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Comment by bro-stick | Hacker News Reader

For most people, they're not going to die or starve to death if their startup fails. I literally have no money and live in a van right now, but it could be far, far worse so I have no complaints. Hit the reset button and try again.

People all the time even have spouses and families and manage to pull off respectable M&A events.

If someone doesn't try, they have to live with themselves and their regret for not answering the question of "could I have built something other people think is great?"

It's whether a person has the stuffing to schlep hardcore and drag themselves over the finish line.

Life's strategy is pure and simple:

Pick your battles carefully, and never give up.

Anyone whom has the courage and the inclination can and should experiment often to see if they can hit on something viable. Because unlike the lottery, it's possible to make a few bucks with passive revenue apps without much effort.

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I've got to agree with survivor bias here. The path to success is littered with failed startups. You're ignoring a lot of data to conclude that most people aren't going to starve if their startup fails. Not everyone can survive living in a van.

Sure, it's survivor bias for people whom aren't willing to put in the schlepping and defer gratification that other people are willing to do. It's not survivor bias for everyone in all circumstances, by proof that I have friends that exited to an enterprise brand everyone knows on Sand Hill Rd. for 8 figures. There is no a 100% formula, but the timing, team dynamic, execution, business model/idea and connections/successes can put one in a far better position than say some enterprise manager wantrepreneur falling in love with their "one great idea."

Honestly, I'm a junior wantrepreneur apprentice too until getting to balancesheet positive at least into the six-seven figure range.

Again, survivor bias.

I am not saying your proposal isn't a good strategy. There just isn't a guarantee for success. Even your app claim sounds less convincing if you look at the actual average revenue for apps.

That's reality of uncertainties/risks in life and business. There are no guarantees until the acquiring company's funds transfers clear and the accounting dept transfers it to your estate trust in Bermuda or other passport-for-sale island nation. Publishing a two weekend simple, beautiful iOS app with nice 99designs assets makes it easy for people to buy it. Android apps margins are terrible, the best apps are one-time utility apps which charge more for something because they immediately save the user time and money (unlimited vehicle history VIN lookups, automatically decide what to have for dinner based on preferences and not what I had in the last two months).

Ad supported free OTOH infinite running cool but a little crappy games are great for selling more conversions to better paid apps (CandyCrush). They're also more profitable on Android since users expect mode of "something for nothing" as opposed to the Apple tax. Often with games and other non-one-time-useful and non-business-critical apps, in-app purchase of ad removal, virtual currency buy/offers is the way to go rather than paid. But it depends on the quality expectations of the app too.

Generally, If someone believes they can't, even if they may have the aptitude, they'll never know. That is the greatest regret and waste of talent imaginable. One also has to be clear and honest about one's/others' capabilities/needs in order to not get stuck in wandering in wantrepreneur land.

Finally, startup people are most similar to special forces badasses... able to get sh*t done, figure it out and eventually win.

I resent the implicit conclusion that people who choose to focus their efforts on building a safe and stable life for themselves and their families, especially their children, are cowards and people who fail simply aren't trying hard enough.

Your life's strategy is simply one of many, and most who follow it fail anyway.

>For most people, they're not going to die or starve to death if their startup fails.

My wealth is pretty much the value of my home. Any risk to losing that is fairly serious. No, my family won't starve, but losing years of equity/value and being forced to move to a shittier part of town and shittier school system, more crime, etc is a demotivator. This is why you see so many startups being kids directly from college. They have much less to lose and they're still young and energetic and haven't been beaten down by the 9-5 grind yet.

>Pick your battles carefully, and never give up.

Agreed, but now I do smaller and less ambitious side-projects than a big dramatic "We quit our jobs and now work out of a garage" type startup stereotype. Its not nearly as sexy or potentially life changing as "I'm selling a small application that targets $boring_industry and solves $boring_problem, but may be a nice small passive income if things go perfectly."

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