[mieko]

I've been running an east-coast-but-middle-of-nowhere startup, primarily implemented by myself, and self-funded, with the occasional with help of random one-off contractors in the hospitality/IoT space for two years now. Basically during off-hours from a (pretty successful) day job in a non-tech company I started years ago.

My choke point has always been finding another technical-minded parter that gets the industry. Every time I've seen the YC application season roll around, I've thought it'd be a perfect fit for applying to YC, with the connections and clout that come with it. What's stopped me, even at my half-assed pace, was the chance of the huge ego/momentum hit of getting rejected, considering it's still a labor of love (although profitable).

I have a handful of customers that are already paying monthly for "The Vision Lite" at discounted prices: just enough for me to continue development. But larger competitors are sure to move more aggressively into the area over the next year or so, before my current trajectory can deliver on the "this is Star Trek-level shit" experience I've got planned. I'm sure I can grow my customer base at a moderate rate, but I'm not sure I can keep up once the field gets serious against better-funded competitors.

Where do you think the tipping point is between the Basecamp-style "Just get profitable, stay profitable, and move forward" model vs. "Take VC money and turn a two-year schedule into a six months, and get entrenched while you can?" (Fred Brooks notwithstanding)

[sama]

One of the most important life skills is to get good at taking rejection and failure and then picking yourself back up and continuing.

If you are going to run a big company, far, far worse things will come your way than a YC rejection. Try again. And again. And again.

Giving up too early is one of the biggest causes of failure I know.

In terms of the two models--it really depends on your company and market, and what you want to do.

[CardenB]

Hey Sam,

What's the difference between being persistent and wasting time? I'm curious as to where you draw the line.

[wojt_eu]

Seth Godin wrote a book on the subject https://www.amazon.com/Dip-Little-Book-Teaches-Stick/dp/1591...

[karimdag]

Have you read this book? If so, how good is it?

[tomhoward]

The most important book I've ever read.

Thanks to having read that book before I started my startup, that startup has now become two thriving companies in a highly challenging market, and I've figured out some methods of overcoming major personal challenges, that could turn out to be hugely valuable to many other people, once I'm ready share them.

I'm still working through my own dip, but had I not read that book I'd have quit very early on and would likely be living a pretty mundane existence.

It's a short book, but an invaluable one.

[wojt_eu]

I've read a couple of Seth's books couple years ago. I felt they are all like a great blog posts inflated to size a short book. But maybe going on about one idea for two hundred pages makes some sense, it made it really sink in for me.

[dgerges]

wasting time is being persistent for bad reasons

[jomamaxx]

You have little to lose with applying to YC and getting rejected, nor do you have with investors.

If you fail to get a seed-round going after meeting with maybe 1/2 dozen VC's you will be significantly 'more ready' for the next time you meet. Once you've made more progress and reached more milestones, you can probably even circle back with investors who said 'no'. You might have more cred with them.

[ElComradio]

The ego hit risk is only an issue because you have mentally internalized them as being on a pedestal.

Don't do that. They are not final arbiters of either talent or success.