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> That’s why selling SaaS or AI to this kind of company isn’t for me - I’d rather focus my energy on building a company from my own principles, and hire people
by btown 7mo ago
> That’s why selling SaaS or AI to this kind of company isn’t for me - I’d rather focus my energy on building a company from my own principles, and hire people who share them from the beginning.
> When I told my manager I was leaving, he said I should start my own company and give him a call when I do. So that's what I'm doing.
I love hearing stories like this, because it shows a way to be a builder without the "venture or nothing" narrative that has pervaded the tech space since the dotcom days.
It is very difficult to make a venture-backed services firm (providing services, not software) that can be immediately profitable, grow sustainably, and outperform competitors with in-house technology that's built for real on-the-ground stakeholders... at a speed that will satisfy venture investors.
But it is more possible than ever ([0]), to do this (in-house tech and all) on a bootstrapped basis - since AI reduces the engineering staff required to build, adapt, and maintain an agile best-in-class solution at single-tenant/single-customer scale. The outcome is at the least a lifestyle business, but with upside that can take the form of anything from franchising to licensing to full-fledged SaaS in the future.
I wish OOP the best of luck, and hope he's found a passion. He could go far with this approach if he ends up following through.
([0] This is not to say there are no barriers to entry. There's privilege in the word "founder," and this is no exception. And the K-shaped economy has left many brilliant would-be founders behind. But at least some barriers are lower than they once were, and that's worth appreciating.)
- anon291 7mo agoLifestyle business has been a thing since day zero in this space (the tech world)
- tezclarke 7mo agoI have been surprised by how many tech founders, currently funded by VC, have side gigs or are running the company knowing they wont' or can't scale it. I don't think this is a good thing for either the founders or the VC (who probably don't know)
- thaumasiotes 7mo agoI briefly worked for someone who was funded by Imagine K12, just before Imagine K12 merged into Y Combinator. He used his funding to rent four apartments in San Francisco, which he then sublet, personally, through Airbnb.
- tezclarke 7mo agoI know exactly who you’re talking about
- Paracompact 7mo agoName and shame?
- tezclarke 7mo agoOn "venture or nothing" - This will be my second company and this time round I have stripped right back to the problem, which is actually quite basic - pest control is a big, good business to be in and it's possible to build a very big, profitable business by doing the simple things right, consistently. It will compound over time if the basics are done right (which is harder to do than I thought before this experiment) In my previous company, we founded it with the outcome first - "take over the world" or bust. This time I think the base case is a good company, and the ceiling is the best in the industry.
- tezclarke 7mo agoA really good company worth checking out in this vein is equipmentshare.com. In 10y they started and IPO'd, by being a better way to rent heavy equipment.
- anoojb 7mo agoThis is amazing. Thanks for sharing the story. > ...and noticed companies have become less likely to offer their time for ride-alongs and research calls. They get too many requests, and vibe coding is drawing their attention to self-build. Is this ACTUALLY happening? Are entrepreneurs who get into vibe-coders really eating up time a bunch of time for trades people?
- tezclarke 7mo agoMuch more difficult to get attention from blue-collar decision makers than it was previously. Also bc there's a ton of investment in the sector now, so they're bombarded by inbound!
- wouldbecouldbe 7mo agoOut of all things, you have to be a sadist to be passionate about pest control. Even though necessary at times, it's not a very clean job. Sounded more like he likes he is passionate about building a business.
- tezclarke 7mo agoIt’s the business characteristics I like. Recurring and one off revenue, big market, growing, regulations. The exam barrier to entry rather than 4y apprenticeship like plumbing
- andrew_lettuce 7mo agoThe idea that AI makes adaptation and maintenance easier for non domain experts seems a stretch at best. All we've seen to date is it makes building shallow copies quicker for more people, and helps experts go faster. Neither of these applies to the majority of bootstrapping vertical domains