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by blizkreeg 5870 days ago
As a (almost)first-time, solo entrepreneur who is bootstrapping (yes I have almost everything going against me!), I would really value a community/forum like this.

There are times when I'd like to discuss things, seek support, and learn from what others are doing in a more casual setting. HN is great for learning but as a community for informal discussion, it seems just a tad heavyweight.
2 comments
jaytee_clone 5870 days ago
We have exactly the same problem. (I'm a solo bootstrapper too).

It sounds like I should just go ahead and start this entrepreneur forum that I'm envisioning.

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jarsj 5870 days ago
no don't do that. if you are solo, you need to be focussed on what you are building. Creating something of HN scale would consume you and if you just want a community for few people, just add them to a mailing list or something.
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megamark16 5870 days ago
This particular line of discussion prompted me to create a subreddit for us solo founders. Check it out at http://www.reddit.com/r/solostartups/ if you'd like to join in. I may be the only person posting there, but maybe others in the same boat I'm in will join in as well and we can all support each other through running a startup (or side project) all alone.
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jaytee_clone 5870 days ago
I agree with you.

However, I don't want to stay solo. I have been solo for two years. It's too much work and not as fun as a partnership.

Building a community is a long-term investment. It will give me a wider range of resources and opportunities.

Plus, I have often found that I become more creative, focused, and generally better at things when I interact with other people periodically, even with regular non-hacker-founders (alone time is important too of course). I imagine having a social circle of smart entrepreneurs will be exponentially more beneficial to each individual. Y-Combinator is so sought after because of that social aspect.

Great products are nice, but great friends are even better.

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Tawheed 5870 days ago
We have a Solo-Founders Braintrust going, just email me if you want to get invited in.
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swombat 5870 days ago
Weird, I've never thought of HN as heavyweight or formal. People here are pretty relaxed...
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