn thing during that time. My work was flushed down the toilet and half my time was spent trying to get media coverage. I accomplish more in one day of my current job than I did in the whole year I was in the valley because in my current job people use the fruits of my labor instantly. Again, I’m not complaining. I like what I do now and I couldn’t do it if not for the money I received then. I’ll always be grateful. But as someone who wants to make a difference in the world I don’t see a startup as the way to do that anymore.
scythe 15y ago
I'm in grad school going for a PhD in physics. I was a programmer. I hated it. I make less than half what I used to. It's awesome. That said, if I can't pull this off for some reason, I'll probably move out to the Valley and roll the dice.
- shrub 15y ago
  That's interesting. I started in physics and moved to computer science. I would much rather be programming. That's my answer to the poll as well. All the extra stuff that seems to go into a start-up (knowing about finances and advertising and networking...?) - I'd rather be programming.
Jun8 15y ago
"In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice." Not easy indeed! I don't like my job, yet cannot cut loose from the daily cocoon that I'm used to.
michaelchisari 15y ago
Because I work on open source instead. It lets me write cool code, without the associated market pressures of a startup.
Benjo 15y ago
This may be a subcategory of "financial reasons," but health care is probably a big factor for a lot of people in the US.
jaxn 15y ago
I am full-firce right now. But I had a lull year before starting this one where I felt unmotivated. I had a failed startup and one that was "successful" but didn't make me any money. I had enough mostly-passive income from two retail stores that I am a partner in, so I wasn't particularly financially motivated. Then inspiration struck.
tejaswiy 15y ago
I'm on an H1B. Trying to figure out how to, without compromising my chances of getting a greencard.
tejaswiy 15y ago
I'm on an H1B. Trying to figure out how to, without compromising my chances of getting a greencard. Technically, I can't even build + charge for an iOS application right now.
JonnieCache 15y ago
I get a real paycheck each month, I use whatever languages/tools I want, and I still don't have to wear shoes to the office! Suckers! ;)
flexd 15y ago
I'm still in uni and I have no idea for a business/product.
kenjackson 15y ago
I've done the startup thing a few times, and I realized that I don't like the business aspect of it all that much. I like development/architecture/brainstorming/etc... I don't like asking for money, laying people off, being constantly stressed out about this or that issue that I have little to no control over. I really don't have fond memories of cash flow crunches and bridge loans. If I did end up being a founder again, I'd definitely be a technical one (the distinction didn't exist so much in the past). If it has to do with something that isn't code/design/architecture/etc... it's the other founders issue. I could go for that. But setting the right expectations as an employee isn't a bad thing either. My funnest experience in the work world was actually working for a big company on a product I enjoyed. I loved the work and really focused solely on the product. I really haven't had a chance to do that since.
derwiki 15y ago
Other: I'm getting valuable hands-on product experience at my current gig (low risk too, since it's not my company). When that ends, I'll probably get the itch to start something.
kevinherron 15y ago
Fear of failure. Bills. Lack of enough real motivation to move beyond sleepless nights thinking about my ideas and onto sleepless nights working on them. Laziness. Resistance to change. Comfort. A million other excuses. Just like these.
dustineichler 15y ago
Other -- and this is important. Lack of connections and willingness to use people is something worth considering. I know a lot of people, but not a fan of nepotism. However, I wouldn't mind someone believing in me, but would never ask. So I've heard, your first startup isn't really about the idea. It's about "you" or your character. That does not preclude me from building something. I just rather assume it's a project until certain milestones have been reached.
jeffool 15y ago
It astounds me the number of people who are here with no idea for a startup. Are you guys hackers, hustlers, "idea people", or am I missing a contingency? Mind blowing.
- SkyMarshal 15y ago
  No idea if I'm representative of others, but let me just throw this out there: I have tons of ideas, but they're all crap. If I'm going to work 'startup hard' at something, it's certainly not going to be another social/gaming/fotm diversion. Contrary to popular opinion, ideas do matter. If you decide to base a startup on one, you have to decide whether it's worth devoting three or so years of your life to implementing it, with the goal of world-class execution, and all the work and sacrifice that entails. None of my ideas have yet passed muster in that regard. If you're going to work as hard at an unoriginal, uninspired idea as you would at a truly world-changing idea, then better to hold out for the latter (unless you just want to use the former to get practice). There are some truly world changing things going on in tech, like cryptocurrency and 3D printing, that are (or may soon be) more worth building something around. I'm holding out for that.
  - eaurouge 15y ago
    Solving a problem that is currently a pain of yours is usually a good motivator. If you're lucky and there's enough of a market (others feel the same pain too) then it may be worth exploring further. On building around future tech, you probably want to start building (or at least planning) in anticipation or you may have to play catch up when once the tech becomes available.
    - SkyMarshal 15y ago
      True. I should probably generalize what I said to, understand the costs and opportunity costs of time, lost salary and savings for a few years, and the low odds of startup success, and then weigh whether your idea is worth it, based on whatever scale is meaningful to you - money, improve the world, solve problems, etc.
egypturnash 15y ago
I'm not on YC for the startup talk, though I find it interesting now and then. I come here because it has links to thoughtful tech articles; I started reading YC when people from Digg started to flood into Reddit. OTOH maybe I am involved in doing a startup - just not the kind of startup YC talks about all the time. I'm an artist who spends most of her time hanging around her studio (or occasionally out in a coffee shop with the laptop) drawing weird sci-fi comics and trying to build a large enough audience to make a sustainable living off of my art. Somewhere way down the line there's the big brass ring of "movie deals" but I ain't holding my breath.
