Starting Up, One Year Later: Chasing Dragons

[il]

I would love to see more "one year later" type pieces from other YC startups, I'm sure theres a wealth of useful information in the direct experience of startup founders.

[tdavis]

Buy lots of tickets through us; I will convince them it is in their best interest ;)

[ojbyrne]

It sounds like this is the part where the dream gets replaced by the job. With luck and a bunch of work it can switch back.

[joepestro]

I'm looking forward to this series.

So, am I reading this right? TicketStumbler has become a maintenance project for a summer intern?

[tdavis]

You didn't read far enough ;)

It wasn't my intention to make that seem literal; I am still very much committed to working on and improving the site. I was merely speaking to a sentiment that I feel many developers experience as time goes by.

[jasonkester]

Well said. The world is full of shiny new things to play with, as well as consulting clients who pay real money right now. It's tough to stay focused in the face of all that.

But it's a game of inches. Every little bit of polish will get you a little closer to where you want to be. Every one of those annoying edge case bugs you squash gains you another inch. Sure, it doesn't seem like you're moving fast like you were a year ago (it certainly doesn't for me), but you're moving.

You have to. Because if you stop you die.

[mlinsey]

Hope ticketstumbler works out in the long term; if it doesn't or if you have a successful exit, looks like you could consider the PG route of becoming a writer.

[tdavis]

I think I'd have to know something to be a writer like PG, though I suppose I could just make it up ;)

I very much appreciate the compliment, though!

[noaharc]

Everyone hears the "good" about startup life, but it isn't all good. But that doesn't mean you quit, either.

+1

[vaksel]

Are there any legal obligations to YC etc, to continue working on the project?

[tdavis]

I don't think so. It hasn't really come up, as neither of us have plans to stop.

[zackattack]

A cool feature: where can I go tonight for $x?

[tdavis]

The problem with that is most tickets won't get to you that day unless you pick them up, and most sites stop selling them a ways before the event just to avoid issues where you don't receive them. Maybe "Where can I go this weekend for $X"?