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Here are some of my thoughts, obviously different things apply to different people: 1) The Ramen-way works only for people who are fresh out of college or at l

by yumraj 17y ago

Here are some of my thoughts, obviously different things apply to different people: 1) The Ramen-way works only for people who are fresh out of college or at least are still with no liabilities. This doesn't work for people who have families, mortgage etc. In this case the YC-type funding just doesn't cut it. I would love to be proved wrong here with example(s) of YC company founders, since that might give me motivation. 2) Most poeple need some validation of their ideas, especially if they have more than one. Ideally it would be nice if YC, or someone else, can just help people validate their ideas and provide input, and might even take a small stake just for that service. Additional guidance along the way would be awesome. 3) How to form a team? OK, I'm committed in my idea and my idea is validated, where do I find at least 1-2 additional people I need. This is true especially since not everyone is an expert in all the technologies. Attending Meetups etc. is a way, hopefully there are others. A lot of things around the cloud and hosting had really reduced the cost of an initial launch, but some of the above bottlenecks still stay, at least IMO.

felideon 17y ago
I think #1 can be generalized (or re-phrased) to not having enough time/money. In other words, if you sacrifice a day job to take the time to start your startup, you do not have financial stability to support your family. If you keep the day job, however, then you don't have enough time for your startup. YC-type funding in this case would probably help a little, assuming you have some cushioning elsewhere, e.g. savings, live with family, etc. Then again, I bet there are probably founders out there that started their project on the side and slowly grew into a startup.
jnovek 17y ago
"The Ramen-way works only for people who are fresh out of college or at least are still with no liabilities." This is simply not true. My wife and I have medical debt and my partner has a family and a mortgage. You just work your 8 hour day job and come home and work another 4 to 6 hours in the evening. It's not a lot of fun -- it took us about a year to get to enough revenue to pay my salary.
- biohacker42 17y ago
  You just work your 8 hour day job and come home and work another 4 to 6 hours You are a better human being then me.
  - jnovek 17y ago
    That's not true. I just really, really wanted something.
replicatorblog 17y ago
3) is the most difficult obstacle IMO. Finding people who share a vision, have elite skills across broad functional areas, and have the lifestyle flexibility to start something are hard to come by. I've been searching for a year and it is a real challenge. Finding potential partners in the Boston area has been tough. I imagine its even harder elsewhere (excluding SV/NYC).
robfitz 17y ago
Users & customers validate #2 better than investor opinions. Whether or not it's viable to experimentally build depends on the domain, but if this is holding you back, you can choose an idea with a low startup cost. Finding a team also helps validate the idea. Bouncing your thoughts off sharp colleagues is a key step in honing your idea. Once they're excited (about either you or your idea) you pop the question.

by yumraj 17y ago

felideon 17y ago

I think #1 can be generalized (or re-phrased) to not having enough time/money. In other words, if you sacrifice a day job to take the time to start your startup, you do not have financial stability to support your family. If you keep the day job, however, then you don't have enough time for your startup. YC-type funding in this case would probably help a little, assuming you have some cushioning elsewhere, e.g. savings, live with family, etc. Then again, I bet there are probably founders out there that started their project on the side and slowly grew into a startup.

jnovek 17y ago

"The Ramen-way works only for people who are fresh out of college or at least are still with no liabilities." This is simply not true. My wife and I have medical debt and my partner has a family and a mortgage. You just work your 8 hour day job and come home and work another 4 to 6 hours in the evening. It's not a lot of fun -- it took us about a year to get to enough revenue to pay my salary.

biohacker42 17y ago
You just work your 8 hour day job and come home and work another 4 to 6 hours You are a better human being then me.
- jnovek 17y ago
  That's not true. I just really, really wanted something.

replicatorblog 17y ago

3) is the most difficult obstacle IMO. Finding people who share a vision, have elite skills across broad functional areas, and have the lifestyle flexibility to start something are hard to come by. I've been searching for a year and it is a real challenge. Finding potential partners in the Boston area has been tough. I imagine its even harder elsewhere (excluding SV/NYC).

robfitz 17y ago

Users & customers validate #2 better than investor opinions. Whether or not it's viable to experimentally build depends on the domain, but if this is holding you back, you can choose an idea with a low startup cost. Finding a team also helps validate the idea. Bouncing your thoughts off sharp colleagues is a key step in honing your idea. Once they're excited (about either you or your idea) you pop the question.