- Sukotto 15y ago
  I like weird scifi comics. You should put a link in your profile
flyosity 15y ago
Other. I don't know what this would fall under, but I have a full-time job and also sell things that I write/build on the side. It's not a startup. I sell tutorials and apps and make pretty good money (I could quit my job, but my job is a lot of fun) from it. It's odd that this build-products-and-make-money-on-the-side avenue is skipped over in these and other discussions.
- slouch 15y ago
  This. I work on websites everyday in order to make more money on the side; it's just not a startup as defined here.
ares2012 15y ago
I'll point out that if everyone took the leap then you would have no one to hire as your business grew. Not everyone can be the founder just like not everyone can be the CEO. As someone who has started companies and worked for others I can tell you that both can be fulfilling.
nateberkopec 15y ago
I don't feel that I know enough yet. I've seen too many friends run around in circles jumping from project to project, failure to failure. 37signals likes to cite a Stanford (?) study that founders who have failed are statistically no more likely to succeed than first time founders. Only successful founders have a statistical leg up when starting a new venture. I don't believe that a large-scale, I'm-gonna-go-out-and-raise project necessarily teaches you anything. It's sort of like the big show - you should have rehearsed beforehand. That said, that doesn't mean I'm not learning. I think you can learn a ton from hacks/little projects, like Kyle Bragger's tinyproj. Having users for a product does not a startup make, but I think you can learn a lot from that experience. I'm also working my way through a massive stack of management theory/software development/hacking books that I know I'll never read once I actually start a company. A lot of successful founders I know had significant work histories at startups or otherwise before starting something. I don't have that yet.
monochromatic 15y ago
I'm too busy writing the patents that everyone around here loves to hate.
MatthewB 15y ago
I expected the majority of people to say they lack a co-founder, not an idea. Ideas are pretty easy to come by from my experience. Finding someone who compliments your skill set, is ready to go "all in" with you, and you actually click with is a much more difficult task. For anyone who is looking for an idea, is a hacker, and lives in SF - I have an idea for a startup and am looking for a cofounder. Email me (in my profile) for more information. I am looking for someone who is interested in virtual goods/currency and the free-to-play gaming model.
- ironchef 15y ago
  "Ideas are pretty easy to come by from my experience." I think part of the difference is there is a difference between: A) an idea that makes money B) an idea that i really believe in and / or i think will make a large difference Some people don't want A...they want B. B is a bit more difficult to find for some.
  - MatthewB 15y ago
    If you look at the most recent YC batch, you will notice that a lot of the startup ideas could have just been features of other products. The point is a lot of these initial startup ideas aren't going to be game changers but with the right team in place and rapid iteration, they stand a good chance of evolving their companies into game changers.
  - gaustin 15y ago
    I would be ecstatic to have an idea that's both reasonably achievable and that has reasonable chance of making some money. Yeah. Not shooting for the stars. I'm just looking for a base hit to build some confidence.
prodigal_erik 15y ago
Opportunity cost. If I'd read pg twenty years ago I like to think I would have more readily, but I expect my peak earning years are right now (I'm 40 and paid somewhat over market and regularly reminded how glad they are that I've stayed on) and I'm finally starting to save after squandering a much lower salary for far too long. My savings at this point do amount to a few years' runway, but that means I'd be gambling with my nascent retirement fund. Someone would have to convince me they actually know what the market wants (after seeing ludicrous ideas succeed, I clearly don't) for me to go all-in on their big idea, or find an investor confident enough to cover market-ish rate for me as an early employee.
VonLipwig 15y ago
My main issue is the lack of a co-founder is delaying me. With a co-founder my business would be up and running by xmas. Without it will probably be March and as such it is just plodding along.
ctdonath 15y ago
Note that "enjoy" may be very broadly defined.
cmagahern 15y ago
I'd really like to create a start-up, and my partner and I have many ideas, but I feel like most start-ups out there today are playing the role of the third-party instead of creating truly revolutionary things. Companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have the resources and backing to execute any idea that has a chance to change the industry. Compare this to a start-up, where if your imagination extends beyond what the iOS SDK or some web framework provides, then nine times out of ten, you're out of luck. I'm not saying that start-ups are completely incapable of becoming a first-party, but it's been a while since I've personally seen a truly revolutionary idea that can realistically be carried out by such a small group of people with little money.
tlogan 15y ago
I just follow Jeff Bezos's "Regret Minimization Framework". Yes, I'm old, I don't have money but I would be very very sad on my deathbed if I didn't try and work all my life in big corporation.
checoivan 15y ago
I was starting something, when my dad got sick. Visa/money/cofounder is a problem most of us have,but just one an extre hump to get through. After I had to fly back home and take care of things. It was really hard for several months to focus on work, when the top idea on my head was family, and pulling stunts with hospitals/insurers.
Sukotto 15y ago
"Other" though I think I just completed laying the foundation so that I can start. So far I've identified a niche with a real pain point... people in my wife's industry have to perform a (unregulated) task each month. This takes them between 4hours and 2 full days to complete. There's existing competition and I think I could do way better. Today I got signoff from my day job that they will not steal this project from me sometime in the future. So... foundation laid. I have a good, basic, understanding of the problem domain and have a domain expert (hi honey!) to guide my efforts. Now it's a matter of building the first prototype and watch her try to use it. Will submit a ShowHN once I have a usable tool and validated the business model. Wish me luck!
