Ask HN: Does this sound like the death knell of a startup to you?

2 points by daneel 12 years ago | 1 comment

I joined this startup late 2012 because the product they were attempting to build was definitely interesting and there were few competitors in their niche.

The main strategy of the startup was to continue to improve the product (a collaborative web based game development tool) and try to garner a user base in the process.

Since then, there has been little traction and now it seems that the company is devolving into a service based web design and development company for clients. Hardly the company I took an interest in back in 2012.

Their justification is that it's necessary to lengthen the runway until "things really get off the ground". I'm skeptical as to whether it will ever get of the ground at all.

Thoughts?

timr 12 years ago |

Death knell? Not necessarily. It sounds like the company is pivoting. That's what startups do, if they're not finding traction with their original idea.

It's perfectly fair to not be interested in the new direction of the company. If that's the case, then leave. But if you're just worried that the company is dying because it's changing direction...well, you should ask the founders how much time and money remain to try out the new idea. If they don't tell you, then that is a problem.