TaeWoo
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Hey Fastlaners (and some Slowlaners).
I wanted to get MJ's thought on this but if you're fast laner, feel free to chime in. I don't mind critical comments as long as they're delivered in decent digestible fashion. Remember, it's not what you say.. it's how you say it.
Anyway.. I started this path to entrepreneurship from reading Rich Dad Poor Dad (yes, I see the irony of his ways now) about 8 years ago. Ever since then, I've had my shares of ups and downs.. and I can say that even though I've gained an immense knowledge set, i'm still "searching".
I'm asking as much as venting:
1) "Starting a business to fix a problem"
Problems dont seem like problems... and often not to every one.
99% of silicon valley startups focus on problems that don't exist. I remember one dude who was trying to pitch investors to fund basically RSS scraper. Yeah, totally retarded.
Then another time, a daily deal RSS scraper gets funded 7+ million dollars. (Google "yipit") doing basically doing that.
Confusing? I would say so. What problem do these RSS scrapers solve?
Paul Graham and all these SV guys always say "make stuff you want".. or "solve problems you have". And I did that. But nobody wanted it.
First 4 years, I woke up 5:30 AM to go to gym for 2 hrs, meditated for 30 minutes, then worked 12 hrs. If I wanted to solve my own problem, I would say that I should've sold protein shake/tofu/cucumbers (yeah that's what i ate and I had insanely low body fat) within 15 minutes of ultra, A-type workaholics ... and on the side, sell dry cleaning, dog walking, and errand service. But if I did that, my target market would've been less than 10k people scattered throughout US.
Another problem is... in my opinion, killer businesses solve problems that aren't currently seen as ..problems. For example
- Google: Altavista was good enough
- Facebook: Myspace was good enough
- AirBNB: Craigslist was good enough
- DropBox: Flash drives / email were good enough
Now, if you ask me, did they solve REALLY painful problems? Foresight no.. hindsight yes.
So how do you determine if the problem is worth pursuing in terms of
a) business viability (to turn profit)
b) market size (not just me and some super niche group of people
2) When you fail at solving problems, sometimes you lose vision & focus and create "fake" problems
When I started out, I was so sure that my idea (which was actually Farmville before Facebook app platform opened) was gonna rock. Yeap, idea tanked.
In fact, I started tanking on so many ideas that at one point, I'm just really shitty at idea generation. So I ended up jumping from one idea to the next... like 99% of "entrepreneurs" (and employees for that matter), I kept jumping and jumping...
It's really hard to stay focus on one thing when you're running low on cash and wondering how you're gonna pay the rent. Some wanted me to quit but maybe im just stubborn, i couldn't see myself going back to a job.
How and when do you determine that the idea is no longer worth pursuing?
3) Is wanting to start a business for success such a BAD thing?
Don't most of us start businesses to be successful? Who in their right mind works months (sometimes years) just for the sheer enjoyment of solving people's problems?
Every time, im down.. i'm tempted to go back to affiliate marketing business (at peak, my partner and I were doing $12-$15k per day at insane 40-60% margins)... but there's a huge trade off between how easy to promote vs. how shady offers are (usually inversely proportional), and my ethical / moral side of me just won't let me do anything like that... no matter how hungry I am.
Of course, another matter being that aff. marketing business violates the commandment of entry and control.
*Sigh*
I don't know what i'm asking. It's 1:00 AM and I just feel confused. Like my past 8 years have been a joke almost. I sometimes feel like I shouldn't have read Rich Dad Poor Dad at all.
Just venting. At the same time, looking for some guidance.
I wanted to get MJ's thought on this but if you're fast laner, feel free to chime in. I don't mind critical comments as long as they're delivered in decent digestible fashion. Remember, it's not what you say.. it's how you say it.
Anyway.. I started this path to entrepreneurship from reading Rich Dad Poor Dad (yes, I see the irony of his ways now) about 8 years ago. Ever since then, I've had my shares of ups and downs.. and I can say that even though I've gained an immense knowledge set, i'm still "searching".
I'm asking as much as venting:
1) "Starting a business to fix a problem"
Problems dont seem like problems... and often not to every one.
99% of silicon valley startups focus on problems that don't exist. I remember one dude who was trying to pitch investors to fund basically RSS scraper. Yeah, totally retarded.
Then another time, a daily deal RSS scraper gets funded 7+ million dollars. (Google "yipit") doing basically doing that.
Confusing? I would say so. What problem do these RSS scrapers solve?
Paul Graham and all these SV guys always say "make stuff you want".. or "solve problems you have". And I did that. But nobody wanted it.
First 4 years, I woke up 5:30 AM to go to gym for 2 hrs, meditated for 30 minutes, then worked 12 hrs. If I wanted to solve my own problem, I would say that I should've sold protein shake/tofu/cucumbers (yeah that's what i ate and I had insanely low body fat) within 15 minutes of ultra, A-type workaholics ... and on the side, sell dry cleaning, dog walking, and errand service. But if I did that, my target market would've been less than 10k people scattered throughout US.
Another problem is... in my opinion, killer businesses solve problems that aren't currently seen as ..problems. For example
- Google: Altavista was good enough
- Facebook: Myspace was good enough
- AirBNB: Craigslist was good enough
- DropBox: Flash drives / email were good enough
Now, if you ask me, did they solve REALLY painful problems? Foresight no.. hindsight yes.
So how do you determine if the problem is worth pursuing in terms of
a) business viability (to turn profit)
b) market size (not just me and some super niche group of people
2) When you fail at solving problems, sometimes you lose vision & focus and create "fake" problems
When I started out, I was so sure that my idea (which was actually Farmville before Facebook app platform opened) was gonna rock. Yeap, idea tanked.
In fact, I started tanking on so many ideas that at one point, I'm just really shitty at idea generation. So I ended up jumping from one idea to the next... like 99% of "entrepreneurs" (and employees for that matter), I kept jumping and jumping...
It's really hard to stay focus on one thing when you're running low on cash and wondering how you're gonna pay the rent. Some wanted me to quit but maybe im just stubborn, i couldn't see myself going back to a job.
How and when do you determine that the idea is no longer worth pursuing?
3) Is wanting to start a business for success such a BAD thing?
Don't most of us start businesses to be successful? Who in their right mind works months (sometimes years) just for the sheer enjoyment of solving people's problems?
Every time, im down.. i'm tempted to go back to affiliate marketing business (at peak, my partner and I were doing $12-$15k per day at insane 40-60% margins)... but there's a huge trade off between how easy to promote vs. how shady offers are (usually inversely proportional), and my ethical / moral side of me just won't let me do anything like that... no matter how hungry I am.
Of course, another matter being that aff. marketing business violates the commandment of entry and control.
*Sigh*
I don't know what i'm asking. It's 1:00 AM and I just feel confused. Like my past 8 years have been a joke almost. I sometimes feel like I shouldn't have read Rich Dad Poor Dad at all.
Just venting. At the same time, looking for some guidance.
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