Startup Failure: Life, Career, and Other Lessons
TL;DR: bonus cash, inspiration, implementation, loss of partner, trying to do business and failing, meeting great people, loosing friends, and a seemingly…
Raising money from the “rich uncle”
I’m trying to raise a friends and family round to support a pre-revenue startup that is showing significant traffic in several areas, including…
What it Feels Like When Your Startup Has Massive Traction
When what you’re doing is validated by new signups, social endorsement, enthusiasm, press and massive interest, it’s incredible. You begin to truly…
My Startup Was Failing Because I Was Solving a Big Problem That No One Would Pay For
Just because I had a great idea that could change the world doesn’t mean people will pay for it. This was the lesson I learned which I want to share. Two…
We don’t have any clients and time is running out. Help!
My cofounder and I have a B2B startup product for businesses. I’ve spent around 4 months working on it, have a full demo / MVP have met with tons of…
Good Intentions: How Not To Run a Business
In 2009, I decided to rebrand my web writing agency, Brain Traffic , as a content strategy firm. I hired people I respected enormously to develop the…
Investors prefer Founders take low salaries. But, Investors typically take high salaries. WTF?
Investors seem to prefer that founders take low salaries. These low salaries mean that founders are living off savings, or at least unable to do any…
We’re Shutting Down and I’m Scared — The Aftermath
Last week I submitted a story here called, “ We’re Shutting Down and I’m Scared “. All I can say is, WOW! I never expected such an incredible response.…
Single Mom Bootstrapping with back against the wall
I am a single mother with a teenage daughter heading to college. I live from paycheck to paycheck and I am bootstrapping a start up with any spare money…
Am I crazy to stay on this boat?
I’m a minority partner in a large scale food business that I helped start several years ago. We had significant traction in our initial offerings, and…
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
I’ve been working in a startup in London for the past few months, and last week we learned that the company is scaling back on staff dramatically.…
Launching a Startup With Panic Disorder
I have anxiety. Not the general kind either. The kind where you’re convinced that you’re dying and, at times, even call the ambulance. The kind that’s…
Trying to Run a Startup When Your Spouse is an Addict
I often hear startup-related horror stories about founders who choose the wrong co-founder. But I rarely hear startup-related horror stories about what is…
Trust, but verify
I made an amateur mistake. I joined a project that was doomed from the start. My partner was the slick guy from college. You know the type; the salesman…
I didn’t have a contract with my friend and my business tore us apart
The first year of my business was great. Profits were through the roof. My sales funnel was spot on. And part of that success was due to a friend who…
Balancing family and the Drive to Succeed?
So I started my company at 23. I was full of energy and worked harder rather than smarter. Flash forward to today. I’m now 33, happily married with two…
Product Market Fit, Innovative, Big Market, Insane User feedback but UK has no follow on funding, so we’re going to fold!
After working on our startup in the UK for the past two years, it looks like we’re going to have to fold. I’m incredibly disappointed and upset that all…
Out of my control(?)
I was one of the first hires, within the first few months of the company’s existence and just after the seed round. I worked along side the first few guys…
Your Job or Your Family
My parents retired and were spending a year abroad. My mother was having a brutal time of it since she uprooted her life of 20+ years living in a small…
I failed. Again (and again). What the heck am I supposed to do now?
Two years ago I left my entry-level Wall Street job and drove cross-country to Silicon Valley to launch a startup. To save money, I lived in my car for…
We’re Shutting Down and I’m Scared
After over two years, backing from a well-known accelerator, nearly one million in funding and a decent amount of traction, we’re shutting down. I’m…
Thinking about leaving your job? Read this.
I started a passive income side project while I was an employee in 2011. It took 6 weeks from inception to launch and was profitable from month 1, making…
Startup vs family. What the %#@& do I do?
Hi guys, I’ll keep it simple: 1. I left a comfortable salary 15 months ago to dabble in startups. 2. I’m yet to have paying customers for my latest…
Founder Salaries — Get Off Your High Horse Young Founder
Recently, there have been several articles and discussions around the topic of founder salaries. Here’s one such discussion . There seems to be two…
How a Sole-Income Earning, Non-Tech, Thirty-Something (With Kids) Started His Company
In the summer of 2011, I had an idea I could not get out of my head. Something I thought about every waking hour of the day. The thought of what it could…
Time. Value. Money.
You ever sat down and looked at a clocks’ second hand tick a full sixty seconds? Seems like an eternity, doesn’t it. What most people forget to realize is…
My Startup Failed. F#*k.
I finally said it, my startup failed. Fuck. I felt like I was coming out of the closet when I first stated it aloud to my co-founder. We both knew for…
What Happens After You Fail
I’ve been struggling with this almost my entire life, particularly this last year as we dissolved Bidzuku . To be an entrepreneur takes an infinite amount…
Quit Talking and Acting Like a Startup Douche
One of the things I dislike the most about our industry are the God awful terms and trends that everyone seems so eager to adopt. I’ve made a conscious…
The easiest “NO” delivered by our angel fund
I started an angel fund a couple years ago. The goal was to make an impact, stay tuned into entrepreneurism and make money. We haven’t made much money…