Ask HN: Bootstrap a small profitable product vs. chase large risky opportunity? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Bootstrap a small profitable product vs. chase large risky opportunity?

6 pointsamirathi11 comments

If you could build a small (1-2 devs working for couple of months), indie hacker style niche product that could guaranteed generate anywhere between couple of hundreds to few thousand $/month. Perks like total control over a small venture, joy of building, possibility of working on multiple of these type of projects etc.

And at the other end you have a typical VC style startups that would eventually require building team, raising capital and could fail or succeed in a big way.

What would you choose? Why?

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I'd choose the first anytime because I like to create useful products whose direction I can control rather than catering to the needs of VC investors.

While venture capital can be required for certain types of businesses or products having an investor requires time and energy for matters only indirectly related to your product and your customers. With venture capital investors onboard the question "How do I build a product that solves a problem for my customers?" becomes less important in favour of "How will it be able to scale?".

Venture capital also means that probably you won't be running the company yourself anymore in 5-10 years. Given your motivation that can be perfectly fine but if you love what you're doing this can be a downside.

Small niche product. I wish I could focus to come up with one to put time into. Why? Full control and ability to hit a goal of side income type of profit. If it goes well enough then it becomes a "lifestyle" business I would work on, ideally having a work/life imbalance that favors the life side more.

Working for a startup means you are working for someone else essentially. Unless you have a serious percentage of options.

@DHH's Startup School Talk has your answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY&feature=youtu.be...

For a VC startup the odds are tiny for success and will most likely fail.

Take the first jump and build a small niche product first.

You'll have a better chance at success and you can use that experience for your larger venture next time.

Good talk, thanks for sharing.

"... difference between having minus $10k vs $1M in your bank account is much larger than having a million vs a billion..." :D

Building a niche product sounds mostly enjoyable and seems like a happier, less stressful lifestyle.

What's the person doing the startup working towards? A happier life? Why not just go directly to that?

Do you want to chase targets or build products ?

A small lifestyle startup is not necessarily easier than a venture startup.

I have the exactly same problem with my nice product www.reviewshift.com

Guess I will take the path without VC but therefore I need some sale guy....

You are this guy right? https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/900-cold-emails-and-no-si...

You need to get off of HN/Indiehacker and go actually talk to your potential users. You don't need "some sale guy", YOU are the sales guy.

Right. But I am inexperienced and tried so many things.... I need somebody to help my with the sales part, as a mentor

I actually do some weekly 1:1 sales coaching for this very problem. Check my profile and feel free to email me if you have any questions!

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