Mike Casey :: Random thoughts on Startups

I have had a great long rest over the xmas and new year break and have had the chance to catch up with a lot of old friends and friends of friends. A lot were very interested to hear about my company and how it was going, which was cool as I enjoy talking about startups.

During this time I lost count of the number of times I heard someone say to me “I want to start my own company one day…”, to which I would always reply, “Why not start it today then?”.

The same old reasons always come up.

• “I want to gain more experience first”
• “The economy is still not right”
• “I would, but I need to save money”
• “I don’t want to rush, I want to do it just right”

While all of these excuses, except the last one, are all sensible they are really self inflicted hurdles.

• All the valuable experience is gained when you start a company for the first time
• Some of the most successful companies started in rough economic times. Best way to keep new competition at bay, and make ground on existing and larger companies that are consolidating.
• Bootstrap. Don’t spend any money outside of rent and food until you make money. If you need to lose a few christmas kilos, then stop spending money on food :D
• Your company will never be just right. It will always change in ways you can never predict.

If this decade is your decade then its time to make things happen. People often never get where they want to go because they never start.

I was having another conversation with someone who I have a large amount of respect for about what it takes to start a company. The single biggest thing that most people don’t ever do is simply give it a go. Give it a go means going at it full time, funding it yourself and living with the need to make it work.

While I don’t recommend everyone should just simply quit their jobs, if you are serious about starting a company then this is what you have to do. Don’t wait to you have your idea perfect, don’t even attempt to really start until you commit to going it full time. You might think there is a point to starting off part time, but when you look back on it 12 months after-wards you realise 99% of your progress was made from Day 1 full time.

If you are serious then its time to make a serious decision.