BadCookie 15y ago
My spouse doesn't want me to. Also, the current economy scares the bejesus out of me. I know what they say about a recession being a good time to start a company (and also that we are not officially in a recession ... yet). But with the US government threatening to shut down every couple of weeks, why would I leave an easy job with an essentially guaranteed six figure salary? Someday I will, I hope, but not today.
anon1987 15y ago
In the words of Mark Suster 'Is it time for you to earn or is it time for you to learn?' At the moment, I'm 24 years old (I hated typing the 24 I was 23 only yesterday). I'm in a fortunate but also unfortunate position. I've got a freehold house (mortgage free) but I've got a ton of expenses from my family oh and an ill parent to look after. I've paid down the mortgage on this house completely and I pay for every single thing in this house and my own living expenses. I've worked in two very very hot start-ups in v.sexy sectors. You've probably heard of both. Unfortunately, I just left college and the positions aren't exactly lucrative but the opportunities to learn are formidable. So for me 'life's ability' to try isn't available due to financial constraints. I've two options either a) start my own thing or b) join someone else's start-up at the founder or first 2-3 senior hire positions. At present I'd prefer to do my own thing and being in a full time job is needed. Real estate is an awful investment esp if it is your ONLY investment like it is for most people. I'd much prefer to be in a position i was in 4 years ago with a solid portfolio of liquid investments. However, I realise a business is a brilliant investment, probably the best especially if its cash generative. My long term goal actually is venture capital so either way I need solid operating experience to break in. So, thats really whats holding me back but fortunately, I've got time on my side :)
empresario 15y ago
I am a student and lack the proper motivation in the right direction, but have the enthusiasm and will start one day. :)
IsaacSchlueter 15y ago
I get paid to work on my open source project.
queensnake 15y ago
One of my ideas isn't big enough, and has taken longer than I expected; other of my ideas may be too big for my brain to accomplish (I don't want to do any web-gimmicks).
v21 15y ago
I want to make games. I want to get really good at making games. It's not even specifically games - I find the intersection of technology and human behaviour fascinating, and games are merely the most fertile patch. I love working on problems that involve such an amazingly wide variety of aspects. Maybe that's because I love novelty, and learning. Some day, I would quite like to strike out on my own and sustain myself off the games I make. Live the "indie dream". But right now I have a job with a large degree of creative freedom, where I get to practice my craft. I don't have to stress about the financial aspects, I don't have the immediate pressure of "ship-or-starve" and I don't have to worry about the things I make when I'm not working making any money. If they do, fantastic! But if they are only interesting, then I have still won.
RockerCoder 15y ago
Ive got some ideas, none of them are very fancy, since I have no plan on being funded, all my ideas are little micro-business bootstrap stuff... and I'm not starting them up because I don't have enough discipline yet to go spend enough time working(Im a remote coder) to have free time later to work on my own stuff... I always end up spending my whole day between work and procrastinating, then I work more to compensate my procrastination, sleep late, wake up late...etc :(
nosequel 15y ago
Other: Money isn't everything, and I'd rather have relationships and free time over the need to build something. If I really need to build something from the ground up I go into my garage. I make good money, work at a startup (but not a founder) and if it hits big, I'll get some of the payout, but I won't be a millionaire. Unlike the founders though I'll have a relaxing life! Money and fame isn't everything.
enan 15y ago
immigration
veidr 15y ago
After serving as founder, co-founder, or early equity hire for a few startups over the years, I now work a straight job at a stable, decades-old company, doing mainly programming and IT stuff. There are nice things about it. It's great to be able to completely push work out of my mind. Barring extreme emergency, I refuse to even think about work when off the clock--that's what work hours are for. In the shower, I think about how the hot water feels on my neck. In my spare time, I make things that I am utterly not good at making, and never will be (e.g., homemade furniture). I don't mentally evaluate every dinner out with my wife against what I could be doing with that time. That certainly isn't how it was when I was running my own startups. A relatively generous and reliable salary is also a boon, especially as I plow through my fourth decade of life and start doing things like buying a house and producing offspring. Having said all that, I'm almost certain to try another startup (or two? three?) in the future. But it is refreshing to take a decade (or two? three?) and focus on other things.
willpower101 15y ago
I have all my ideas over the years documents. Somewhere just over 30 right now, 3-5 good ones a year, and at least 8 that another company took to market within a year or two of my conceptualization.) I just lack of a technical co-founder. I'm too busy drafting up executive summaries, figuring out monetization strategies, making contacts, researching multiple methods of capital acquisition, and marking up preliminary prototype web interfaces to sit down and learn ruby :( I even have a background in Digital Media & IT, server & database setup, and network administration, as well as working knowledge of calculus, physics, simple data structures & programming fundamentals, and basic digital / analog circuits. On top of that I had a minor (almost second major) in business, with a focus on entrepreneurship, finance, and venture capital. And despite all that I'm still a super social person :) I've come to the conclusion that I just really need to learn ruby myself, because a technical partner in the southeast is difficult to come by. I actually recently considered publishing all my ideas in an attempt to attract co-founders.

