Ask HN: Demotivated Founder With Lost Passion Seeking Advice

[markbao]

Posting this for a friend who is CEO of a startup, but wishes to remain anonymous

The past few weeks, I've been demotivated.  Our product is done and we're ready to launch, but there's a bigger problem, I'm just not passionate anymore.  The current cons:

a) My cofounder doesn't have it.  He's not tech savy at all, doesn't contribute the way he should, and has turned everything into a two person bureaucracy.  Just not a motivating person to work with.  He also hasn't made any real sacrifices.  I've left school, moved across the country, and a lot more for our startup.

b)  It's been close to two years of work, and not a whole lot of momentum.  We've bootstrapped the entire time, with a small amount from a customer.  Bad part is, we don't have any money left for new development.  I've handled a good portion of the tech issues, except for the core programming of the app:  interface design, database design, sys admin/config, some bug fixing,etc. Think of it more as a CTO role, than a lead dev role. At the end of the day it's still 2 of us, that's a troubling sign.  I'm a pretty motivating person, and the fact no one else has really shown interest in helping out or getting involved is scary.  

c)  I'm not overly familiar with how to run an enterprise/business software company.  I've done consumer tech, this isn't my first venture, and I know enough (and yet have a shitload to learn).  Consumer web companies seem much more straight forward to me. Business web apps are a different beast to launch.  

d) this isn't a question of lack of traction, is it a good company, good product, etc. maybe this is the scary part: the product is awesome, the market were going after is a good one, and there's a lot of opportunity. the problem lies more with the co-founder and the overall energy/excitement of the company.

So my question is:

a) Do I bail out and start something else/ join something else that is in its really early stages?

b) Is there a way to get motivated again/fix these problems? 

Many thanks in advance.

[bestes]

It sounds like you are ready to launch. I can't imagine walking away after your site is ready and before it even launches!

a) See it through the launch. Send your post to your co-founder. Try an forget about "effort" and "sacrifice". Is he adding value at all? Is he going to once you launch (i.e. sales or something?).

b) This sounds to me like a theory/reality problem. I love thinking up ideas and plans. I hate when they get all messy when I try and bring them into the real world. It sounds like you might be interested in the "new development" work and have tired of your less-than-perfect implementation. Once you launch, is there a chance you'll get more funding, another customer to help with funding or anything?

Also, you might try and separate your feelings about the work and the actual changes of the business. Just because you hate it now doesn't mean it won't be successful (not that I'm advising you to do something you hate...).

[thorax]

It's also important to note that once people are using your product, it's a different sort of motivation you'll see. People count on you, they'll have feedback, nitpicks, whatever. You will see what needs to be changed and what can work and what can't.

Absolutely launch. Mark it as beta/experimental if you don't think you can afford to adapt it as needed, but you have to put it out the door and see what happens.

I think the original poster is going to find that the questions he's asking will be answered once he launches. Having a product in the field is the best way to see what's viable and what's not. You'll get a "yay"/"nay" answer once that happens and the world will look different than it does today. The cofounder might also step up a bit when he sees there's something out there in people's faces and his name (eventually) is on it.

[maxklein]

Don't bail when the going gets tough. Launch and give it everything you got for the next 3-6 months. If NOTHING comes back, give up. If it starts trickling in and you see potential, continue pushing. Otherwise, give up.

[notphilatall]

Agreed 100%: Launch, launch, launch. It's easy to get demotivated if you're working on a piece of stale software on your laptops.

Get some ants in your ant farm, watch what they do -- it may be what your co-founder needs to start believing in the product as well. If you quit now, you will _always_ wonder if something could have come from these TWO YEARS of your life.

Seriously, launch. Don't debate, don't discuss, don't send resumes; launch. What's the worst that can happen? If you prove that you can't get traction, at least you will have seen it through.

Again, LAUNCH.

[jwilliams]

(b) Bring in a 3rd Party.

Importantly - Someone you both agree on - Not because they agree with you individually, but because you both recognise they can add value. Someone complimentary to your skills - maybe totally different skills - maybe a customer, or someone who's been in the business for years and can give advice.

They don't need to take a third of the company, or even be full time - they just need to be another invested person. A hands-on angel investor might suit this bill.

Having a third party with a different perspective will help you smooth over disagreements and deadlocks. As always - absolutely critical who you choose to go into business with, so not a decision to take lightly.

[symptic]

You've put in the time, and you haven't seen the rewards yet, so you're naturally discouraged. Tim Ferris covers it well on his blog (link below). Mostly everyone goes through phases where they are unmotivated or feel like they can't win at what they are doing. It's part of life. The important thing is not to give up on it before it has a chance to even take off. You'll hate to be asking "what if" later on if you decide to move on.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/10/03/harnessing-e...

[adityakothadiya]

Don't bailout. There are always lows and highs in this journey. This is a "low" phase. Try to get over of it. Even if you are thinking about a new idea, there will be a phase with that idea where you will feel "low". It's very frustrating to see afterwards that you left the journey half-way. Let your users/customers decide if this is failure or not. Then it'll be obvious if you should quit or continue. I did this mistake before. I'm going through this situation again, but this time I learned the lesson from past experience. So I'm not quitting when I'm at low phase. I'm pushing my best, and I hope a high phase is ahead. All the best!

