Ask HN: Good Morn. - What's The Quickest Way To A Million Dollars In 1-2 Years?

Startups are overrated. Start a service-based business. Start alone. For the first 3 - 6 months, focus on building a portfolio of good work and references. For the next 6 - 12 months, focus on steadily increasing your rates/prices and bring on-board one or two technical people to help you on a freelance basis. You must continue to do sales and ask for referrals. The next 12 - 24 months, focus on scaling your services and capacity. I know it's easier said than done - but this is what worked for me.

Background: 25 years old this year, software development firm made $500k in revenue so far in 2013.

Caveat: 1 million dollars revenue != 1 million dollars profit. Huge difference.

Find a niche that you can offer something that people will want or better yet, pay for. It's better to start small or find a way to enter a market that you can easily differentiate yourself and go from there. Also, you shouldn't try to hide your idea, most ideas aren't unique, it's how you execute them off that can make or break them. So don't be afraid to tell friends and acquaintances and have them give you feedback. There is no easy way to a million but with the internet there are now more ways then ever.

Start with a $100 mil. 1 Put $$$ in savings account with at least 2% interest 2 Wait ... 4 Profit!

The most realistic way for you to get there is this:

1. Have the tech skills to launch a complete web application or project that can either easily be acquired or generate revenue. If the former, aim for something viral and exciting. Think Threewords.me, which supposedly sold for 6 figures days after Mark Bao launched it. If the latter, price high and build a product for businesses or high-net-worth individuals. Assuming 30k of yearly living expenses, and not factoring in taxes (too complicated to calculate this right now), you'll need about 1,060,000 dollars. 1000 customers each paying 49 each per month over 2 years is $1,176,000.

2. Get paid at a salaried job / freelancing using said skills. Assuming you've got enough experience to do (1), you should be able to pull at least 100k. Live frugally and you can save 50k-100k from this job alone after two years.

3. Work on various iterations of (1) in your off-time from (2). Don't be afraid to sell a site on Flippa for a middling price if it doesn't seem to be growing huge. 10 sites at 5k each is still 50k.

Acquire 10.15 Bitcoins and hope that the 2013 Wedbush Report [1] will be correct.

[1] $98,500 per BTC http://www.scribd.com/doc/188644617/Bitcoin-Intrinsic-Value-...

Borrow 500k go to the casino and bet on red twice. 25% chance of a million dollars 50% chance of +- 0.

Start a company get 5 million dollar valuation and investment by making people think your in it for the long haul. Retain 20% that can't be diluted and has no strings attached. Get fired. sell said precentage once new CEO takes over.

Take 100k and invest 20k in five early stage startups for five to ten percent of equity.. pray for the next two years that one of them gets acquired for a billion

<serious> Start a new silkroad </serious>

You can start with five and work from there. ;-)

Forex. Stock market. Niche web/mobile app.

Finance - if you can get a job in finance.

Organ traffic.

Make a good SaaS.

Drugs.

- I totally forgot that I had ask this question but I will like to thank everyone for their response. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.