52 points by ghempton 15y ago

I am curious as to what are the primary reasons for people who talk about startups not taking the leap.

It took a lot of pain, but I finally got it through my thick skull that you can't go off gallivanting and starting startups if you're not earning enough to even make a living on your own. Being a student has its downsides.

stefanve 15y ago

I have some great ideas (or so I like to think) but no money/time to purse them.

RexM 15y ago
Would you mind sharing some of your ideas to those (like me) that have the time but don't know what to work on? Maybe others can find a passion in what you don't have time to pursue.
- jeffool 15y ago
  There's a few sites out there where people share their ideas to be judged. There's also the "weekend project" sites if you're looking for someone actively working on their site. There's also exactly what you did here, talking to fellow HNers! Personally, I find all of it interesting (tech, business, politics), but have no tech expertise, and would like to learn more of the hustle.

nathanb 15y ago

I have a nonprofit I'm passionate about, so I work my 9-5 to get money and pour my energy into my passion. Could I get rich if I redirected that passion to something profitable? Possibly. But to what end?

sp332 15y ago

Most startups fail. Why would I throw my money in a hole?

brildum 15y ago
This resonates with me. Like you, I'm risk-averse but I still have hopes to create my own company one day. It'll start as a side project and then if I get enough traction, perhaps it'll be enough to convince me to take the leap.
- toyg 15y ago
  My experience taught me that moonlighting is hard. If you are really convinced it's gonna work, try taking vacation or sabbatical leave for a month or so (if you can) and work full time, ship the damn thing, advertise the hell out of it, and start counting the money / since your life doesn't depend on it, you need some gratification to keep going.
  - marcc 15y ago
    This exactly. If you are committed to your project full time, then it's a lifestyle business and not the type of startup referenced here. Lifestyle businesses are great, but I've only met a handful of people who have had their life changed from a lifestyle business. If you are passionate about something, why won't you leap? I'm mid 30s, married and kids and bills to pay, but I am still making the jump because I'm incredibly passionate about my idea.
breathesalt 15y ago
If you're going to throw time and money into filling your own hole anyways.
sneak 15y ago
Let's hear it for risk aversion!
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

dangrover 15y ago

I just sold my first one and the 9-5 is kind of a relief. Going to get antsy soon though.

Hisoka 15y ago
what was the startup you sold and to whom? just curious

gaustin 15y ago

I have no ideas that I'm comfortable and interested in investing time and energy into. It's that simple.

mscarborough 15y ago

Because I'm happy where I am working and that goes beyond 'security and predictability'. Also remember a lot of folks are more interested in the Hacker side of things, not just startup stuff.

davidtyleryork 15y ago

Other: I still have a hell of a lot to learn and would be better off learning from a great team than slogging away at it inefficiently on my own

riffraff 15y ago

isn't there a missing case of working for a startup you did not start? Not secure and predictable job but still not the full leap.

Apreche 15y ago

Almost all of the people I see doing startups are young college, or just out of college, kids with nothing to lose or people who are already extremely rich. I work to live, I don't live to work. I flat out refuse to work more than 9-5 and even that is too much. These startups expect you to give them your entire lives, 24 hours a day, and weekends, and eat nothing but ramen. I don't know about you guys, but I have rent to pay. I need to be paid with real cash, guaranteed. I also need to spend as little time at work as possible in order to earn that cash. I have more important things to do, like sleeping, eating, and spending time with friends and family. I can almost understand the punk kids who do startups, since they have nothing to lose. I absolutely can not understand the VCs or the rich people who do startups. These people have millions of dollars already. As nice and cool as they may be when you meet them, they are fundamentally in a business of greed. They can already retire to a private tropical island forever, but instead they are going to spend their money making some trivial social web app to squeeze out a few advertising dollars. That's perhaps the real reason I don't do a startup. Nobody wants to give me money because they know that as soon as the check clears I'll be out the door never to be seen again.

