Quitting is always very hard. I made the decision this week to move on from the start-up with my two friends and move on to the next journey.
I made the decision because of personal and family reasons, a new business opportunity, and the lack of resources in the current start-up in terms of the time to reach critical mass (from other start-up examples and our own experience) and the team.
I want to enjoy life and live my happiness year, not struggle and forgo the things I love about life. I want to remember that I lived a good happy life shared with the people I love when I look back on my life.
Lessons from the post-mortem
I feel a sadness because I failed to acquire 100k users in the time I had and only launched in August. I felt disheartened during my time in the start-up. I tried my best and I put my soul into it, but it was not meant to be. When I reflect on it, it was good that we set a commitment date which prompted me to review how we were going and make the decision to leave. It is true that less than 5% of Australian tech startups reach scale stage. These companies are still not sustainable, they are only starting to grow around a known business model.
While I was in the start-up, I realised that I prefer living the dream to doing a start-up. Start-up life is draining and I give up other areas of life such as my health and relationships. My life is consumed by the start-up. There is little time off. I think about it all the time.
1. Speed (50%) - planned to have launched by April to gear up for 10k users by August, but didn't happen. We should make quick decisions, launch quickly and refine, not wait around for the perfect moment. Take a chance and if it succeeds great, but if we fail then don't end up over-investing time in it so that we can move on and do the next thing. Reduce the amount of documents, processes, emails, and meeting time.
2. Team (40%) - difference of opinion on strategy and investment, didn't stick with the outputs I produced such as the marketing plan and it resulted in duplication, didn't follow the outcomes of team reviews, was depressed and lacked belief, not optimistic. Good that we were focused on our portfolio and reported on it weekly. I shouldn't find a co-founder just because we are missing a skill. Have the right people on the bus.
3. Focus (10%) - changed ideas multiple times based on limited customer feedback, no vision or set direction. We must know exactly what to focus on and only pursue that idea.
4. Need - it's good that we built to a customer need, and had the metric that the need should score an '8' on average or 40%+ very disappointed without it. We didn't love the product or were users ourselves, although it's good we listened to customer feedback. Understood that need and business may be temporary, especially in technology. Built to sell as things move too quickly and too many competitors.
5. Virality - get viral coefficient above 1, do whatever it takes to tip, break some rules to get there
I made the decision because of personal and family reasons, a new business opportunity, and the lack of resources in the current start-up in terms of the time to reach critical mass (from other start-up examples and our own experience) and the team.
I am taking some time off to regroup, recharge, and figure out what I am passionate about.
Personally, I am in a fortunate position where I have opportunities. I can think about travelling and making a difference. I don't want to defer my life anymore. I want to travel while I am young and single and live overseas during the warmer seasons, although at the same time I cannot damage my career as my family keeps telling me.
Personally, I am in a fortunate position where I have opportunities. I can think about travelling and making a difference. I don't want to defer my life anymore. I want to travel while I am young and single and live overseas during the warmer seasons, although at the same time I cannot damage my career as my family keeps telling me.
I want to enjoy life and live my happiness year, not struggle and forgo the things I love about life. I want to remember that I lived a good happy life shared with the people I love when I look back on my life.
Lessons from the post-mortem
I feel a sadness because I failed to acquire 100k users in the time I had and only launched in August. I felt disheartened during my time in the start-up. I tried my best and I put my soul into it, but it was not meant to be. When I reflect on it, it was good that we set a commitment date which prompted me to review how we were going and make the decision to leave. It is true that less than 5% of Australian tech startups reach scale stage. These companies are still not sustainable, they are only starting to grow around a known business model.
While I was in the start-up, I realised that I prefer living the dream to doing a start-up. Start-up life is draining and I give up other areas of life such as my health and relationships. My life is consumed by the start-up. There is little time off. I think about it all the time.
1. Speed (50%) - planned to have launched by April to gear up for 10k users by August, but didn't happen. We should make quick decisions, launch quickly and refine, not wait around for the perfect moment. Take a chance and if it succeeds great, but if we fail then don't end up over-investing time in it so that we can move on and do the next thing. Reduce the amount of documents, processes, emails, and meeting time.
2. Team (40%) - difference of opinion on strategy and investment, didn't stick with the outputs I produced such as the marketing plan and it resulted in duplication, didn't follow the outcomes of team reviews, was depressed and lacked belief, not optimistic. Good that we were focused on our portfolio and reported on it weekly. I shouldn't find a co-founder just because we are missing a skill. Have the right people on the bus.
3. Focus (10%) - changed ideas multiple times based on limited customer feedback, no vision or set direction. We must know exactly what to focus on and only pursue that idea.
4. Need - it's good that we built to a customer need, and had the metric that the need should score an '8' on average or 40%+ very disappointed without it. We didn't love the product or were users ourselves, although it's good we listened to customer feedback. Understood that need and business may be temporary, especially in technology. Built to sell as things move too quickly and too many competitors.
5. Virality - get viral coefficient above 1, do whatever it takes to tip, break some rules to get there
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