traviswingo

I like this idea; however, this is very subjective. Laying out 6 solid reasons for _why_ a startup failed is a bold statement. In reality, there usually isn't a concrete reason why, but I guess it's a good exercise to at least think about it collectively.

Seriously, though. I never understood why Groupon, Snap, etc. turn down these multi-billion dollar acquisition offers. It's not like these products/services have a huge impact on the world (if they were to disappear, who would really care?), take the money and run.

It's easier to argue money doesn't matter when you're not making a sh*t ton. If you have a family to support and are making a crap ton of money it's more difficult to walk away from. But yeah, it's definitely not worth dying inside for.

Teaching yourself anything is definitely not a waste of time.

Don't get so caught up in the "degree."

I've met individuals with graduate degrees in computer science (i know OP asked for data science, but the overall point here applies to any field) that didn't hold a candle to self taught developers. If you're actually passionate and interested about something, you will become extremely well-versed in it. On the other hand, if you're not excited about data science, a degree with probably benefit you more than without one since it will force you to learn the topic.

In a nutshell, it's up to you to make yourself valuable and present that value to the world - a degree is just a shortcut for recruiters to filter on, but you can skip recruiters and talk to anyone in any company.

I actually emailed support about this a while back and was told it's on the roadmap.

This reminds me of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. Absolutely one of the best books to read if you're looking to improve your social skills.

Snapshot since site is overloaded: http://archive.is/g0Kes

This doesn't come as a surprise to me. Beepi was, quite frankly, idiotic in it's spending - as are most of these companies. 100 engineers doesn't always mean you get things done quicker - WhatsApp had something like 15 engineers with > 500 million users on their platform at the time of the Facebook acquisition of $19 billion.

Note to startups: Hire quality, not quantity. And ONLY hire if you're absolutely desperate. If you're technical, do the work yourself instead of throwing your investors money at it. If you're lucky enough to get an investment, treat it as your last one, and never assume more money is coming.

Archive snapshot: http://archive.is/nSVGF

Maybe they tried a couple times...probably because he was choking up. :)

Hey Michael, thanks for this - should be a real eye opener!

Q: What are some of the top weighing attributes you're looking at for companies applying today, and how heavy (1-10 scale) would you say they count towards an acceptance decision. I'm envisioning a "credit score" for application.

> You can't have people who only essentially generate work for others.

This 100% true and an almost unavoidable occurrence when non-technical and technical individuals attempt to start something together. I'd say it's extremely important that if a non-technical individual is coming to a technical one to build literally everything they dream up, said non-technical individual absolutely must be doing an equivalent amount of work in other areas of the company. Sending emails and taking calls/meetings only gets you so far and will eventually be perceived as "0-net" tasks by the technical individual if they don't result in anything.

Personally, for me, it comes down to trade-offs. How quickly do you want to be able to push changes? Do you want to hire a new developer for mobile, or have an existing developer plug away on the project? Are you building a game, or does your app require very low-level code control?

React native, Ionic, etc. are great for most apps out there. There is nothing special required to get a great app published in very little time, and existing developers can jump on the project and get it done - which probably results in much cheaper overhead for a startup. It really is a win-win.

The only reason I'd consider going full native these days is for mobile gaming, and anything requiring low-level control.

For those being negative about "yet another programming language," try creating a lang sometime...it's a fantastic exercise and, in the very least, will make you a much better programmer.

+1 here. Don't take these things so personally, and don't be so quick to assume someone is personally after you (yeah, I saw your "my site is down because I'm probably being DDOSd by this dude" comment).

It's like getting mad that you like woodworking and publish your projects online and then someone else decides to take up woodworking and publish their projects online.

Your article is both resentful and positive...I'd edit it to be more positive about the validity of what you're doing and not publicly bash this individual for getting excited enough to do the same.

This is awesome. Just a reminder - there is no "below" in space, as there's no up or down. :p.

Maybe i didn't convey the original message correctly, but I don't feel sorry for myself. I feel pressed for time, and that I'm aging out of opportunities even when I'm young. It's more of a psychological illusion than a reality, and it looks like many people share the same stress over it.

This really hits the nail on the head. My main driving force behind all of this is financial freedom - not in the sense of, as you put it, "buying a Ferrari tomorrow," but just being able to do what I want, when I want, without having to cater to other peoples needs to afford it. I find the idea that people work so fucking hard just to be able to afford to work really fucked up. At the same time, I have more than many people I know, and I earn much more than many people I no. However, I still don't have the freedom to just relax. We live in a backwards society where we live to work, work to live. No one is able to just live, unless you're content with living outdoors off the land (I'm not).

Yeah this is exactly what I was referring to. I literally feel guilty for doing leisure activities and absolutely feel like Im wasting time. It's led me to build some really cool things and given me the reputation for outputting a lot of quality in a short period of time, but nothing else, really.

Good point. Didn't think of that.

Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for.

Awesome work! I have a suggestion/question. Why did you chose the pattern

  /:options/:image 

over

  /:image/:options

? Seems the latter would be more user friendly.

Guys, I'm not sure downvoting this was the appropriate response. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this sarcasm?

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for a legal startup.

Awesome thanks!

Yeah exactly, thanks for pointing this out. I'm specifically focused on LLCs because they are single-man operated side projects with passive income. I maintain each one only a couple of days per month, at this point.

That being said, Clerky is an excellent choice for those looking to form a C Corp in Delaware and focus on their startup full-time.

Yeah, Atlas is probably excellent for a startup filing a C-Corp in Delaware - I just want an LLC since I have passive side project revenue and want to parent all of them and funnel it all down into a single structure for simplicity.

Yeah I've gathered it's probably pretty straight forward. I only ask because I've never set up an LLC before (been involved with many C corp setups), and I can guarantee I'll miss something that someone here could point out to me from their own experience.

Just me for side projects that generate a passive revenue. From what I can tell, the process seems fairly straight forward, but I ask because there are always caveats that people with experience learn from that I might be able to avoid.

Thanks! I usually go to TurboTax for accounting needs on a personal and side project basis, since I'm fairly literate in tax processes and personal/side project income isn't very complicated. Any personal experience on a local accountant being better for you than a service like TurboTax?