gavanwoolery 15y ago
If you want to understand millionaires who continue to do startups, here are a few possible reasons: 1) They enjoy work, even if they are working on something that is seemingly trivial. 2) One million dollars is not enough. Nor is 10. In fact, most people that earn a few million rarely retire after that. It is more a game of power, fame, and (possibly) goodwill than wealth. Bill Gates could have retired much earlier, but instead he amassed a huge amount of wealth and started one of the world's biggest charities (the Gates Foundation). Warren Buffet spends very little on himself - he owns one house that he bought for a small sum of money, and he gave 99 percent of his money to the Gates Foundation. That said, there is a fine line between the "punk kids" (who are usually the designers and developers) and the founders in larger companies. Founders in their second, third, and etc...companies typically have very comfortable lifestyles.
- protagonist_h 15y ago
  > most people that earn a few million rarely retire after that If you give a few million to random person, 99% chance he/she will retire. However, people who EARN few million rarely retire. I imagine that's precisely the difference between those who make it and those who don't.

bartonfink 15y ago

I just had a baby in May, and we planning on emigrating from the U.S. in the near-to-mid term. Thus, my priorities don't include starting and running my own business when I have many other things to take care of before heading down under. It's something I may try to tackle down the road, but for the next 3-4 years I want to spend my energy on other things.

gavanwoolery 15y ago

I think there are many ways to classify a startup. I just enjoy working on projects in my spare time. My financial stability does not depend on the success of my side projects, although it would be nice if I could make a living doing what I enjoy. You might ask why I would not go out and seek funding. Simply put, I do not think many people would fund me, and those who would probably would want to slightly redirect the path of my work. The only things I enjoy working on are those that are risky, unproven, and complex - all things that investors hate.

cobrabyte 15y ago

Running my own web design & search engine marketing company that keeps me from working on startup ideas. Every time I get ready to put the day job on-hold, someone comes along with a "we'll pay anything" project that we end up taking. I guess I'll have to get stronger so I can just say "no thanks" and move on to what I really want to do.

tsycho 15y ago

My visa (H1) makes it difficult (impossible?) for me to build a startup in the US, and at the moment I don't want to leave the US.

Retreads 15y ago

I am brushing up on my atrophied/outdated code-fu. Years in business will do that to you, but start-up here I come.

pewpewlasergun 15y ago

I'm not as skilled as I need to be to pursue the ideas that excite me, and I am not excited about the ideas that I am skilled enough to pursue.

aidenn0 15y ago

I have a family and kids and that takes up so much time and energy that that extra bit of time and energy that a startup takes over a challenging day job just isn't there.

geuis 15y ago

I need a cofounder or two.

toyg 15y ago

I actually tried last year, opened a company and moonlighted for a few weeks. In the end I simply couldn't muster enough energy and money (I'm married and have a 2-year old daughter, with a baby boy coming up in a few weeks), so effort waned and I never launched. Then I found a more interesting and demanding job, and simply closed everything down. I still have a few domains left (xpenses.mobi and .net among others, if anyone is interested). TL,DR: startup + other job + family = didn't work for me.

Vivtek 15y ago

I have no freaking time until I get at least one kid shipped off to college. Although then I suppose the "financial reasons" answer will come into play.

anand 15y ago

Doing a startup is really hard. Emotionally grueling and demanding. You have to fight for every 100 users you get. At a bigger company you get 100k's or millions of users "automatically". Right now, I'm more interested in building world changing products that are used by millions, and I feel like my chances for success are higher at a big company since lots of really cool startups die because they couldn't get enough awareness/marketing to get adoption. "At a startup all your challenges are external. At a big company, all your challenges are internal". Fwiw, I started a startup that was acquired so I'm also incented to stick around so that probably biases my thinking a bit too.

TomOfTTB 15y ago

Because I want to make a difference in the world and I found building a startup doesn't allow you to do that in most cases. I mean, I’ll always be grateful for my startup experience but I’m man enough to admit it was pointless. We built a product, spent our whole time trying to convince people our product was worthwhile, eventually convinced someone who bought the product and then watched the product be squandered. So the founders got a decent amount of money. The first employees (aka Me) got a smaller but still decent amount of money. And we all went on our merry way. But I didn’t accomplish a damn thing during that time. My work was flushed down the toilet and half my time was spent trying to get media coverage. I accomplish more in one day of my current job than I did in the whole year I was in the valley because in my current job people use the fruits of my labor instantly. Again, I’m not complaining. I like what I do now and I couldn’t do it if not for the money I received then. I’ll always be grateful. But as someone who wants to make a difference in the world I don’t see a startup as the way to do that anymore.

scythe 15y ago

I'm in grad school going for a PhD in physics. I was a programmer. I hated it. I make less than half what I used to. It's awesome. That said, if I can't pull this off for some reason, I'll probably move out to the Valley and roll the dice.

shrub 15y ago
That's interesting. I started in physics and moved to computer science. I would much rather be programming. That's my answer to the poll as well. All the extra stuff that seems to go into a start-up (knowing about finances and advertising and networking...?) - I'd rather be programming.

