To Start or Not to Start
For the past few months, I’ve been teasing with the idea of doing a startup. My ideas for a venture have ranged from podcasting, vidcasting, creating a social network for a niche group, and even doing something similar to what Social Diva and FlavorPill does. Out of all of those ideas, I was very serious about doing something in podcasting or vidcasting: think of what Revision3 does but with a different spin. I even got to a point where I started writing up a business plan and was coming up with possible domain names to purchase for the new venture. Then I had an epiphany: do I really want to give up my life to pursue a startup in this thing called Web 2.0? It was a sobering question to ask myself. I knew that doing a startup would not be easy, albeit easier than it was back during the first dot com boom; however, I had to really think about what I would be really to give up to do this.
Work Hours
I am not a fan of long work hours. After having thrown a great deal of my life away at a Fortune 500 company, working 75+ hours a week is not something I want to return to. For the span of a year, I worked no less than 50 hours a week, and those 50 hour weeks were considered below normal from my typical 70+ hour work weeks. I got to a point where I was close to suffering complete burn out and dramatically scaled down my hours. Because I worked that type of schedule for so long, I currently shudder at the thought of working anything more than 45 hours a week these days. Doing a startup would definitely entail 16 hour (or more) days. I’m not sure I want to return to a point where my life is my work, and my work is my life.
Funding
Another aspect about doing a startup is funding. Yes, it’s becoming cheaper than ever to launch a Web 2.0 company these days, but for some ventures, VC or Angel funding is necessary. If I was going to pursue the podcasting or vidcasting ideas I had, I would need some capital, at the least from an Angel investor. Even though my ideas for one of those ventures are geared toward a niche audience, I could see it eventually catching on because I do not see many concepts on the web like the one I had in mind. Being beholden to a bunch of investors is not my idea of fun. The purpose of going into business for yourself is to be independent, but how independent are you with VCs or Angels looking over your shoulder? I discovered a podcast that basically gave me a clear picture of why I shouldn’t go that route and bootstrap instead. Of course, with the ideas I had for podcasting or vidcasting, I don’t think that’s a practical route. Eventually, I would have needed some outside funding as the company grew.
Being in Charge
I am not an entrepreneur who’s a “suit” type that loves running a company and being in charge. I am more of a technician who has good ideas and concepts to do something more efficiently or to create something new. I also am a creative thinker who thinks outside of the box, which doesn’t necessarily mean I’m good CEO material. In fact, the idea of being in charge is not something I’m comfortable with. Sure, I have managed projects on my own in the course of my career, but I’m not thrilled with the idea of running the show and being the captain of the ship. I’m not the most sociable of people and am not comfortable with the whole idea of networking, even though I have to do it to some degree. Being in charge of my startup would involve a whole host of duties, many I would probably loath. If I were to do a startup, I would definitely have to hire a CEO to run the company and do the things I do not feel comfortable doing or hate doing. I feel that that having that title as well as being the founder would quell some of my creative process towards the project.
Lack of Security
Doing a startup is akin to going out to sea without a life raft. I’m at a point in my life where job security is important to me for now. Even if I had the capital to do a startup, I would be worrying about what happens if this doesn’t pan out and what happens if I have trouble raising more funding when the money gets low. Let’s be realistic. Many startups do fail. For every startup that succeeds, there are tons more out there that tank and you never hear of. Despite being a creative person, I am also a logical thinker who likes to plan ahead and have backup plans; I like to have the proper pieces on the board in place before I make a move because security is important to me. Sure, I know I have skills and could find another job if the venture failed, but I would worry about how long it would take for me to get back in the rat race. It took me months to find a better job in the field that I wanted to remain in; the fact that I live in a small market city doesn’t help, and if it did fail, I would probably have to work as a contractor to support myself until finding a permanent gig. That lack of security is a risk that must be carefully considered, at least for me.
Location, Location, Location
I do not live in Silicon Valley, Seattle, New York, or any of the other hot spots for start ups, especially tech ones. Yes, I know you don’t have to be in one those cities to do a tech startup, but it definitely helps to be where the talent is. As I mentioned previously, I live in a small market city. I don’t have the leave my state to do my startup, but the places I would have to move to are not desirable to me. I have no desire to remain in my current home town or state and, in fact, want to move. On the surface, I don’t have a problem with moving to a tech hub; however, I am not the “pack your bags with less than $200 and move out to Hollywood” type. I am a planner, not a spontaneous person when it comes to practical matters. If I left and moved to the Valley, then I’m definitely going to have a darn good plan before I set one foot out of the state.
Less Time for Personal Passions
I am a person who likes to do a lot of things when I’m not doing the 9 to 5 gig. I like the freedom to explore my different pursuits at my own pace. If I did act on the podcasting or vidcasting idea, nearly all of my time would be devoted to that project instead of those pursuits. I have to ask myself do I want to give that up, especially things that I’m really passionate about. While I would be passionate about doing the startup, it would quell other equally important passion projects. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t be able to pursue what I love doing when I’m not working, but I definitely would not have as much time to do those things.
The Verdict
I realize that I’ve pointed out all negative aspects to doing a startup, and it would appear that I’m not a candidate for a start up. I’m the kind of person who looks at the cons clearly for anything I do to make sure I don’t go into anything with my eyes closed. Of course there are positives about working for yourself. The most important one for me is having the freedom to explore avenues that I don’t have at my current 9 to 5 gig. I previously worked at a company where the freedom of ideas is akin to Wal-Mart crushing any attempts at unionization for its workers. Working at my previous company made me realize how important it was to get my ideas out there and do my own thing. This is also another reason why I wanted to do a startup.
If I put my mind to it, I can accomplish anything. I may fail or I may flourish. There’s no way of knowing until you try. This is why I am still considering doing a startup. I’m also at a point in my life where I want to be a little daring. I always stay on the freeway, but I think it’s time I take an exit route for a change.