Ask HN: Motivation to do entrepreneurship?

9 points by qikquestion 15 years ago | 8 comments

I thought about quitting my job and start entrepreneurship. Presently trying to do it in part time - moonlighting. Reality - Iam not able to work satisfactorily in part time doing both.

My idea involves Software but it is not pure play web application.It is more of a platform where software/webapp is one component. I am passionate about the idea to be present in the real world.

So I have a dilemma

- Is Entrepreneurship all about creating what the world want now by pivoting your ideas and making a business model around it. (In that case it is not about the motivation behind your idea but more about serving the people,running the show by yourself and making money eventually.

- Is Entrepreneurship all about creating something which is not existing in the real world. Doing it no matter what it takes and finally realizing it in true form what you envisaged - In this case it is about the idea which acted as a motivation to start and less about the money/leverage or the immediate low hanging fruits.

Sub question :

What is the best way to test your idea while on the job before getting in full time? Or it is best to attempt by doing it in full time ?

mindcrime 15 years ago |

What is the best way to test your idea while on the job before getting in full time?

It's not easy, but it can be done. Anecdote: my approach has been to build "stuff" related to my idea, using my nights and weekends to code away. After reaching a point where I had a reasonable demo of some of my ideas built, I started calling on friends, former co-workers, acquaintances, etc. - people I considered to be smart, insightful and thoughtful - and arranging to meet with them (over lunch, before work, after work, whatever) and go over things and get their thoughts. I'm at the point now where I'm about to embark on a more formal process using @sgblank's "Customer Development Methodology" approach.

Some key points seem, to me, to be this:

It's going to take some sacrifice and stretching yourself... giving up nights and weekends that could be spent going out with friends, or playing sports, or reading, or any number of other leisure activities.

It takes flexibility... if you're trying to squeeze meetings in around a day-job, you may have to get up early (not easy if you're not a "morning person") for a breakfast meeting, or hustle from work to a meeting location across town for an after-work meeting.

Leverage your network of friends, acquaintances, former co-workers, etc. Get preliminary feedback from them, and ask them to refer you to other people that you might need to interact with.

It helps if your day-job employer is fairly laid-back and accommodating. I have the luxury of having a day-job where I can get away with the occasional 2-hour lunch, or where I can leave an hour early, or come in an hour late, or take a half-day off, etc., to chase my entrepreneurial ambitions, and they don't mind (as long as it doesn't interfere with me getting work done). If your day-job isn't like that, it'll be a lot tougher.

qikquestion 15 years ago | |

Thnx. My day job requires traveling. So I couldnt optimise it well. but your efforts are inspiring. Will definitely try harder.

mrschwabe 15 years ago |

Entrepreneurship is all about the pursuit of a vision - one that manifests as you lead the way.

Ultimately, a full time commitment is required. You have a job right now. So the immediate challenge is to transition - from the job - to full time on this.

Capital can be your bridge to a full time commitment. In this case, you would use it to replace income previously received from that job. To fund your efforts, while you build something.

This capital must come from somewhere. It could be from your savings account. A friend or family member. It could come from bank in the form of a loan. Perhaps an investor. Or a combination all of above.

Truly, this challenge is your first test of business. Your performance will be a measure of entrepreneurial ability.

Goodluck.

qikquestion 15 years ago | |

Entrepreneurship is all about the pursuit of a vision - one that manifests as you lead the way. - Thnx for that.Its helpful in my thought process.

plamb 15 years ago |

Entrepreneurship is about both things. Typically the second route is one that is going to take longer, cost more, and require a lot more explaining. As such it is generally a bit riskier (ideas 'ahead of their time' can take years to mature).

If you don't have a outside responsibilities like a family, you should leave your job to pursue your idea. Entrepreneurs unwilling to take the risk of leaving their job to follow their dream send a bad signal to investors-- you should be passionate enough and believe enough in your idea that you're certain it will succeed.

dmlevi 15 years ago |

The best type of Entrepruership IMOP is innovation. Dont mistake that for invention. There are already great inventions out there that are not working to their full potential. You need innovation to take these inventions and make them applicable to the present and future.

My advice: Test your idea with human to human interaction. Do you need a website to do what your doing? If you can solve a problem for a person doing it yourself for $5 dollars, well then you have a business! Put it on a website and attract millions, you sustain your business.

bhousel 15 years ago |

You've set up a false dilemma between "build what the customer wants" and "build what I want to build". Entrepreneurship can be both those things and more. It depends on the business, the team, the customers, the market, and luck.

As to your sub question, it's really hard to start a company part time, but people still do it. Like all things in business and in life, the answer is "it depends."

qikquestion 15 years ago | |

Thnx for your points. my worry was "I shouldn't end up in a place where I worry that the very idea which was the starting point for moving from a well paid job is not getting realized". This was heard from my friend very recently and so he was demotivated for a while to pursue it further before pivoting. I want to clarify if that is the norm or it is the persistence in an idea against the odds does it.