Jun8 15y ago

"In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice." Not easy indeed! I don't like my job, yet cannot cut loose from the daily cocoon that I'm used to.

michaelchisari 15y ago

Because I work on open source instead. It lets me write cool code, without the associated market pressures of a startup.

Benjo 15y ago

This may be a subcategory of "financial reasons," but health care is probably a big factor for a lot of people in the US.

jaxn 15y ago

I am full-firce right now. But I had a lull year before starting this one where I felt unmotivated. I had a failed startup and one that was "successful" but didn't make me any money. I had enough mostly-passive income from two retail stores that I am a partner in, so I wasn't particularly financially motivated. Then inspiration struck.

tejaswiy 15y ago

I'm on an H1B. Trying to figure out how to, without compromising my chances of getting a greencard.

tejaswiy 15y ago

I'm on an H1B. Trying to figure out how to, without compromising my chances of getting a greencard. Technically, I can't even build + charge for an iOS application right now.

JonnieCache 15y ago

I get a real paycheck each month, I use whatever languages/tools I want, and I still don't have to wear shoes to the office! Suckers! ;)

flexd 15y ago

I'm still in uni and I have no idea for a business/product.

kenjackson 15y ago

I've done the startup thing a few times, and I realized that I don't like the business aspect of it all that much. I like development/architecture/brainstorming/etc... I don't like asking for money, laying people off, being constantly stressed out about this or that issue that I have little to no control over. I really don't have fond memories of cash flow crunches and bridge loans. If I did end up being a founder again, I'd definitely be a technical one (the distinction didn't exist so much in the past). If it has to do with something that isn't code/design/architecture/etc... it's the other founders issue. I could go for that. But setting the right expectations as an employee isn't a bad thing either. My funnest experience in the work world was actually working for a big company on a product I enjoyed. I loved the work and really focused solely on the product. I really haven't had a chance to do that since.

derwiki 15y ago

Other: I'm getting valuable hands-on product experience at my current gig (low risk too, since it's not my company). When that ends, I'll probably get the itch to start something.

kevinherron 15y ago

Fear of failure. Bills. Lack of enough real motivation to move beyond sleepless nights thinking about my ideas and onto sleepless nights working on them. Laziness. Resistance to change. Comfort. A million other excuses. Just like these.

dustineichler 15y ago

Other -- and this is important. Lack of connections and willingness to use people is something worth considering. I know a lot of people, but not a fan of nepotism. However, I wouldn't mind someone believing in me, but would never ask. So I've heard, your first startup isn't really about the idea. It's about "you" or your character. That does not preclude me from building something. I just rather assume it's a project until certain milestones have been reached.

jeffool 15y ago

It astounds me the number of people who are here with no idea for a startup. Are you guys hackers, hustlers, "idea people", or am I missing a contingency? Mind blowing.

SkyMarshal 15y ago
No idea if I'm representative of others, but let me just throw this out there: I have tons of ideas, but they're all crap. If I'm going to work 'startup hard' at something, it's certainly not going to be another social/gaming/fotm diversion. Contrary to popular opinion, ideas do matter. If you decide to base a startup on one, you have to decide whether it's worth devoting three or so years of your life to implementing it, with the goal of world-class execution, and all the work and sacrifice that entails. None of my ideas have yet passed muster in that regard. If you're going to work as hard at an unoriginal, uninspired idea as you would at a truly world-changing idea, then better to hold out for the latter (unless you just want to use the former to get practice). There are some truly world changing things going on in tech, like cryptocurrency and 3D printing, that are (or may soon be) more worth building something around. I'm holding out for that.
- eaurouge 15y ago
  Solving a problem that is currently a pain of yours is usually a good motivator. If you're lucky and there's enough of a market (others feel the same pain too) then it may be worth exploring further. On building around future tech, you probably want to start building (or at least planning) in anticipation or you may have to play catch up when once the tech becomes available.
  - SkyMarshal 15y ago
    True. I should probably generalize what I said to, understand the costs and opportunity costs of time, lost salary and savings for a few years, and the low odds of startup success, and then weigh whether your idea is worth it, based on whatever scale is meaningful to you - money, improve the world, solve problems, etc.

egypturnash 15y ago

I'm not on YC for the startup talk, though I find it interesting now and then. I come here because it has links to thoughtful tech articles; I started reading YC when people from Digg started to flood into Reddit. OTOH maybe I am involved in doing a startup - just not the kind of startup YC talks about all the time. I'm an artist who spends most of her time hanging around her studio (or occasionally out in a coffee shop with the laptop) drawing weird sci-fi comics and trying to build a large enough audience to make a sustainable living off of my art. Somewhere way down the line there's the big brass ring of "movie deals" but I ain't holding my breath.