[sonink]

Two things:

1. Just launch. You are about to quit anyways - so why not just launch, it obviously couldnt be worse.

2. Co-founder - I think two highly motivated founders is definitely ideal - but whatever little I have seen I think more often that not one founder is a lot more motivated than the other. This also seems (but again im not sure) to be the case with Apple(jobs vs woznaik) as well as microsoft (gates vs allen). Additionally, I think this arrangement might have some advantages (vis-a-vis leadership issues) also.

[trevelyan]

>> Bad part is, we don't have any money >>left for new development. I've handled >>a good portion of the tech issues, except >>for the core programming of the app: >>interface design, database design, sys admin >> config, some bug fixing,etc. Think of it >> more as a CTO role, than a lead dev role. >> At the end of the day it's still 2 of us, >> that's a troubling sign. I'm a pretty >> motivating person, and the fact no one else >> has really shown interest in helping out or >> getting involved is scary.

Well... it would be unusual for other people to show interest until you're making money or demonstrating how it can be done. Even if you have a great product changing people's patterns of behavior is very difficult.

The upside of this is that once you ARE making money, you'll find it becomes a lot easier.

If you don't think your partner is pulling their weight, the first question you should ask is whether you're being realistic/fair in your expectations of them, or whether you are looking for someone to blame for some perceived failure. Your post suggests that your partner is - in fact - doing most of the core development work. In either case, bestes is dead right - you need to clear your expectations with your co-founder.

If you need money get a part-time job or let one of you focus on trying to get funding while the other continues development work. Marketing is going to take a lot of effort, and if you're complaining about not having money for development it makes me wonder how you're planning on getting the word out to prospective customers.

[webwright]

How much do your users/customers love what you have? If there is a glimmer of user joy, that's not worth tossing aside lightly... It's rarer than you think, and having something that customers like enough to pay for is a GREAT thing to have in this market.

In, short... Are you onto something? If not, certainly bail.

If you are, you've got big challenges with your partner. I'd try to find a new one if you can't make him an asset (a good way to separate is to give both partners legal rights to the code and flip a coin for the brand).

This is SUCH a huge problem- you aren't alone. More startups fail due to lack of interest/motivation than anything else, IMO. User happiness is a HUGE motivator and lack of it is a huge de-motivator... So launching would be a good step if you're looking for motivation or a final nail in the coffin.

Read "The Dip: When to Quit and When to Stick" by Seth Godin.

[noodle]

i'd say, no matter what you do, wait until you launch and pull in some customers. if your cofounder isn't tech savvy, i would hope that he's the business/marketer type person who's going to be doing the selling of the product. hopefully he'll be the one donating huge time chunks post-launch in order to make it sell, while you don't have much to do.

whichever you decide to do, stay or go, i'd bring it up with your cofounder. bringing up issues instead of letting them fester can help, if they're things that can get resolved.

if the differences are irreconcilable and you're unhappy, jump ship when the fall is comfortable enough for you.

[donniefitz2]

You're almost there. Why stop now? It's not all that bad and you've come so far. It's like giving up on a marathon when the finish line is just coming into vision. Suck it up. Put your head down and focus on finishing.

[amrithk]

If you can, try taking some time off. Travel somewhere. Do not think about your work for a week or two. That gives you really good perspective.

[siong1987]

Launch... Get feedbacks... Iterate... Launch again... This is a never ending process for a startup with VC-backed.

But, if your company is not VC-backed, then, you have to use this method:

Lauch... Get feedbacks... Iterate.. Bootstrap... Launch again... Get more feedbacks... Iterate more... Bootstrap more... Another never ending process until you are successful... Think of NeXT and Pixar..

[adilsaleem]

Try to involve someone with authority. Some angel investor, another co-founder, mentor, advisor...anyone who can hold (both of) you accountable for your efforts and actions (or lack of it).

You should talk to your co-founder about your concerns. You ll need all your efforts after the launch for product improvement.

[abijlani]

Ask yourself a very simple question. If you were currently making sufficient income from your product and were on your way to growing the company would you still harbor the same feelings towards your cofounder?

[alexandros]

You are prepared to bail. This is an excellent bargaining position. Put your problems plainly to your cofounder, including your intention to bail if things dont improve on his side. If you dont see the reaction you want, do what you were prepared to do and know that you tried as much as you could.

[villanovalaw]

Smile. Breathe. Think.

Life's Good. Enjoy it.

oh.... LAUNCH THE PRODUCT AS IT IS!!!!

-P

[carlio]

Bail. You're not happy, and you're putting in more effort than you should / want to. If you carry on it'll make you more and more bitter and that won't help the business. If you have another opportunity, go for it - the novelty will rejuvinate you I'll bet.

[zhyder]

If he's close to launching, he should just launch. If it clicks with even a few people, that'll be the source of motivation.

Though he should probably get rid of the non-committed cofounder (hoping the equity is properly vested): great cofounder > solo founder > bad cofounder.

[gojomo]

Maybe you need to hook up with this other founder disillusioned with his cofounder: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=325923

[known]

If you constantly talk to your users you will bootstrap.

[santacruz]

reboot