sharing startup failure stories
I think of quiting every day to be able to work on my startup idea, I am not the bread winner but also not brave enough to take action. can you please give a reality check by sharing your startup failure stories and how it impacted you? are you still working on another startup idea or joined back some company? many thanks in advance.
OP, my brother has done 3 startups, the first one he did and sold to the govt. Of a state when he was still in college. That was a success, the other two not so much. He says, and I quote: "There is nothing better on your resume than saying I tried 2 launching startups, and I am less than 30 years old" Go for it!
OP worst things that can happen is bad cofounder/early hires, making something no one needs, and running out of money
The biggest failure I've seen at a start up is where the founder doesn't know how to delegate. They hire amazing people and then tell them what to do.
Micromanaging is the worst
Startup right out of Uni for, lasted 2 years. Started off really well, got a really experienced dev (think 20+ years) who believed in the idea. I let him take complete control of the tech side whilst I started going door to door, direct messaging people etc trying to get members. In 8 months we had 8 paying users, with may more users. Then we decided that our country was too small for the product. (Product was a P2P based tool). The tech guy lived in LA so we decided to start from scratch in the US - First big mistake. Limited money for marketing, no door to door etc had a hard time getting users. Investor contacted saying he wanted to invest 100k if we meet him the next day (basically < 12 hours). Second mistake - no way i could catch a flight that quick and told him im not from the same country but the other (tech) guy is. No reply after this. Soon after lack of money, lack of users we decided to call it a day after 2 years. About to start another one. Learnt a lot, time to put it into practise. Peace.
I worked for a startup that failed to launch. I came in to basically PM the devs in India. Weâd do a thing; he wants a new thing. Wash, rinse, repeat. He would not let it launch. Left on the last day of the year after I got my monthly paycheck. It NEVER launched.
I co-founded a failed startup and learned a TON. IMO nailing down a solid business model is key. We built a beautiful technology that failed to gain traction because we had some bad advice/mentors and didnât have the business model sorted out. In hindsight I should have trusted my gut and ignored some well-meaning advice which overcomplicated the initial product/service offering. I also had a flaky cofounder who only wanted to go to meetings and act like a big shot, he was no help with behind the scenes work. The situation was compounded by being in a fragmented and highly regulated space, so we just couldnât survive. I wouldnât trade the experience though. I am definitely more cautious than before, but working on a new idea.
Have you ever heard of Adkeeper?
Not my startup but I have worked with two before. Joined super early during product ideation phase and left as they acquired customers. One was very bootstrapy and only had Angel investors. The other one had a few million from VCs. The bootstrapy one is still alive today. Founder was very good with finances so make sure you or someone is very good at that. He also worked 100 hrs a week for two years. If you are serious about this, be prepared to legit work because you will need to give everything to make it successful. I tried multiple times to make product in healthcare space without success. Will try again. You learn to get over failures and keep on trying. Currently working on a friendship app. I have a full time job so finances are stable. Will go part time or quit if it takes off. Without stable finances, you might make decisions you otherwise might not, and give up more than you want.
did you lose money for the trials in healthcare or was it funded?
Working on a friendship app too hmmmm đ¤