Sukotto 15y ago
I like weird scifi comics. You should put a link in your profile

flyosity 15y ago

Other. I don't know what this would fall under, but I have a full-time job and also sell things that I write/build on the side. It's not a startup. I sell tutorials and apps and make pretty good money (I could quit my job, but my job is a lot of fun) from it. It's odd that this build-products-and-make-money-on-the-side avenue is skipped over in these and other discussions.

slouch 15y ago
This. I work on websites everyday in order to make more money on the side; it's just not a startup as defined here.

ares2012 15y ago

I'll point out that if everyone took the leap then you would have no one to hire as your business grew. Not everyone can be the founder just like not everyone can be the CEO. As someone who has started companies and worked for others I can tell you that both can be fulfilling.

nateberkopec 15y ago

I don't feel that I know enough yet. I've seen too many friends run around in circles jumping from project to project, failure to failure. 37signals likes to cite a Stanford (?) study that founders who have failed are statistically no more likely to succeed than first time founders. Only successful founders have a statistical leg up when starting a new venture. I don't believe that a large-scale, I'm-gonna-go-out-and-raise project necessarily teaches you anything. It's sort of like the big show - you should have rehearsed beforehand. That said, that doesn't mean I'm not learning. I think you can learn a ton from hacks/little projects, like Kyle Bragger's tinyproj. Having users for a product does not a startup make, but I think you can learn a lot from that experience. I'm also working my way through a massive stack of management theory/software development/hacking books that I know I'll never read once I actually start a company. A lot of successful founders I know had significant work histories at startups or otherwise before starting something. I don't have that yet.

monochromatic 15y ago

I'm too busy writing the patents that everyone around here loves to hate.

MatthewB 15y ago

I expected the majority of people to say they lack a co-founder, not an idea. Ideas are pretty easy to come by from my experience. Finding someone who compliments your skill set, is ready to go "all in" with you, and you actually click with is a much more difficult task. For anyone who is looking for an idea, is a hacker, and lives in SF - I have an idea for a startup and am looking for a cofounder. Email me (in my profile) for more information. I am looking for someone who is interested in virtual goods/currency and the free-to-play gaming model.

ironchef 15y ago
"Ideas are pretty easy to come by from my experience." I think part of the difference is there is a difference between: A) an idea that makes money B) an idea that i really believe in and / or i think will make a large difference Some people don't want A...they want B. B is a bit more difficult to find for some.
- MatthewB 15y ago
  If you look at the most recent YC batch, you will notice that a lot of the startup ideas could have just been features of other products. The point is a lot of these initial startup ideas aren't going to be game changers but with the right team in place and rapid iteration, they stand a good chance of evolving their companies into game changers.
- gaustin 15y ago
  I would be ecstatic to have an idea that's both reasonably achievable and that has reasonable chance of making some money. Yeah. Not shooting for the stars. I'm just looking for a base hit to build some confidence.

prodigal_erik 15y ago

Opportunity cost. If I'd read pg twenty years ago I like to think I would have more readily, but I expect my peak earning years are right now (I'm 40 and paid somewhat over market and regularly reminded how glad they are that I've stayed on) and I'm finally starting to save after squandering a much lower salary for far too long. My savings at this point do amount to a few years' runway, but that means I'd be gambling with my nascent retirement fund. Someone would have to convince me they actually know what the market wants (after seeing ludicrous ideas succeed, I clearly don't) for me to go all-in on their big idea, or find an investor confident enough to cover market-ish rate for me as an early employee.

VonLipwig 15y ago

My main issue is the lack of a co-founder is delaying me. With a co-founder my business would be up and running by xmas. Without it will probably be March and as such it is just plodding along.

ctdonath 15y ago

Note that "enjoy" may be very broadly defined.

cmagahern 15y ago

I'd really like to create a start-up, and my partner and I have many ideas, but I feel like most start-ups out there today are playing the role of the third-party instead of creating truly revolutionary things. Companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have the resources and backing to execute any idea that has a chance to change the industry. Compare this to a start-up, where if your imagination extends beyond what the iOS SDK or some web framework provides, then nine times out of ten, you're out of luck. I'm not saying that start-ups are completely incapable of becoming a first-party, but it's been a while since I've personally seen a truly revolutionary idea that can realistically be carried out by such a small group of people with little money.

tlogan 15y ago

I just follow Jeff Bezos's "Regret Minimization Framework". Yes, I'm old, I don't have money but I would be very very sad on my deathbed if I didn't try and work all my life in big corporation.

checoivan 15y ago

I was starting something, when my dad got sick. Visa/money/cofounder is a problem most of us have,but just one an extre hump to get through. After I had to fly back home and take care of things. It was really hard for several months to focus on work, when the top idea on my head was family, and pulling stunts with hospitals/insurers.

Sukotto 15y ago

"Other" though I think I just completed laying the foundation so that I can start. So far I've identified a niche with a real pain point... people in my wife's industry have to perform a (unregulated) task each month. This takes them between 4hours and 2 full days to complete. There's existing competition and I think I could do way better. Today I got signoff from my day job that they will not steal this project from me sometime in the future. So... foundation laid. I have a good, basic, understanding of the problem domain and have a domain expert (hi honey!) to guide my efforts. Now it's a matter of building the first prototype and watch her try to use it. Will submit a ShowHN once I have a usable tool and validated the business model. Wish me luck!

