Observations on Early Startup Life

Lately I've been reflecting on this fantastic job of mine, and if you'll pardon the solipsism I thought I would share some observations on what it is and isn't like.

I should preface with a little bit more than usual about what my job is... I am a full time startup co-founder building a not-quite-beta startup. I am lucky enough to be able to at least fake at wearing all the primary hats, so I do everything from programming to pixels to PR. I've been doing it and some small business contract work on the side full time for about nine months.

Founder Types

They say there are two kinds of founders, "builders" and "entrepreneurs". I have found this to be true. Builders think about problems and their instinct is to wonder what solutions could solve those problems in an elegant way... entrepreneurs think about problems and instinctively wonder what untapped markets could be opened by solving them. The best litmus test I have found is to ask "If you were wealthy (whatever number that means to you), would you still be doing this?" It isn't perfect; there are plenty of entrepreneurs for whom finding "angles" is an addiction, but builders would definitely be creating products if they didn't have to.

Bad Reasons

If you decide to create a startup because you want to "be your own boss", you're making a mistake. You'll always have people to answer to in some form or another, whether they're clients, investors, or customers. For general headache-factor, a decent boss beats any of them. Give me Voltaire's "enlightened despot" or even Edward James Olmos any day. You can't avoid dealing with people and their quirks, and in the end you probably wouldn't if you could.

If you create a startup because you want to "make your own hours" you're making an even bigger mistake. There are plenty of opportunities to work in your pajamas in 2008 and still be on someone's payroll. To do the startup thing right you are going to be working all the time. The biggest difference between a founder and a telecommuter is that the telecommuter gets to clock out at the end of the day, whereas the founder has "dinner break" before the late shift starts. The lines between "work" and "non-work" tend to blur. Additionally, I am most productive when I don't sleep in and prefer to work at a desk a lot of the time, so I'm in an office co-op called Giraffe Labs. Logistically speaking, the startup is an awful lot like a flexible corporate gig.

So what makes it such a great job? The fact that the things you create are your babies. I feel intense pride for the software I've had a major hand in the creation of. The hours are ridiculous, but the definition of work has changed completely. I'll still be "The Wantrepreneur" until I have a liquidity event, but whatever happens the experience has been a huge success... which I realize makes me a "builder".