Comment by jasonkester | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jasonkester | Hacker News Reader

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We started 5 years ago... I have precious little in the way of "life"

I hate to be the one to point it out, but what you're experiencing is very far from my definition of "Success". I mean sure, according to your definition you're definitely perspiring, but isn't there supposed to be some form of payoff at some point?

All 3 of your potential forecasted outcomes lead to you not having a life any time soon. As such, it looks like you've set yourself up in a way that precludes success, as many of us define it.

For me, a successful software business is one that provides the maximum income (and thus free time) possible for the smallest effort. That's what software's so good at: turning tiny amounts of work into big benefits. As such, the ultimate goal is zero effort and infinite free time. You seem to have contrived the opposite for yourself.

We're strange, insofar as we've a foot in the software door, and a foot in the agency door - there's method to our madness, insofar as the agency side of things is effectively our peer-review group. We're highly profitable, but everything, other than bare-bones just-about-covers-the-cost-of-living stays in the business, or goes on staff salaries. Our goals and the market we're in both require vast amounts of dev work. Success, for us, is either absolute or absent - not interested in half measures. We've had two 8 digit cash offers for the business, both of which we've refused, as we don't plan on exiting until the product is fully baked.

Ultimately, I guess it depends on what you want out of it - if you're after a lifestyle business, what you describe is just fine. If you're after total global domination, it's back-breaking effort for a number of years (or a huge injection of capital up-front, although that's generally a good way to lose sight of what you're doing).

I'm not sure what your point is. If the parent doesn't follow the VC-driven "get big really goddamned fast at all costs" model, he's not successful?

There's nothing wrong with growing a business steadily for 5 years. Speaking for myself, we've been doing it for 4, and somehow I don't feel like a miserable failure.

Jason said nothing about VC or explosive growth.

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