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"be just sustainable to make a reasonable living(lifestyle business)" Pure speculation and just throwing this out there to see if others agree but somehow I do

by larrys 13y ago

"be just sustainable to make a reasonable living(lifestyle business)" Pure speculation and just throwing this out there to see if others agree but somehow I don't feel that YC is spinning off lifestyle businesses. Not to mention that it's hard to believe that some of the founders (and supporting people) that get involved in and strive to be in YC will stay put at what ends up amounting to a lifestyle business.

graeme 13y ago
I'm not sure I follow. OP's point is that a failed startup might still be profitable enough to be a lifestyle business. That opens up some pretty cool options for the founders.
- larrys 13y ago
  "I'm not sure I follow. OP's point is that a failed startup might still be profitable enough to be a lifestyle business." But who will operate the lifestyle business? The founders and the team? My point is that the type of person/team that gets involved in wanting and getting into YC (both the founders and the team) don't seem to me to be the type of people that would want to continue in "merely" a lifestyle business. Not that some wouldn't but my speculation is that the majority would not. From your profile I see that you do LSAT prep. My guess is that the majority of people who put in the time to get into law school are generally shooting to be lawyers. If they end up graduating and not getting employment in law (or not being able to sustain that) they might very well end up having to do another job. (Actually they will or they will starve.). But now we have a case of people who pursue the startup lifestyle presumably for the big win.[1] And now after all the work "all" it turns out to be is "lifestyle" I would think a high percentage of them would then try to get involved in another startup (whether their own or someone elses) not stay and have "only" a lifestyle business. Otoh if enough time goes on before it becomes apparent that it is only going to be a lifestyle business it's possible that members of the team might have priority changes (marriage and kids) and decide that the lifestyle business is pretty attractive. [1] Edit: Or to change the world.
  - graeme 13y ago
    You can sell the business. Or you can put work into automating it and hire someone to manage it. The point was that it's not "Be Airbnb or have nothing to show for it". You can join YC, aim for the moon, but maybe end up with something pretty decent for your efforts even if you fail at the big one.
    - LogicX 13y ago
      The startup mantra is Go big or Go home. You want alignment with your investors. To even tell them you're tolerable of a lifestyle business would not be alignment with the use of their funds. Don't confuse temporary state of 'sustainable' with 'going to continue to maintain a lifestyle business'. Many startups are happy to be at a sustainable state while figuring out product / market fit, how to scale, etc - because it gives them a longer runway without having to raise funds. It'd still be considered a 'failure' from the investors perspective, and again, if aligned correctly - the founders also. One of my favorite quotes from an investor is 'Don't return my money. Return me 10x or fail ($0 return) trying'
      - mseebach 13y ago
        It think the "battle" is over owning the "startup" label. Can a lifestyle business be a startup? I personally don't care much, but if you're taking investment, you can't aim for a lifestyle business (as you explain well).
pg 13y ago
We're not intentionally spinning off lifestyle businesses, but that is a common outcome for seed investments. For investors it's a failure, but for the founders it could be good.

by larrys 13y ago

graeme 13y ago

I'm not sure I follow. OP's point is that a failed startup might still be profitable enough to be a lifestyle business. That opens up some pretty cool options for the founders.

larrys 13y ago
"I'm not sure I follow. OP's point is that a failed startup might still be profitable enough to be a lifestyle business." But who will operate the lifestyle business? The founders and the team? My point is that the type of person/team that gets involved in wanting and getting into YC (both the founders and the team) don't seem to me to be the type of people that would want to continue in "merely" a lifestyle business. Not that some wouldn't but my speculation is that the majority would not. From your profile I see that you do LSAT prep. My guess is that the majority of people who put in the time to get into law school are generally shooting to be lawyers. If they end up graduating and not getting employment in law (or not being able to sustain that) they might very well end up having to do another job. (Actually they will or they will starve.). But now we have a case of people who pursue the startup lifestyle presumably for the big win.[1] And now after all the work "all" it turns out to be is "lifestyle" I would think a high percentage of them would then try to get involved in another startup (whether their own or someone elses) not stay and have "only" a lifestyle business. Otoh if enough time goes on before it becomes apparent that it is only going to be a lifestyle business it's possible that members of the team might have priority changes (marriage and kids) and decide that the lifestyle business is pretty attractive. [1] Edit: Or to change the world.
- graeme 13y ago
  You can sell the business. Or you can put work into automating it and hire someone to manage it. The point was that it's not "Be Airbnb or have nothing to show for it". You can join YC, aim for the moon, but maybe end up with something pretty decent for your efforts even if you fail at the big one.
  - LogicX 13y ago
    The startup mantra is Go big or Go home. You want alignment with your investors. To even tell them you're tolerable of a lifestyle business would not be alignment with the use of their funds. Don't confuse temporary state of 'sustainable' with 'going to continue to maintain a lifestyle business'. Many startups are happy to be at a sustainable state while figuring out product / market fit, how to scale, etc - because it gives them a longer runway without having to raise funds. It'd still be considered a 'failure' from the investors perspective, and again, if aligned correctly - the founders also. One of my favorite quotes from an investor is 'Don't return my money. Return me 10x or fail ($0 return) trying'
    - mseebach 13y ago
      It think the "battle" is over owning the "startup" label. Can a lifestyle business be a startup? I personally don't care much, but if you're taking investment, you can't aim for a lifestyle business (as you explain well).

pg 13y ago

We're not intentionally spinning off lifestyle businesses, but that is a common outcome for seed investments. For investors it's a failure, but for the founders it could be good.