Ask HN: Playing the role of a "jack of all trades" in a self-funded startup

[praveenaj]

Hi,

I equally use both sides of my brain: from the initial concept + Web Design to coding the apps using PHP. I manage to do everything on my own, even customer care and marketing on social media platforms. I'm passionate about doing everything on my own! :)

My first startup was http://mybiz.lk & to be honest it was a failure since I didn't have a proper business model at that time. (the site is still functioning though :)

That being said, I'm now about to start off a new venture after learning from the mistakes. I'll be following the Lean Startup methodology as explained by Eric Ries.

URL: http://hireme.lk

So far I have been able to plan and launch the "magic page" for my new startup on my own. For this time also I'm thinking of following a learn-as-you-go-along approach. This has granted me a lot of freedom to take my own decisions and plan the way I want my startup to be in the future.

What are your thoughts on this approach? Will my approach have negative effects for the future of my startup?

Cheers!

PS: * Please note that I'm not trying to do a self-promotion for my startups here, just wanted to let you know what I've been up to so far.

[steventruong]

Your image logo dude looks pixelated.

So far I have been able to plan and launch the "magic page" for my new startup on my own.

Magic page as in LaunchRock? I have no clue what you mean here. I also have no clue how to answer your question in regards to your approach as it basically doesn't say anything. Its super vague.

As for can't afford to partner up with another co-founder, that also makes no sense. If you partner with someone, why would you need to pay them. Why would your bootstrapped money earned from 99designs matter? Unless you were talking about "hiring" someone.

[praveenaj]

Thanks for your reply.

"Your image logo dude looks pixelated." It seems that LaunchRock has automatically reduced the image quality :(

"Magic page" yes, it's the LaunchRock page (I was referring to Eric Ries's term)

Well, I was expecting to get some advise for when doing a "1 member team" startup, learn the risks etc. Appreciate if someone can suggest similar startups that have done well.

[dangrossman]

There have been numerous solo founder startups funded by YC. Some of them were successful.

I've been making a living doing what you describe (idea -> design&code -> customer support&marketing) on my own for most of my life... I was 14 when I launched my first profitable website, I'm 27 now and support some 100k users myself.

If you're aiming to be a world-changing business, you'll eventually be hiring other people. I'm satisfied dealing with my couple hundred new customers a month, which I can support on my own, and who support my lifestyle.

[praveenaj]

Thanks for the reply. I launched my first website when I was 15 but it was a failure! I'm 22 now. Would you mind sharing what resources (books, methodologies, strategies etc) you referred to when making a profitable website with 100k users? Wow!

"you'll eventually be hiring other people" True. But I don't think It's the right moment now.

Cheers!

[dangrossman]

I wasn't even aware of the concept of a "startup" or what was going on in Silicon Valley when I started making most of my apps. I didn't have any books or strategies. I just made things I was interested in and thought other people would want to use, and some of those things stuck.

I make stuff and if I can get a couple active users, I'll never shut it down. Nothing happened overnight -- W3Counter has around 52000 users but that's after 7 years. I'm still hosting website guestbooks people created with one of my sites in 1996. I don't make much money from that site, but 15 years of accumulated inbound links and authority mean it'll always have traffic and PR I can leverage for kickstarting other sites.

[billpatrianakos]

I'm a one man shop and I'm into 2 startups. I have no staff and until yesterday I didn't even have any techie friends that I could count on to even advise me or do me small favors or even network. I'm one year in and my first startup is growing tremendously. Now with my second one I'm in the same position as you - just starting it.

So yes, you can do just fine on your own. The question is should you? Employees cost money and should probably be out of the question until you see some traction. If you really need some help I would say either get a partner (someone who is in it with you whose income depends on his work just as much as yours. No fixed salary, he gets the same deal as you with some revenue sharing deal - that's one difference between an employee and a partner) or you outsource any work you can't do yourself or need quicker.

Other than that you really don't need a second person if you don't want one. I can tell you from experience that working solo can really suck. I just closed out my first year and I know that if I had a partner or some other support that I could have grown the business exponentially. Having other people around pushes you, motivates you, let's you blow off steam, destress, etc. it's always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. They can be very valuable and get you thinking in ways you wouldn't have before.

Flying solo is hard but there's no reason you can't. Having people to work with can be a valuable luxury but don't be fooled by what everyone says, flying solo is not a recipe for failure. Not even close.

[praveenaj]

Thanks a lot for sharing your story. I don't feel like I'm alone now :)

I think I've reached the peak of self-confidence & self-motivation now after reading many books and watching many videos on YouTube. Everything is set to embark on the journey!

Cheers! good luck with your venture!

[billpatrianakos]

Thanks! And be careful with all the self confidence. I'm sure you're experienced enough to know already but I know for myself that all the motivation and self confidence you go into a project with is fragile and can easily turn into self doubt and procrastination. But that just means you're probably working hard enough to get something done right.

[praveenaj]

Got it :)