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Is a year really long enough to grow a business to the point where it can support you? I think a lot of startup types don't realize that sometimes the hockey s
by MicahWedemeyer 18y ago
Is a year really long enough to grow a business to the point where it can support you? I think a lot of startup types don't realize that sometimes the hockey stick is a little less vertical than you planned for, and there may be nothing you can do to speed it up.
It's disheartening to have a business that's growing, but not fast enough to stop you from hitting the brick wall one year out where you're out of money.
- Retric 18y ago1 year of total focus is plenty of time to find out of you should quit or go home. If you have positive cash flow and a solid company you can always borrow at below your growth rate and come out ahead. Take a part time job and keep living cheep. Or find some inverters.
- wheels 18y agoI've not been there yet, but I'm pretty sure the answer is, "It depends." I think you also have to have some real idea for how you're going to make money on the stuff. Even if you don't write a real business plan, sitting down and saying, "Our costs will be about this much. We'll make this much per user. So, we'll need to have this many users in a year of it's a no-go." -- doing that can give you an idea of if your ideas sound really nutty or not. The brick wall is an important construct; it's an important idea to have there to keep you scared of what happens when the cash runs out ... but in reality, if you've got a stupidly low burn rate, you just do one week of consulting and then live for the next two months off of that.