Hacker News Reader

Comment by ephelant | Hacker News Reader

Thank you so much for that detailed reply, especially on so personal a topic.

It's obvious from the question that it is a reflection on my current predicament. I'm at a place where the company is doing okay, but not great. Part of me wants to move on, but the other part - fuelled by legendary startup stories where things took off or turned around at the last minute - wants to keep going till it's officially dead. Before posting my question, I was debating whether asking the question itself served as a signal for my company's demise, but I am glad that didn't stop me. I feel like the point where I am too afraid to even consider the possibility - perhaps because then I truly know the answer - would be worse than just seeking more knowledge/wisdom.

It's very useful to have a community where I can learn from very experienced people such as yourself and use that information to augment my knowledge.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

View on HN

That mythos of the startup was part of why I stayed so long, and worked so hard. Long after I'd been diluted to nothing, I still felt the desire to make it work, and the pressure of being one of the founders and having to seem upbeat and to find a positive way forward from every setback.

I also think it's healthy to question the situation, privately, or between trusted colleagues. The failure to analyse, and plan, and act, meant that we continued down a path that clearly wasn't working long after we should have tweaked or pivoted.

I think there's a delicate balance though between open discussion, and maintaining morale. My observation is that it's a personality thing: some people are fine with regular doubting and discussion, and are in fact re-energised by questioning the precepts and either confirming the current path or tweaking it to address an issue. Others find it terribly demotivating to think about this too often.

I had always thought that there'd be clear point of success or failure, but my experience was that it was a very long period where it was neither yet, and impossible to tell which it would be :-)

Yes, I agree that it's quite a balancing act. I find myself teetering between those two states, more often leaning on the pessimistic side of things which I may be incorrectly categorising as being realistic. I think I might just have to improve my communication with the team to show and explain both sides of my thinking, the good and the bad.

You're last sentence really resonates as I think uncertainty is sometimes the most difficult thing to manage. There's always the possibility that death or success is just around the corner but I guess that is just part of the lifestyle I chose.

Thank you very much for sharing your time and your story. You have given me a lot to ponder on :)

> Part of me wants to move on

If you like starting companies, there's no shame in focusing on that. Sell & repeat until success is obvious enough to warrant sticking with it!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com