5 ms·

I met Nikki while I lived at a Hacker House in Mountain View for a few weeks in January 2012, having recently moved to the Bay Area. I remember being impressed

by GuiA 12y ago

I met Nikki while I lived at a Hacker House in Mountain View for a few weeks in January 2012, having recently moved to the Bay Area. I remember being impressed at the time by her intensity, and by the fact that she actually had a real product with real users that solved a real problem. An audible "oh no" came out of my lips when I clicked this link and realized I was reading about someone I had shared a few dinners with. It's important for little pieces of history such as this one to be recorded. For the founders, to whom it gives a sense of closure, and for the community. So that we don't forget our comrades who didn't make it to the other side, but still have insightful lessons to share. The press likes to glorify the AirBnBs, the Googles, the Facebooks - but as founders, I think it's important for us to be realize that this is only a tiny visible part of the iceberg, and that at the end of the day, there are so many factors at play that it would be foolish for us to focus solely on the "how many millions did they make". Human stories are never boring, and experience is one of the most precious thing others can share. Thanks for taking the time and effort to write this, Nikki. We're with you. --- "Investing money, creating new products, and all the other things we do are wonderful games and can be a lot of fun, but it's important to remember that it's all just a game. What's most important is that we are good too each other, and ourselves."(http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2012/03/eight-years-today.html http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2012/03/eight-years-today.h...)

ajessup 12y ago
This. I remember sitting opposite Nikki in co-working spaces (Fishburners) and incubators (Pollenizer) back in Sydney throughout 2010 and 2011. Her gumption, determination and focus back then was (and is) a force to be reckoned with. If there is anyone who's failure I would never question - it would be hers. It's heartbreaking to hear these stories, even more so when it's someone you know. But Nikki - thanks for sharing. We're all made a little stronger for it. For the rest of us it should serve as a reminder that no matter how hard we strive there will be always be forces outside our control that shape our destiny.
_pmf_ 12y ago
> "... but it's important to remember that it's all just a game. What's most important is that we are good too each other, and ourselves." These things are easy to say for a very rich guy.
- conradfr 12y ago
  "Every woman can be beautiful in her own way" - Random top model
- Omniusaspirer 12y ago
  Your personal health and well being are much more important than your startup that just failed, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. Nothing will teach you that faster than losing your health or talking with people who have.
  - ryanjshaw 12y ago
    And what if you don't have personal health and well being to begin with? What if you need money to pay off the medical bills, money that you know an ordinary job will never suffice for? Making money is not just a game for everybody, just because it's a game for you.
- brianmcc 12y ago
  Doesn't make it false though. Perhaps the opinion of someone who's "got there" and looks back counts for something more - in some cases - than that of someone early in their journey. I'd rather this than "Yep - it's all just about the money" anyway...
  - hessenwolf 12y ago
    It's weird how rapidly money ratchets down the priorities hierarchy... once it's in the bank.
    - brianmcc 12y ago
      Exactly. Not in that position myself, but I'd guess once you have a certain level of comfort, security and perhaps the option to indulge in some of life's luxuries, it's much like electricity or running water: desperately, terrifically important and yet so easily taken for granted.
- 12y ago
madaxe_again 12y ago
I'm kinda failing to see the failure here. Yes, the business failed, but this reads like a fairy tale. Support from family and friends, investor backing, media coverage - all while failing to make a dime. Try running a successful and rapidly growing business for 8 years while everyone around you tells you you're a crazy fucking idiot and that you should give up and get a job. No investor interest as we make money, which investors hate. That's failure. I am a crazy idiot. I keep coming back for more. I will lose my mind before this is over. I am a failure.
- BrandonM 12y ago
  While I feel for your situation, I had to downvote you because your comment smacked of No True Scotsman and attention hogging. Sorry. A startup folded and left several people with nothing to show for years of effort. It seems pretty callous to me to assert that she didn't fail, when several measures say she did, and she feels like she did. I'm glad she shared her story. Do you think your comment encourages others to do the same?
  - logicallee 12y ago
    I read your parent comment with a large level of irony (i.e. not literally). Your parent is bitter that actually building a successful business - by the metrics you just cited, as your parent claims to be doing -- feels/reads/is lived like total failure compared to the feeling of reading a "faery tale" of running a business into the ground while getting incredible levels of support that were "unearned" (if I try to put myself in your parent commmenter's shoes) because the business wasn't actually profitable. Your parent commenter is bitter about the fact that a total lack of viability - making money - gets support, while he has to bootstrap in the face of derision. madaxe_again: I recommend you get off of HN if you are interested in building a real business. This is a community for building things that investors here would be interested in. If it's not a problem that a rich man with nothing to do all day but look at Internet metrics can see as something to solve, then building a business is not going to get any support from this specific community. You should forget about investors. When has an investor ever backed anything that they couldn't have related to within 15 seconds of hearing a pitch for it? But investors don't represent the people of the world. If you want investment, play with investors. They'll give you $200,000 to stop making money and make a messaging app. If you launch one before you talk with them they'll raise that to $600,000. It is what it is. (Don't read my comment bitterly. I love this ecosystem.)
Fuxy 12y ago
Sad to see her fail she's a very driven person and admire her for that, most likely if she had a little more funding she would have made it. I think the most important lesson here is that the team makes all the difference and getting a awesome team is the most important especially for a non technical founder. She spent a large amount of time and money just getting to the point where she had a reliable team. Keep one eye on your team and the other on the product and be brutally honest with your team all the time if they can't handle it or can't decide to stay or leave this will make them leave sooner giving you more time to find someone else. Don't shield the team from bad news this is a group effort and they need to feel a part of it.

