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Ask HN: Do you like reading about startups more than doing one?
29 points by codeodor on April 25, 2009 | hide | past | favorite | 18 comments
I struggled with posting this question. Not so much the question as to whether or not have something here in the text box.

On one side, the question begs to be asked. On the other, I'm thinking it must have been asked in the past. And for maximum effect, it would do best without any commentary.

So what to do?

Have you started your startup, or are you waiting? Will you ever start it?

It begs to be asked.

(Interestingly, these came up in the cursory google search. http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html)



Reading -> Starting -> Writing

Reading about startups was very important when I was in the learning mode. Then once I started, I stopped reading. Now that I have sold my business, I started writing, hoping that someone else would be reading.

http://StartupForLess.org


I am in the middle of a pretty product intensive startup right now, and I truly miss the glory days in college where I'd dream with my friends about all the great ideas that we could do.

Reading about startups brings back a lot of those feelings.

So to answer your question. I have started my startup, but I still like reading about startups, sometimes more-so than actually doing my own.


It's Saturday morning here in the UK. I can barely see because my eyes are suffering the ill effects of a hard day of coding on my start-up yesterday. I should be in bed. Or I should be outside enjoying the sun. Or giving my wife some attention. Instead, I am damaging my eyes even more, by being here. Yes, I do love reading about startups. More than doing one? Nah. That's a bit like loving women but not doing one...


Yes it was, but I am sure in his mind he was deciding between that and "That's a bit like loving women but never being in a relationship with one". Considering his sleep-deprived state, I would let it slide ;)


That last sentence was a bit crude, no?


Twas a pun! Albeit a rude one!


I actually started first and then began to read, kind of counter intuitive but it wasnt on purpose.

Reason is in my circle of friends when i was at uni we didnt talk much of startups. Actually it was unheard of, stable job was the way to go. I had ideas back then but never implemented them cause it was all about the big income in a big company.

If i knew of this world of startups and this whole startup scene i would have probably started about 2 years out of uni cause its dam more exciting and fun plus the payoff for hard/smart work is actually there. I guess everyones path is different and things happen for a reason, main thing is im here now so its all good.

Now its been 5 years out of uni and im almost done with my first startup. Its been about a year in the making. Designing, planning, coding and then reading as i went along. We are about 2 months away (doing final testing) and quite excited and scared at the same time.

If all goes well the i will do more reading (cause i'll need to know alot more) and myself and the team wont be looking back ... full steam ahead.


I started my startup. It's more fun than reading about them, although reading about them is fun too.


I like reading about startups but I like building things more. I started my first serious attempt a week or so back and aim to get a scrappy release in peoples hands within the next 2~3 weeks. It'll lack a lot, but hopefully it'll give me a foothold to build other things.


Before you build an application, you need to learn how to build it.

Starting a startup requires much knowledge, not very much, but reading a lot, can help you avoid mistakes other had made when they started their startup.

Reading intensively can be unuseful, because you'll forget what you have read.

So make a plan, read about the things you planed to do. Don't be shy to ask the community, sometimes you'll get downvoted, but a time you'll get a gold comment, that have important information that may change your startup.

Planning is the most important, not to loose time. Some courage and START!


I've started. I've already been self employed for a couple of years. But since it's been as someone selling hours of work for pay, it doesn't count

The past couple of months, I've been working on an actual product. That's my startup. (I hope to have a minimal feature set version ready for launch this summer.)

Reading about this stuff leads to ideas for doing it though.


I'm 17 and hoping that I don't make the mistakes that others did and reinvent the wheel. So, currently, reading lots.


I was like that and now, I don't read as much anymore. A lot of them are pretty much the same anyway.

I'm working on my startup but been very scared of putting it out to the public. (Well, I hope that is going to change soon.)

That's another obstacle to hurdle. You work on it but releasing it is a different thing.


Its hard for me to work on mine. Too busy helping build other people's startups. Fortunately it looks like this year maybe the last year I do contracting and switch to full-time startup mode.


Expose oneself to varying degrees of ideas, problems, and solutions. Read to question. Mistakes are important for progress, all the planning in world isn't going to help. Get your hands dirty, work on a project that matters to self no matter how small or unimportant it may be to the outside world.


I am generally not interested in startups. I come to hacker news for the interesting articles and the high quality of the comments generated by the intelligent and diverse community here.


For my own situation, I've not started one. It's still a dream, but one I've kept on the wayside by working for startups as opposed to having my own.


In some capacity, yes, because I spend most of my time reading and researching instead of getting down with the nitty-gritty. On the other hand, I don't have an idea I want to implement.

I currently have a Bulgarian programmer making me a Flash game. But I'd rather have something I could devote myself to for 10+ hrs/day.




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