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> I'm not sure that in all good conscience I can take on a project that is going to cost him a lot of money and not be successful. Mind your own business. Lite
by maratd 13y ago
> I'm not sure that in all good conscience I can take on a project that is going to cost him a lot of money and not be successful.
Mind your own business. Literally. Every startup is a bad idea until it makes money. Then, magically, it becomes an amazing idea.
That said, yes, it will likely fail.
I have been in similar situations many times. An experienced client means very little, I assure you. They engage in similar stupidity, the only difference being that they will couch their nonsense as an "exploration" or "learning experience".
It's their money and they can spend it however they wish. My job is to deliver a product according to spec.
Now, I will politely inform them that based on my business acumen, understanding of the market, etc. that the success of their venture is extremely low. But that's as far as I go.
How do these projects end? Usually quite abruptly, when they run out of money. There is no hope of turning a client like this into a long-term client, because quite simply, they don't have any cash flow. They have cash, but it's a one time thing unless their business takes off, which it won't. But isn't that the definition of a startup?
- chc 13y ago> Every startup is a bad idea until it makes money. Then, magically, it becomes an amazing idea. This is not remotely true. For example, Dropbox was not a bad idea until it made money; it was a brilliant idea with an unproven business model.
- maratd 13y agoI think you're confusing stupid idea with bad idea. Twitter was a bad idea. A stripped-down social networking site in a crowded marketplace ... unlikely to succeed. But succeed it did. Now it's a wonderful idea. But making a twitter clone now ... bad idea. Now, a twitter clone with a 2 character limit, that's not a bad idea. That's a stupid idea. I take on bad idea projects all the time, albeit with a warning to the client. I refuse to take on stupid ideas. I don't do crazy.