Ask HN: Is it hard to build a successful startup now than in the past?

3 points by hedgehog0 1 year ago | 2 comments

Hi everyone,

I am reading “Fire in the Valley” and it seems that back then it was relatively easy for hobbyists to build and sell computers. Borland also had “humble beginnings” like selling Pascal.

Now, software development is faster than before and hardware business seems to require more capital and expertise. Some big companies also seem to react to competition faster than before, not to mention they have the ability to acquire small companies.

So I was wondering that is it hard to build a successful company or startup now than in the past? Many thanks!

JohnFen 1 year ago |

I don't think it's any harder now on the whole. Some things are even easier. Creating a successful startup was never easy. Not then, and not now.

You have to remember that books like Fire in the Valley tend to portray a romanticized version of events and usually leave out a lot of the real daily grind and struggles because they usually aren't entertaining to read about.

Edit to add: also, books like "Fire in the Valley" are talking about the startups that were successful. They don't tend to mention the one that failed, which is the vast majority of them. Even then.

PaulHoule 1 year ago |

Hard to say. With microcontrollers like ESP32 [1] it has never been easier to make cyberphysical objects.

A big story is that the center of gravity of innovation has shifted to China, I am impressed with Govee [2] in smart lights, and QooCam [3] and 7Artisans [4] in photography. There isn't a Chinese competitor that goes head to head with Canon, Sony or Nikon but in terms of real innovation or value for the dollar (I have 10x fun with this lens [5] than I have with a Sony lens that costs 10x more)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP32

[2] https://us.govee.com/

[3] https://www.kandaovr.com/qoocam

[4] https://7artisans.store/

[5] https://7artisans.store/products/7artisans-50mm-f0-95-large-...