jmaskell

7 ms·

31.
Why my startup failed(jamesmaskell.co.uk)
146 points by jmaskell 14y ago|93 comments
32.
by jmaskell 14y ago
A lot of proponents of home working seem to ignore one of the big reasons people may want to work in a centralised space (be it an office, co-working space, somewhere else..) - the interaction with other people. I hate working at home - I g
33.
by jmaskell 14y ago
I should have been more accurate - the bank would be liable if the customer charged back and couldn't reclaim the money from Vinetrade (e.g. we'd ceased trading). There isn't huge risk for the buyers - all wine in the warehouses is insured
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by jmaskell 14y ago
Thanks! Our preference was actually to take debit cards only - but regularly got told that it's all (credit cards too) or nothing.
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by jmaskell 14y ago
There were two big problems with the banks: 1. A number of wine investment companies took card payments but never bought the wine. So the bank was liable for the money lost in those situations - and as a result that put a blanket ban on all
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Taking payments online in Europe in 2013(jamesmaskell.co.uk)
264 points by jmaskell 14y ago|181 comments
37.
by jmaskell 14y ago
I'm not sure about the rest of Europe, but the UK works pretty much like this. Lots of cashback, store vouchers or airline miles. I guess the card companies win either way - in interest on people who rack up debts (enticed by the benefits)
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by jmaskell 14y ago
You can easily lose money if you value the time spent writing the book and get paid nothing / less than you could have earned elsewhere for it.
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Things that I (as a startup founder) want to get better at in 2013(jamesmaskell.co.uk)
2 points by jmaskell 14y ago|0 comments
40.
by jmaskell 14y ago
There are quite a few large players in the market and many middle men between the producer and consumer. The secondary market is very inefficient - the default is to sell to a traditional merchant who will take 10-25% of the price. Auction
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by jmaskell 14y ago
Thanks for the comment - we have a full time designer on the team. Bootstrap is a great base and allows us to build quickly - but it still takes a lot of work to get the customisation right.
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by jmaskell 14y ago
So I guess the main point of this article was to get some ideas down and provide a quick summary of things I've learnt in the past year. Getting feedback is helpful as it shows where I can drill down in to more detail in future posts. For n
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by jmaskell 14y ago
Kind of agree with this - traditional VCs are only likely to be interested in the billion dollar/pound companies. Many angels and small funds will be happy with £10m/year - it's just a case of picking the right type of investor for your com
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Startup Lessons Learned in 12 Months(jamesmaskell.co.uk)
39 points by jmaskell 14y ago|10 comments
45.
by jmaskell 14y ago
It's also worth using a credit card for the added protection and other benefits (see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/credit-card-tips ). Just make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you never get stung by interest.
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by jmaskell 15y ago
Talk to your co-founder. It sounds like you're pretty sure that the problem can be resolved by taking a break. Try taking a week off. You're no good to your startup is you're burnt out and unable to work. Not taking a week off to rest now c
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by jmaskell 15y ago
There are two main advantages to buying an off the shelf company: 1. Having a company that appears to have been around for longer than it actually has (although it's pretty easy to find out it's history - e.g. when directors changed). 2. Ge
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by jmaskell 15y ago
"As part of the company registration process, you might be tempted to come up with a lofty valuation for your shares. Don't. You'll only cause yourself hassle. Create 100 shares of £1 each and assign 1 share to each equal cofounder. You can