[shortsightedsid]

Our startup failed early this year. We didn't make any money and while we did have a few interested clients, to keep going we needed funding that didn't come. End of the day, it was the wrong product. Period.

So - lesson learned.

I did try odesk/elance for a while but you can't make any money from it. My work is more embedded, and systems programming and the jobs on places like odesk are suited for very low end webdev. (The good webdev work isn't on odesk). As a result, they are very low paying.

I called that quits pretty quickly and started looking for a job. It took me a couple of interviews (including bombing the first one) before I found work. I'm pretty happy now. It pays the bills, but I am saving up for my next startup sometime in the future.

In short, don't be disheartened. Very few actually make it, but the journey is one that's really worth it. Sometime later you will find the right idea and your motivation will be up again.

[blinduck]

Thank you for the advice on odesk/elance. I was wondering whether I could pick up freelance jobs related to data processing/data analysis.

I do agree that the journey really has been worth it, although I haven't actually got anything to show for it.

[Kaizyn]

Don't underestimate the value of experience. While failing must certainly have hurt, you have actually learned more than if everything had worked out. Whatever you do, be sure to take a bit of time to regroup before you jump into another high intensity activity like your next startup or someone else's software project with a ridiculous timeline. That way you will recover quicker.