by GuiA 12y ago

ajessup 12y ago

This. I remember sitting opposite Nikki in co-working spaces (Fishburners) and incubators (Pollenizer) back in Sydney throughout 2010 and 2011. Her gumption, determination and focus back then was (and is) a force to be reckoned with. If there is anyone who's failure I would never question - it would be hers. It's heartbreaking to hear these stories, even more so when it's someone you know. But Nikki - thanks for sharing. We're all made a little stronger for it. For the rest of us it should serve as a reminder that no matter how hard we strive there will be always be forces outside our control that shape our destiny.

_pmf_ 12y ago

> "... but it's important to remember that it's all just a game. What's most important is that we are good too each other, and ourselves." These things are easy to say for a very rich guy.

conradfr 12y ago
"Every woman can be beautiful in her own way" - Random top model
Omniusaspirer 12y ago
Your personal health and well being are much more important than your startup that just failed, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time. Nothing will teach you that faster than losing your health or talking with people who have.
- ryanjshaw 12y ago
  And what if you don't have personal health and well being to begin with? What if you need money to pay off the medical bills, money that you know an ordinary job will never suffice for? Making money is not just a game for everybody, just because it's a game for you.
brianmcc 12y ago
Doesn't make it false though. Perhaps the opinion of someone who's "got there" and looks back counts for something more - in some cases - than that of someone early in their journey. I'd rather this than "Yep - it's all just about the money" anyway...
- hessenwolf 12y ago
  It's weird how rapidly money ratchets down the priorities hierarchy... once it's in the bank.
  - brianmcc 12y ago
    Exactly. Not in that position myself, but I'd guess once you have a certain level of comfort, security and perhaps the option to indulge in some of life's luxuries, it's much like electricity or running water: desperately, terrifically important and yet so easily taken for granted.
12y ago

madaxe_again 12y ago

I'm kinda failing to see the failure here. Yes, the business failed, but this reads like a fairy tale. Support from family and friends, investor backing, media coverage - all while failing to make a dime. Try running a successful and rapidly growing business for 8 years while everyone around you tells you you're a crazy fucking idiot and that you should give up and get a job. No investor interest as we make money, which investors hate. That's failure. I am a crazy idiot. I keep coming back for more. I will lose my mind before this is over. I am a failure.

BrandonM 12y ago
While I feel for your situation, I had to downvote you because your comment smacked of No True Scotsman and attention hogging. Sorry. A startup folded and left several people with nothing to show for years of effort. It seems pretty callous to me to assert that she didn't fail, when several measures say she did, and she feels like she did. I'm glad she shared her story. Do you think your comment encourages others to do the same?
- logicallee 12y ago
  I read your parent comment with a large level of irony (i.e. not literally). Your parent is bitter that actually building a successful business - by the metrics you just cited, as your parent claims to be doing -- feels/reads/is lived like total failure compared to the feeling of reading a "faery tale" of running a business into the ground while getting incredible levels of support that were "unearned" (if I try to put myself in your parent commmenter's shoes) because the business wasn't actually profitable. Your parent commenter is bitter about the fact that a total lack of viability - making money - gets support, while he has to bootstrap in the face of derision. madaxe_again: I recommend you get off of HN if you are interested in building a real business. This is a community for building things that investors here would be interested in. If it's not a problem that a rich man with nothing to do all day but look at Internet metrics can see as something to solve, then building a business is not going to get any support from this specific community. You should forget about investors. When has an investor ever backed anything that they couldn't have related to within 15 seconds of hearing a pitch for it? But investors don't represent the people of the world. If you want investment, play with investors. They'll give you $200,000 to stop making money and make a messaging app. If you launch one before you talk with them they'll raise that to $600,000. It is what it is. (Don't read my comment bitterly. I love this ecosystem.)

Fuxy 12y ago

Sad to see her fail she's a very driven person and admire her for that, most likely if she had a little more funding she would have made it. I think the most important lesson here is that the team makes all the difference and getting a awesome team is the most important especially for a non technical founder. She spent a large amount of time and money just getting to the point where she had a reliable team. Keep one eye on your team and the other on the product and be brutally honest with your team all the time if they can't handle it or can't decide to stay or leave this will make them leave sooner giving you more time to find someone else. Don't shield the team from bad news this is a group effort and they need to feel a part of it.