Ask HN: How do I commit to an startup/idea?

You'll hear singers and artists often say, "The fans keep me going." It sounds cliche, but it's true.

I've done a lot of projects in my life, and I think the ones that drive me forward are the ones with fans. It doesn't take much; only about 1-2 genuine ones. They're the ones who'll email you giving dumb ideas you ignore, but are flattering. As per the YC handbook, it's better to find something that a few people really love, than something that a lot of people just kinda like.

I'd recommend finding a way to connect with fans as well. One of the best things I did for my furthest running startup is to add a chat. Our users set up a WhatsApp group to stay in touch, and I'd join them and hang out with them. When running a grocery or most kinds of businesses, you see the people paying you money, and they thank you or smile in some way, and that adds a lot to the motivation. Try to find a way to work that into the business, even if it's a subreddit.

Or try to go the other way around this. Find something that someone is annoyed or pissed about. Or if you're working on an idea in your head, find someone who wants to see that idea done. Hack a solution for that; doesn't have to be great, just proof of concept is fine.

I agree with that. I think what gave me the motivation to continue with the project that succeeded was the fact that the product got ~200 daily users immediately after launch.

I still remember the many, many times I wanted to give up on that project. What kept me going was the small number of users who used the product consistently and wrote Emails providing feedback. Some users who noticed the product hasn't been updated for awhile wrote an Email asking me if I was still working on it. That really got me off my arse.

I have great respect for entrepreneurs who are able to work for years on a product without a single user/customer. That takes some serious self-belief and persistence.

I'm sorry you're in this "funk". Here are some ideas, I hope at least one of them will help.

1) Have you considered stepping away and doing something totally different for a short time? A month or a year or more? You could consider traveling (even now I think it could be done safely if you're single and do pandemic-safe things like hiking/camping, or traveling to remote places, etc), or getting an intentionally unusual job/internship/volunteer position for yourself (dog groomer, lawn care, flower arrangement). Stepping away and doing very different things is a well-attested method to restart your creative juices. Richard Feynman, Leonardo da Vinci, Henry David Thoreau, and others did things like this throughout their career.

2) You may need to consider some psychological reasons, and therefore psychology solutions, to your current situation. You reached one of your goals (having an automated business). Sometimes when a person achieves a big goal it can lead to a depression. One of the reasons is that (consciously or not) they expected achieving this Big Goal to solve all their problems and to fulfill them, and when it doesn't it leads to depression. There are other factors that can lead to depression in situations like this, but that's just one example.

3) Experiment with different lifestyles/philosophies. Take a month or two and try to live very minimally or maybe live in a monastery (hopefully one with somewhat-compatible beliefs as yours). Or live lavishly. Just try to shake up things here. This is kinda similar to #1 above.

4) Consider picking up a hobby and really digging into it. This is kinda related to #2 above.

I feel for you, and I really wish I could help you in some meaningful way. I have a family and they keep me from getting too sucked into video games and/or numbing myself. It sounds like an uncomfortable and even scary place to be. Good luck.

> How do I commit to an idea?

One method: don’t. Commit to getting response from prospective customers about an idea, then when the response is good, trying to get people to commit to paying for it. The post written by Quell is a great example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24210098. Excerpts:

> We learned that no one wanted the hassle of a punchbag, but everyone loved the idea of feeling the satisfying physical resistance

> our potential users hated the idea of setting up a camera

> The response was incredible, with CPA coming in 75% lower than our benchmarks. We opened pre-orders to test whether these people would convert and got fifty orders in the first month

Obviously hardware has some unique challenges, but still, they got the concept in front of users while it was still an idea. Your belief in the idea doesn’t need to motivate you all the way to release, just far enough to try to find potential users, talk with them, and adapt your idea.

Badically, pick the idea/product that you’d buy yourself if it existed today, and then try to get 10 people interested in it (or if/when they aren’t, find out why) - with ads, blog posts, or anything else. After you get 10, get 100. After you get 100, ask some to pay for it. When some seem willing to, start building it.

Well said. If the OP is interested in learning more about this, I think the most fruitful search term will be “lean startup”.

Find an experienced business person to work with. The ideal person would be someone that is successful at what they do, and that also understands the potential for technology to transform their business. It certainly helps if they have seen a software development project traverse from start to finish. And they should be someone that you can trust. If you can't find this person, find a job in an industry that interests you. Ideally, you'll eventually meet people on the business side that have a vision, and are looking for someone that can deliver technology that fulfills their vision. They're out there -- like attracts like. And, be the kind of professional that people want to partner with and it will eventually happen.

I am similar. What I have noticed in my professional career is that a team really helps. When I am not on my "high" sometimes other team members are on their "high". That works really well and then my "high" comes back. Hopefully that makes sense.

My proposal: we work on a project together. Worst case, it doesn't work out and we both have the same outcome. Best case, we deliver something valuable. Let me know what you think.

You are far from throwing in the towel, as you are here asking for direction. Its very hard to do the solo act - near impossible task you've given yourself and it seems you really beat yourself up about it.

Realize this - most successful ventures/side gigs/startups are not solo efforts and involve quite a bit of luck.

Others have made great pointers for you here. I can only add that maybe you should stop the boom/bust cycle and network to find a co-founder.

Don't do it alone. Don't do it for yourself. Find a problem someone else has bring the on as a consultant.

Write yourself a deliverables calendar.

if I eventually spent out, I'm going to be going straight for government funding. They make posts on what they want. Sttr and sbir is a wonderful way to get a company started.

In the words of Steve Madden:

"It does not matter if it does not sell".

So, work on it for a week, max a month, and start selling.

read "will it fly"

you shouldn't be working on an idea for many months full time without showing it to customers. The sooner you get a minimal viable product in front of customers, the quicker you'll know if your idea has legs. The assurance gained from customers that like your product will be more than enough to motivate you. If they don't like your product, you wont feel bad about abandoning it.