BadCookie 15y ago

My spouse doesn't want me to. Also, the current economy scares the bejesus out of me. I know what they say about a recession being a good time to start a company (and also that we are not officially in a recession ... yet). But with the US government threatening to shut down every couple of weeks, why would I leave an easy job with an essentially guaranteed six figure salary? Someday I will, I hope, but not today.

anon1987 15y ago

In the words of Mark Suster 'Is it time for you to earn or is it time for you to learn?' At the moment, I'm 24 years old (I hated typing the 24 I was 23 only yesterday). I'm in a fortunate but also unfortunate position. I've got a freehold house (mortgage free) but I've got a ton of expenses from my family oh and an ill parent to look after. I've paid down the mortgage on this house completely and I pay for every single thing in this house and my own living expenses. I've worked in two very very hot start-ups in v.sexy sectors. You've probably heard of both. Unfortunately, I just left college and the positions aren't exactly lucrative but the opportunities to learn are formidable. So for me 'life's ability' to try isn't available due to financial constraints. I've two options either a) start my own thing or b) join someone else's start-up at the founder or first 2-3 senior hire positions. At present I'd prefer to do my own thing and being in a full time job is needed. Real estate is an awful investment esp if it is your ONLY investment like it is for most people. I'd much prefer to be in a position i was in 4 years ago with a solid portfolio of liquid investments. However, I realise a business is a brilliant investment, probably the best especially if its cash generative. My long term goal actually is venture capital so either way I need solid operating experience to break in. So, thats really whats holding me back but fortunately, I've got time on my side :)

empresario 15y ago

I am a student and lack the proper motivation in the right direction, but have the enthusiasm and will start one day. :)

IsaacSchlueter 15y ago

I get paid to work on my open source project.

queensnake 15y ago

One of my ideas isn't big enough, and has taken longer than I expected; other of my ideas may be too big for my brain to accomplish (I don't want to do any web-gimmicks).

v21 15y ago

I want to make games. I want to get really good at making games. It's not even specifically games - I find the intersection of technology and human behaviour fascinating, and games are merely the most fertile patch. I love working on problems that involve such an amazingly wide variety of aspects. Maybe that's because I love novelty, and learning. Some day, I would quite like to strike out on my own and sustain myself off the games I make. Live the "indie dream". But right now I have a job with a large degree of creative freedom, where I get to practice my craft. I don't have to stress about the financial aspects, I don't have the immediate pressure of "ship-or-starve" and I don't have to worry about the things I make when I'm not working making any money. If they do, fantastic! But if they are only interesting, then I have still won.

RockerCoder 15y ago

Ive got some ideas, none of them are very fancy, since I have no plan on being funded, all my ideas are little micro-business bootstrap stuff... and I'm not starting them up because I don't have enough discipline yet to go spend enough time working(Im a remote coder) to have free time later to work on my own stuff... I always end up spending my whole day between work and procrastinating, then I work more to compensate my procrastination, sleep late, wake up late...etc :(

nosequel 15y ago

Other: Money isn't everything, and I'd rather have relationships and free time over the need to build something. If I really need to build something from the ground up I go into my garage. I make good money, work at a startup (but not a founder) and if it hits big, I'll get some of the payout, but I won't be a millionaire. Unlike the founders though I'll have a relaxing life! Money and fame isn't everything.

enan 15y ago

immigration

veidr 15y ago

After serving as founder, co-founder, or early equity hire for a few startups over the years, I now work a straight job at a stable, decades-old company, doing mainly programming and IT stuff. There are nice things about it. It's great to be able to completely push work out of my mind. Barring extreme emergency, I refuse to even think about work when off the clock--that's what work hours are for. In the shower, I think about how the hot water feels on my neck. In my spare time, I make things that I am utterly not good at making, and never will be (e.g., homemade furniture). I don't mentally evaluate every dinner out with my wife against what I could be doing with that time. That certainly isn't how it was when I was running my own startups. A relatively generous and reliable salary is also a boon, especially as I plow through my fourth decade of life and start doing things like buying a house and producing offspring. Having said all that, I'm almost certain to try another startup (or two? three?) in the future. But it is refreshing to take a decade (or two? three?) and focus on other things.

willpower101 15y ago

I have all my ideas over the years documents. Somewhere just over 30 right now, 3-5 good ones a year, and at least 8 that another company took to market within a year or two of my conceptualization.) I just lack of a technical co-founder. I'm too busy drafting up executive summaries, figuring out monetization strategies, making contacts, researching multiple methods of capital acquisition, and marking up preliminary prototype web interfaces to sit down and learn ruby :( I even have a background in Digital Media & IT, server & database setup, and network administration, as well as working knowledge of calculus, physics, simple data structures & programming fundamentals, and basic digital / analog circuits. On top of that I had a minor (almost second major) in business, with a focus on entrepreneurship, finance, and venture capital. And despite all that I'm still a super social person :) I've come to the conclusion that I just really need to learn ruby myself, because a technical partner in the southeast is difficult to come by. I actually recently considered publishing all my ideas in an attempt to attract co-founders.